Torrey Pines picked for '08 U.S. Open

For only second time in history the United States Golf Association will stage its national championship on a public golf course when the 2008 U.S. Open is conducted at Torrey Pines' South Course outside San Diego, Calif.

In joining New York's Bethpage State Park's Black Course on the exclusive public course list, Torrey Pines also marks the first time the season's second major will be held in southern California since 1948.

The Black Course at the Bethpage State Park in New York, where the 2002 U.S. Open was played, is the only public layout to have been the site of the championship.

·         Torrey Pines, site of the PGA TOUR's Buick Invitational each year, was designed by William Bell Sr.

·         U.S. Open champions Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson have won tournaments at Torrey Pines.

·         The U.S. Open has been played in California nine times, most recently at Pebble Beach Golf Links in 2000. It was last played in southern California in 1948 at Riviera Country Club.

·         Bell Sr. designed the North and South courses at Torrey Pines Golf Course in 1957.

Located 20 minutes from downtown San Diego along the coastal bluffs in La Jolla, Calif., the public facility has hosted the Buick Invitational since 1968.

Both courses provide stunning Pacific Ocean views, but only one, the South Course, will host the U.S. Open in 2008. Mark Brooks holds the North Course record with a 61, while Tiger Woods holds the South Course record at 62, though he shot that before the 2001 renovation. Greg Chalmers, with a 63, has the lowest score since the course was revamped.

The North and South Courses at Torrey Pines Golf Course play host to the Buick Invitational, but the tournament focus is on the South Course, muscled up by the $3.3-million renovation completed in 2001. Rees Jones added 500 yards to make the South 7,607 yards, though the par-72 layout measures 7,568 for the tournament.

Jones also added 38 bunkers, though he still left plenty of room off the tee, and he fiddled with green contours and location, moving several greens closer to canyon edges. The North Course, though much shorter at 6,874 yards, is considered more scenic, and it boasts the signature hole between the two layouts, the 206-yard, par-3 sixth.