Pebble Beach's U.S. Women's Open plans put on back burner

PEBBLE BEACH -- Whatever happened to the idea of Pebble Beach GL hosting the U.S. Women's Open? With today's announcement by the USGA that the famed course on the Monterey Peninsula would host the 2019 U.S. Open, along with the 2018 U.S. Amateur, holding the biggest tournament in women's golf here will have to wait at least a decade to actually come to fruition -- if it ever does at all.

Back in 2004, when the USGA make public its intent to bring the Women's Open to Pebble Beach for a yet-to-be-determined date, the interest was  high on both sides. The problem, however, was that the two parties went too long without actually determining a date.

"We just never really got in a situation where we actually decided on a date," said Pebble Beach Co. CEO Bill Perocchi.

Talk was that the women's championship might be held in 2012 or 2014, but without anything firmly set, the USGA filled up those dates. Then when discussions about hosting another U.S. Open began in the last month, the concept of having the Women's Open anytime in the near future was all but killed.

"That wouldn't be feasible," Perocchi said, "to have all three events here in that short a time frame."

Perocchi insists, however, that the idea of having the women's major at Pebble Beach is not dead. "I think that the Women's Open will be here someday," he said

Just not someday all that soon.

--Ryan Herrington