Ben Hogan won his first professional golf tournament here, and Payne Stewart won his last.

Maybe no one remembers Hogan's victory, but no one can forget Stewart's -- the 1999 U.S. Open championship, won with a 15-foot putt for par on the final green.

Aficionados already knew of Pinehurst No. 2's magic, but Stewart's triumph -- he fended off challenges from Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh -- cemented its place in golf lore.

The best thing? The course that the world's best players tackle in major championships is the course that awaits any golfer today, tomorrow or next week.

Give him two weeks to grow the rough a couple of inches and increase the green speeds, and superintendent Paul Jett can have the course ready for another Open.

Designed in the horse-and-buggy days, the Carolinas' most decorated golf course does not surrender to the space age.

'Masterpiece' is a popular description, both then, in 1907, and now,

Pinehurst's iconic Putterboy (photo courtesy of the USGA Photo Archives)

in 2007.

This jewel in the Sandhills of North Carolina does not dazzle competitors with length, topography or water hazards, but 100 years after its opening, the layout takes on all comers and almost always wins.

Devilish greens and the area surrounding them make No. 2 so stern that only one player -- one player -- broke par over four rounds in a pair of U.S. Opens.

Pete Dye, one of today's renown golf-course architects, first visited Pinehurst in the 1940s and recalls riding on dirt roads that led to a barren clubhouse.

'All was forgotten, however, when I stood on the first tee at the famed No. 2,' he writes in his autobiography.

The clubhouse and access roads have changed for the better, of course, but today's golfers often approach Pinehurst with the same sense of awe and appreciation, says longtime caddie Willie McRae.

'In a way,' he says, 'you're playing against history.'

'From 50 yards in ... ' The No. 2 course has hosted a pair of U.S. Opens, a PGA championship and Ryder Cup matches among the myriad of competitions on its emerald stage, and the list of winners sounds like a roll call of golf's hall-of-fame membership.

Despite a century of advancements, 'Course No. 2 stands up,' says Eric Alpenfels, director of instruction at Pinehurst Golf Academy. 'That's why we should celebrate (its centennial).'

The course has grown from Donald Ross' original 5,860 yards to a maximum of 7,335 today, and the sand putting surfaces disappeared long ago. The architect, who continually tinkered with the layout until his death in 1948, strengthened the layout by adding the current fourth and fifth holes in 1935.

Otherwise, 'No design changes, per se,' says Bob Farren, Pinehurst's manager of grounds and golf course management. 'The major difference is the consistency of conditions now compared to 20 or 30 years ago.'

Resort players today find fairways at 'Open width,' but the rough is shorter and -- mercifully -- the greens not as quick.

'The golf course is still (most relevant) from 50 yards in,' says Jett, a graduate of Irmo High and Clemson University. 'It has been that way for a long time and always will be that way. It has proven out in two Opens; it doesn't really matter how far you hit it if you don't put the ball on the right spot on the greens.

Ah, yes, the greens. They have been compared to an upside-down cereal bowl and make the challenge formidable.

'I tell my friends if they really want to play the course like the pros, play one of the forward tees in order to hit the same shots into the greens,' Farren says. 'That would be the same test.

'They might think they want to play the (fast) 'Open greens,' but they wouldn't enjoy it as much.'

Perhaps, or perhaps they would be like Jack Nicklaus.

After losing a playoff to Johnny Miller in the 1974 World Open on No. 2, Nicklaus said, '... I have never enjoyed playing a golf course more. No. 2 is fabulous. I learned about five things about design this week -- on a course 50 years old.'

Fast and firm. Nicklaus' math was off by a few years, but the thought required no interpretation. Simply, Ross' creation stands the test of time, and the legendary designer's ghost is never far away.

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