The Country Club in Brookline angling to host 2022 U.S. Open

The Country Club, which has hosted three national championships and a Ryder Cup, hopes to stage the 2022 U.S. Open, according to members of the Board of Selectmen in Brookline, Mass.

“The Town of Brookline, last night, signed a non-binding Letter of Intent that, in effect, means that the Town, the USGA and the Country Club will discuss plans for hosting the 2022 U.S. Open at the Country Club,” Ken Goldstein, chair of the board that held an open meeting Tuesday night, told SB Nation via email on Wednesday.

The Country Club initiated the discussions, board member Nancy Daly said, confirming a Boston Globe report.

Daly, who cited logistical concerns, was the only one of five board members to abstain from voting to bring the grand slam event back to Brookline.

“A few years back, the Country Club had the Ryder Cup and in order for them to have a big event like this, we need to let them use the town golf course, which is nearby, for parking and event setup,” Daly said in a phone interview with SB Nation, “and I was concerned about the damage to our facilities.”

Also involved would be a nearby park and the town’s police and fire departments for crowd control.

“That’s what all the negotiations are about,” Daly said. “We all want to see exactly what the terms would be before we would be moving forward, but we are officially in negotiations now.”

A definitive agreement among all parties must be finalized, and the board must approve it by Oct. 31, 2015.

“At a minimum, the Town would need to provide public safety, traffic and other services, and the event would need to use adjacent or nearby municipal facilities,” town administrator Melvin Kleckner said in an email. “The Town and the USGA formalized this commitment with a Letter of Intent, which was approved by the Board of Selectmen last evening.”

The Country Club was the site of the renowned 1913 U.S. Open in which amateur Francis Ouimet prevailed. It also hosted the 1963 and 1988 Opens and the 2013 U.S. Amateur, but will likely be most remembered as the place where Justin Leonard drained the dramatic putt on the 17th green that brought the Americans from four points down to win the legendary 1999 Ryder Cup.

“The Town is proud of its historical and cultural association with the Country Club,” Kleckner said. “I believe the U.S. Open would celebrate this historical and cultural value and provide a boost to the local economy.”