Hurdzan gets a major (Erin Hills), eyes another

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- Now that Erin Hills, the daily fee course about 35 miles north of Milwaukee, has officially been awarded the 2017 U.S. Open, Dr. Mike Hurdzan, a retired U.S. Army Colonel, would like to have more majors on his resume. It might just happen.

Based in Columbus, Ohio, Hurdzan and his partner, Dana Fry, designed Erin Hills in cooperation with Golf Digest Architecture Editor Ron Whitten. Next up on their list of major credentials could be a PGA Championship. The PGA of America recently made another visit to Scioto Country Club, the boyhood golfing home of Jack Nicklaus in Columbus, with designs on hosting the 2017 PGA, though Scioto faces stiff competition from several venues, including Quail Hollow Club in North Carolina, site of an annual PGA Tour stop.

Hurdzan and Nicklaus collaborated in 2008 on a major renovation of Scioto, originally designed by Donald Ross and the site of the 1926 U.S. Open, 1950 PGA and the 1931 Ryder Cup.

"It's a pretty exciting time for us," said Hurdzan, who got his start in the golf architecture business as a teenager with the late Jack Kidwell, one of the founders of the American Society of Golf Course Architects. "If the PGA comes to Scioto, that would be awesome, being a part of half the majors in one year. That's not bad."

-- Dave Shedloski