Latest news with #U.S.OpenChampionships
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
11 Investigates: What goes into keeping the best golfers in the world safe at the U.S. Open
The best professional golfers in the world are in Oakmont this week for the U.S. Open. RELATED COVERAGE >>> 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club: What you need to know So, what goes into keeping them safe on and off the golf course? Chief Investigator Rick Earle spoke with the USGA about security efforts for the game's biggest stars. Advertisement Earle learned it's a big job that's been in the planning stages for months. Fans will see police officers and security guards on the golf course and there will be even more security around some of the bigger names, especially during the final round of the tournament. 'They're going to have that added level of security in and around their areas, just knowing that they draw the crowds. Obviously, once they come on site, they're going to have that security detail that they need in and around the player-centric areas on the golf course itself,' said Eric Steimer, the USGA senior director of U.S. Open Championships. Steimer said rope lines will be set up to keep fans at a safe distance from the golfers, but he says there's plenty of prime viewing. Advertisement 'We'll establish rope lines where fans can follow their favorite golfers all 18 holes, sit in some great grandstand locations that provide panoramic views,' Steimer said. Local and state police, along with nearly 300 private security guards, will be on hand. Some officers will blend in with the crowd. 'We have undercover officers, escort details, as well as a lot of security position out on the golf course,' Steimer said. 'Someone like Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, they may have some private security with them,' said John Hudson, a retired Secret Service agent and security consultant. Hudson is very familiar with Oakmont Country Club. Advertisement During the last U.S Open in 2016, he operated a drone for the Allegheny County District Attorney's office. Hudson told Earle that fans will notice a heightened level of security on the final day of the tournament. 'Probably on the last day, Sunday, when you have the foursomes that tee off that match, the higher profile shooters, you'll have security with that, that package as well, walking along the fairways,' Hudson said. The USGA is also relying on drones this time around, as well as a network of surveillance cameras and metal detectors to secure the sprawling 380-acre golf course. They want to ensure that, in the end, the best players in the world concentrate on one thing and one thing only. Advertisement 'Really, once they're out there competing for our national championship, we want to make sure their focus stays on that and not on security,' Steimer said. The USGA told Earle that information about where the golfers stay while they're in Pittsburgh and what they do and where they go outside the course is all kept confidential. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Jax Forrest, Keegan Bassett react to winning U.S. Open
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (WTAJ) – Bishop McCort wrestlers Keegan Bassett and Jax Forrest brought U.S. Open Championships back home to Johnstown this past weekend from Las Vegas. Despite being eligible for the U20 Division, Forrest bumped up to the senior level to face some of the best competition in the country. It was a move that was partially influenced by his future Oklahoma State head coach David Taylor. Bishop McCort's Jax Forrest cruises to U.S. Open finals 'The thing that Coach David told me was, you're not going there to compete. You know, if you're going, you're going to win,' the 61-kilogram champion said. 'I'm not (bumping up a level) to go there to try and take third, try and take fifth, try and beat one guy. You know, I'm going there to try and win the whole tournament.' Forrest's remarkable run included technical fall wins against former NCAA champions Nahshon Garrett and Seth Gross, who Forrest defeated in the finals. Both wrestlers are more than 10 years older than the Bishop McCort junior. 'If you told me this five years ago. I would've thought you're crazy like that's impossible,' Forrest said. 'There's never been high school guys that beat NCAA champs. But, you know, as soon as one person does it, it opens up the doors for others and it's like, why can't I (do that)?' After making the U.S. Olympic Team Trials as a sophomore last year, it's evident that what Forrest is doing as a high schooler is unprecedented. 'I'm still just an 18-year-old. So, it's really cool to be in this position, but it's different,' Forrest said. 'I don't really have a lot of people to try and take advice from because they haven't really been in my situation. (I'm) just figuring it out as I'm going along.' With the U.S. Open Championship, Forrest qualified for Final X, which is an event in June that will help determine Team USA for the Senior World Championships that are being held in Croatia. Meanwhile, Bassett won the 45-kilogram U17 title over Chestnut Ridge's Kooper Deputy, who Bassett frequently trains with. 'It's truly incredible,' Bassett said. 'For a world team, it's two kids that live 40 minutes apart and train together, like, it's unbelievable.' Winning the title meant a lot for Bassett after finishing fourth at this year's PIAA Championships. 'I've been putting in a lot of work. I've really been wanting that for three or four months ever since states,' Bassett said. 'I really wanted to win (the U.S. Open). I've been visualizing it for a while and just train really hard.' Bassett qualified for the U17 World Championships in Athens, Greece. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
