Linda Hartough Paints Pinehurst to Commemorate 2014 U.S. Open Championships

(HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C.) – Linda Hartough, world-renowned golf-landscape artist (www.hartough.com), has introduced her new painting, 9th Hole, Pinehurst No. 2, in commemoration of the 2014 U.S. Open Championships, the U.S. Open to be played June 12-15 followed by the U.S. Women’s Open June 19-22, at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club in the Village of Pinehurst, N.C. This is Hartough’s 25th painting in her U.S. Open series, commissioned by the United States Golf Association. It will be her last painting in the series.

“I think 25 is a good place to end the series,” said Hartough, “because I have painted almost all the classic courses in the rotation, and most are coming up again in the future U.S. Open schedule. Since I can do only three or four paintings in a year due to the time they take, it will free up more time to paint some of the courses on my ‘bucket list.”

The legendary Pinehurst No. 2 opened in 1907. Designed by Donald Ross, it recently underwent a restoration by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. Pinehurst No. 2 is best known for its crowned, undulating greens, some of the most complex and widely hailed in the world.

The Painting
Hartough visited Pinehurst in April of this year to see the renovated course for the first time. She had been there many other times to do five paintings over the years, as well as drawings for the 1999 and 2005 U.S. Open championships. The renovation restored the course’s natural look, “…and everywhere the holes came alive,” Hartough said. “By that I mean the holes are now visually interesting with the natural contours of the land coming through and more use of natural vegetation.

“The course now looks as though it has always been there, and I am sure it was intended to look that way…When we came to the 9th hole, I fell in love and chose it immediately for my 2014 U.S. Open painting.”

The 9th Hole, Pinehurst No. 2 is offered in a Limited Edition of 850 prints and an additional 85 Artist Proofs. Each piece in the 25th Anniversary Edition is signed and numbered by the artist, and each will be embossed with the 25th Anniversary Edition logo.

“Linda has captured the transformation of Pinehurst No. 2’s recent restoration beautifully,” said Jay Biggs, Pinehurst’s senior vice president, golf and club operations. “She has brought out the textures and ruggedness of the hole.”

Media Contact: Sally J. Sportsman; 407-248-1144; sjsport@earthlink.net.