Good grief , it ’ s June already — wow ! Looking back as far as 2005 , I ’ ve mentioned in nearly all of them how wet the spring golf season had started . It ’ s no different this year . The latter half of April and the first half of May were swamped with rain nearly every week . The courses were soaked , as were golfers ; however , a tip of the hat to Supers for doing their best during the monsoon season to make the courses at least playable . Expect cart paths only until the fairways have time to dry enough for cart traffic . But don ’ t let cart paths only stop you from playing — a little walking never hurt anyone ; in fact , most golfers score better when they walk . Perhaps that ’ s why professionals walk .

June means one of my favorite championships , the U . S . Open Championship , has arrived . According to a May 2 news release from usopen . com , “ Three-time U . S . Open champion Tiger Woods has accepted a special exemption from the USGA into the 124th U . S . Open Championship , which will be contested June 13-16 on Pinehurst Resort & Country Club ’ s Course No . 2 , in the Village of Pinehurst , N . C .

“ Woods , 48 , won the 2000 , 2002 and 2008 U . S . Open Championships in addition to 12 other major championships and 82 total PGA Tour victories in his Hall of Fame career . His nine USGA titles , matched only by Bob Jones , include three consecutive U . S . Junior Amateurs ( 1991-1993 ) followed by three straight U . S . Amateurs ( 1994-1996 ) and an overall USGA match play record of 42-3 .”

Woods said , “ The U . S . Open , our national championship , is a truly special event for our game and one that has helped define my career . I ’ m honored to receive this exemption and could not be more excited for the opportunity to compete in this year ’ s U . S . Open , especially at Pinehurst , a venue that means so much to the game .”

No doubt , it will be an exciting U . S . Open with Woods in the field . Despite his less-than-impressive dead-last finish at the Masters –– 60th place at + 16 , it was still awesome to watch him play . Who else has won the Masters five times and also finished dead last ? Never count Woods out . Remember when he won the 2008 U . S . Open with a 15-stroke victory at Torrey Pines with a broken leg ?

The 17th Annual Watson Challenge will be played June 7-9 at Mission Hills Country Club . However , for the first time in 17 years of the event that determines the best golfers within the Kansas City region , Tom Watson , unfortunately , will not be playing . While he is making excellent progress recovering from three shoulder surgeries following a go-kart accident in 2022 , he is not in competition shape quite yet .

Watson is , however , deeply involved in his The Watson Links TM youth golf mentoring program that he founded three years ago and is now available to juniors in Kansas City and five other cities nationwide . Read the story on page 8 .

The Watson Challenge at Mission Hills Country Club is open to the public , so plan to attend and watch some of the best golfers in the Kansas City area compete . Learn more about the Watson Challenge at www . centrallinksgolf . org .

Lastly , remember Father ’ s Day on June 16 . Take your dad , son , or daughter golfing . Tee it forward , have fun , and find your perfect day on a golf course .

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6 June 2024 TEE TIMES GOLF GUIDE

TEE TIMES GOLF GUIDE Magazine June 2024 | Page 6

From The Editor

It ’ s U . S . Open Month