US Open winners at Pinehurst No. 2: A brief history

This year marks the fourth time that Pinehurst No. 2 has hosted the U.S. Open.

Here’s a brief history of previous U.S. Open winners at Pinehurst No. 2.

Payne Stewart won his second U.S. Open on June 20, 1999. It marked Stewart’s third major championship. He finished one stroke ahead of runner-up Phil Mickelson.

A 15-foot par putt on the 18th hole won Stewart the tournament. Stewart’s legendary fist pump after sinking the putt is memorialized by a bronze statue at Pinehurst No. 2.

A birdie on the 17th hole helped Stewart gain the lead outright.

Stewart's caddie remembers bond, loss

Mickelson’s caddie carried a beeper all weekend that would register a message from Amy that delivery was imminent. Mickelson said he would walk off Pinehurst No. 2 at any point to board a private plane and rush home to his wife’s side.

Amy Mickelson and her doctor delayed delivery by a day with medication on Saturday night. She watched the final round on the sofa with her pelvis propped up on pillows to prevent the baby dropping any further.

“Golf Digest” asked Tom Meeks, at the time senior director of rules and competitions with the USGA, what would have happened if the tournament went into a playoff with Mickelson having to leave for the birth of his first child.

“It’s one of those hypotheticals where we’ll never know what would have happened,” Meeks said in 2005 upon the Open’s return to Pinehurst. “I’m glad the USGA didn’t have to make a decision (if Mickelson had left to be with Amy).

“I have my own thoughts. I would have said — and I think Payne would have said — ‘You’re not going to give me the U.S. Open because he can’t play tomorrow.’ I’m telling you, Payne would have refused the championship and said, ‘We’ll come back.’ The only fair thing to do under those circumstances would have been to come back at an agreed-to date.”

Months later, Stewart died in a South Dakota plane crash.

On Oct. 25, 1999, he was on board a chartered Learjet 35 scheduled to fly from Orlando to Dallas.

Early in the flight, the aircraft, which was climbing to its assigned altitude on autopilot, lost cabin pressure, and all six people on board were incapacitated by a lack of oxygen in the brain and body.

The people on board included Stewart, his agent and former Alabama quarterback Robert Fraley, president of the Leader Enterprises sports management agency Van Ardan, Jack Nicklaus golf course design company architect Bruce Borland, and pilots Michael Kling and Stephanie Bellegarrigue.

The aircraft continued climbing past its assigned altitude, then failed to make the westward turn toward Dallas over north Florida and continued on its northwestern course, flying over the southern and midwestern United States for hours. The plane ran out of fuel over South Dakota and crashed into a field near Aberdeen, killing all six on board.

Michael Campbell won his only major title, two strokes ahead of runner-up Tiger Woods, who at one point closed within one shot of Campbell.

Campbell entered the final day of the 2005 U.S. Open four strokes behind Retief Goosen, the event's defending champion. Goosen is also a two-time U.S. Open champion.

On the final day, Goosen ballooned to an 81. Campbell shot 69 (1 under par) for the final round and was the only golfer in the last two pairings of the day to break 80.

Martin Kaymer had a record-setting performance at the 2014 U.S. Open.

Kaymer set the 36-hole scoring record by opening with a pair of 65s. Kaymer shot a 72 on day three, and a 69 on the final day of the tournament to finish nine shots under par. He won the tournament by eight strokes over second-place finishers Erik Compton and Rickie Fowler.

Kaymer never let anyone closer than four shots during the final 48 holes.

It marked Kaymer’s second major title. He also won the 2010 PGA Championship.

Pinehurst is set to hold the U.S. Women’s Open again in 2029.

The 2014 major win marked Wie’s fourth victory in her LPGA career. She won by two strokes over Stacy Lewis, then ranked the world's No. 1 ranked player.

The 2014 U.S. Women’s Open marks Wie’s only win at a major. She has won only one more LPGA event since then.

Clark shot an even-par 70 in his final fournd to finish 10-under overall. He earned a $3.6 million winner’s cut of a record $20 million prize purse, the largest ever awarded in major history.

Here is a list of U.S. Open winners by year since 1999: