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.


'That's always in your mind,' Farren says. 'It's pretty apparent there are things we can identify today and say, 'Donald Ross had no idea about that,' but it's still a sense of history and we have great appreciation for that.'

Questions about the Ross influence 'come out more during an Open,' Jett says. 'The course was designed to play fast and firm, and we integrate that philosophy into the golf course.'

Rees Jones, the architect the United States Golf Association uses to fine-tune Open courses, found little to change at Pinehurst.

No. 2 did not feature the tall rough in 1999 that had characterized previous Opens, and the tournament earned rave reviews.

'We learned from the Opens we were in pretty good shape,' Jett says. 'We found out that it didn't take a whole lot more to maintain greens at 11A1 2 (stimpmeter reading for the Open) than it did at 9A1 2 (daily play).

'What came out of '99 was we could improve the quality of our greens without having to spend a whole (lot) more time or labor.'

Officials moved the gallery ropes back for the 2005 Open to make sure the rough remained in play rather than being flattened by spectators.

'In 2005, it was incredible the way Paul and his crew were able to have the consistency (on the putting surfaces) not only from green to green but also from Monday to Sunday,' Farren says. 'You can't ask for more than that.'

The crew had the greens manicured so well they did not require mowing in the afternoon during the 2005 Open.

'I'm just an observer in terms of maintenance, but Paul is a genius,' Alpenfels says. 'Give him two weeks, and No. 2 can hold the Open. That's the beauty of Pinehurst.'

Challenge of the greens. Alpenfels sits in a golf cart behind the 10th green and watches golfers with the practiced eye of one of the game's most respected teachers.

'Let's see what this guy does,' he says, noting the player sizing up a shot from about 30 yards. 'He can hit a high pitch, pitch and run or putt.'

Alpenfels knows what would work best on these greens. He takes his students to a practice area to emphasize his point.

'They will have a putter, a sand wedge and an 8-iron, and I will have them show me how to play to the green,' he says. 'If they used the sand wedge, they loft the ball up there and it usually comes back to them. They get closer with an 8-iron, but they finally realize the putter is the club to use.

'They would never have realized that before. It's not pretty, but (the ball) is close to the hole.'

The pros learned that lesson, McRae, the longtime caddie, says 'Playing here for the first time, they found out flop shots don't work to these greens,' he says.

'We have learned a lot through the years in terms of technology, and technology requires change,' Alpenfels says. 'Years ago, I can remember we had to stop a golf school because Davis Love III was on the practice range and we needed to get out of the way so he could hit his driver.

'Athletic ability and technology have improved so much, but at the same time, this golf course stands up. You have to have strategy; it's more to playing well than bombing the ball off the tee.

Tiger Woods knows. He likely believes two Opens got away at Pinehurst.

After finished second in 2005, he talked about how he had been befuddled all week on the greens and used the 14th hole in the final round as an example.

'I had the same putt that (Payne Stewart) had in 1999, and his went right,' Woods said. 'I'm thinking, 'It doesn't look like it goes right; it's got to go left.' I hit the putt left, and it went right, and I thought to myself, 'You idiot!'

Ah, the subtleties of Pinehurst do that to even the best golfer.

John Daly could identify. Remember his 11 on the eighth hole in the 1999 Open's final round?

'(Pinehurst) doesn't have great views,' Retief Goosen said at the 2005 Open, 'but it has great holes.

Said Chip Beck at the 1991 Tour Championship: 'Donald Ross must have been the toughest, hard-nosed architect in the world. ... It's like Fenway Park or Wrigley Field. It's a standard to judge by.'

That is Pinehurst No. 2, celebrating its 100th birthday and still passing the test of time.