The mystique and beauty of US Open venue Pebble Beach

There is no grander stage in major championship golf than Pebble Beach, and next week the majestic coastal layout on California's picturesque Monterey Peninsula will host the US Open for a fifth time.

Forever cloaked in mystique and often shrouded in fog, Pebble Beach Golf Links is one of the most famous and beautiful courses in the world. Mere mention of its name conjures up images of breathtaking scenery.

Nine of its holes straddle the Pacific shoreline and players fortunate enough to visit the venue for the first time never tire of soaking in the stunning vistas of crashing waves, turquoise water, rocky cliffs and white-sand beaches.

"It's a pretty special place," Jack Nicklaus told reporters while hosting last week's Memorial tournament in Dublin, Ohio. "It's not a very difficult golf course when the wind doesn't blow but it's extremely difficult when the wind blows."

Nicklaus fell in love with Pebble Beach after winning the US amateur championship there in 1961 and he went on to triumph in the first US Open played there in 1972.

"I played great and every single round I played in the amateur I played under par," he recalled. "I just loved it and then I came back (to Pebble) and won three Crosbys. It's a very special piece of property."

Nicklaus won the PGA Tour's Bing Crosby National Pro-Am in 1967, 1972 and 1973, a tournament now known as the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Held every February, it offers television viewers a spectacular reminder of the course's beauty.

"You always want to go back to Pebble Beach," said eight-times major champion Tom Watson, who won the 1982 US Open at the venue after overhauling Nicklaus with a stunning birdie-birdie finish.

"What defines this golf course is the beauty. Everybody who thinks about Pebble Beach, the first thing they think about is not that it's a golf course. They think about the beauty of this place. That's what makes it special."

DESTROYED FIELD

Pebble Beach, set up as a par-71 layout, will measure 7 040 yards for next week's Open, having been lengthened by 194 yards since the 2000 championship when Tiger Woods destroyed the field by a record 15 strokes.

In other changes made by Arnold Palmer's design company, four greens have been rebuilt, 16 bunkers added and 11 tees have been enhanced. Fairways on five of the oceanside holes have been moved closer to the cliff edge.

Overall, though, Pebble Beach remains more or less the same, a spectacular coastal layout renowned for its small greens, fickle ocean winds and its hard and fast fairways in the summer months.

"The golf course has always had a special place in my heart, one for its pristine beauty and another for its mystique," said Woods, who was born in California and first played Pebble Beach as a 13-year-old.

"Maybe because of all the (Pro-Am) tournaments held here, maybe a combination of the layout and the beauty, and also the finishes that we've had over the years on this golf course."

Watson produced one of the most gripping finishes of all time when he chipped in for birdie from clinging rough behind the par-three 17th to assure victory over Nicklaus at the 1982 Open championship.

Nicklaus, who had already completed his round, was left stunned in the scorer's tent after watching his rival take a one-shot lead while Watson charged around the green in jubilant celebration.

"I was in an awkward lie and I was even with Nicklaus, playing in the tournament I wanted to win most," Watson recalled. "I knew what I had to do. I had to hit a very soft shot.

"Fortunately, it came out exactly the way I wanted it to. It came out as high and soft as I could get it, started up from the hole, took the break, went to the hole and hit the pin dead centre and went in."

Dramatic finishes and spectacular beauty; Pebble Beach has been blessed with both. Next week's US Open is likely to be no exception.

By Mark Lamport-Stokes, Reuters