Teeing Off

So this isn't quite a Guest TigerBlog, in so much that TB is doing the writing. 

It's more that, for today, the idea and the research belong to Matt Ciciarelli.

And who is he? A long time ago, he worked in the Princeton University Office of Athletic Communications. If you're in the market for a communications specialist, you could do a lot worse than calling Matt. 

He is a hard-working guy who was very dedicated to his teams and coaches and especially the student-athlete experience. He brought a strong work ethic to his job every day, as well as a smile and a great sense of humor. 

If TB is remembering correctly, it was Matt who fixed up Craig Sachson, another former OAC great, on a blind date one time, and that woman ended up being Sachson's wife Jess. 

TB has missed Matt since he left. That's why hearing from him is always nice.  

Such was the case yesterday, when he got a text message about the U.S. Open at Oakmont. At that point, TB knew Oakmont had something to do with golf, though he wouldn't have said definitively that it was located in Western Pennsylvania. He might have actually guessed Illinois (foreshadow, by the way). 

Then again, he also wouldn't have known that the U.S. Open begins today and that it is being held at Oakmont.

As it turns out, Ciciarelli's dad grew up 15 minutes from the course, while Matt himself grew up more like 45 minutes away. Here is some of the cool information that Matt sent TB's way about Oakmont. 

Interesting facts …

It’s bisected by the Pennsylvania Turnpike… after playing the first hole, players walk over a bridge, play holes 2-8 before walking across the bridge again to play 9-18. 

No water hazards on the course … only old drainage ditches along some of the holes that are considered hazards.

The way the course looks now is how it was originally designed. Trees were added in the 50s and 60s. After hosting the 1994 US Open, about 7,000 trees were removed to make it look like it was originally intended (and at the “urging” of the USGA). 

The club president, the pro and the superintendent cut down the trees under the cover of darkness because the members wanted to keep them. I need to find the great story that talks about how they used the headlights from the trucks to see.  

The whole Pennsylvania Turnpike thing is fascinating. You can see for yourself:

Oakmont boasts many distinctive features, but none is more striking than the Pennsylvania Turnpike cutting through the heart of the course.@BrendanPorath dives into the history of this iconic intersection of infrastructure and golf.

(Photos courtesy Oakmont Country Club… pic.twitter.com/FbX26MLKHH

— Fried Egg Golf (@fried_egg_golf) June 8, 2025

There was also more to Oakmont than just that. As it turns out, the club has a great deal of Princeton golf history. 

According to Matt:

• Oakmont has hosted the NCAA Championships three times … 1916, 1930, 1937. Princeton won all three of those team championships

• Princeton’s George Dunlap won the first of his back-to-back individual championships at Oakmont in 1930 

The 1916 national championship at Oakmont featured seven teams, five of whom are current Ivy League schools: Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Penn and Cornell, as well as Williams and ...

... Illinois. Now you get the foreshadow.

Princeton dominated in 1916, both in the team event and then in the individual. The Daily Princetonian saw it this way: 

Eight men represented Princeton in this match [the team final against Harvard], not one of whom lost. This well-balanced power of the team was illustrated later in the individual championships.

As for George Dunlap, who grew up in North Jersey, he'd win the individual title at Oakmont in 1930, and he'd also win the U.S. Amateur, which at the time was as prestigious as any in the world, in 1933. To reach the match-play elimination rounds, Dunlap first had to survive a 12-man playoff in the qualifying round. 

Dunlap wouldn't win another major title, though he would accumulate lots of titles. How so? His family was in the publishing business, and it was his company that published the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys mystery series. 

If you're anywhere near TB's age, you read them. 

George Dunlap, by the way, lived to 94, passing away in 2003 after spending nearly 60 years as a Florida resident.   

This concludes today's sort-of joint blog experience. Thanks Matt. Appreciate the help, as always.