Interlachen plans future in post-Open glow

With good weather, everything used to stage last week's 63rd U.S. Women's Open will be cleared from Edina's Interlachen Country Club by Aug. 2.

Then what?

Will the course that has played host to five U.S. Golf Association championships and one Solheim Cup in the past 78 years get in line for another major event?

The immediate answer is that Interlachen's membership needs to take a breath and focus on next year's 100th anniversary. The long-term answer is the storied club probably hasn't taken its last bow on the international stage.

"I think golf is such a worldwide thing, and the members at Interlachen want to keep the name of the club out in the golf world, and this is the way to do it," said George Carroll, the general manager at Interlachen. "We enjoyed the Walker Cup [in 1993], the Solheim Cup [in 2002], and this championship this week has gone very well. Extremely well."

Interlachen's executive board won't rush to get in line for another major event.

"I think the membership is going to want to evaluate this one, see what the return on the investment was and how the golf course comes back before moving forward," said Dave Mona, an Interlachen member and general co-chairman of this year's U.S. Women's Open. "Right now, there aren't any plans in motion."

The course was awarded this year's U.S. Women's Open seven years ago. The past five years have included a steady stream of meetings and planning.

More than 3,200 volunteers were recruited. And the efforts to coordinate those volunteers, local officials, the club itself and the USGA were immense.

"It went really smoothly," said Mona, who oversaw the volunteers, each of whom actually paid $100 to work.

Irv Fish, a member of the USGA's executive committee and a Wayzata resident, said he wouldn't be surprised if Interlachen eventually ends up playing host to another major event.

"Minnesotans absolutely embrace and flock to major championships in golf," Fish said. "And, obviously, Interlachen is a terrific golf course that was able to handle a large amount of fans."

The total attendance for last week was 113,884, including a record 10,835 juniors 17 and under. They were admitted free with a paying adult.

Interlachen doesn't have enough length or space to play host to a men's U.S. Open, but there is talk among the members of trying to hold a U.S. Senior Open. The club previously has played host to the 1930 U.S. Open, the 1935 U.S. Women's Amateur, the 1986 U.S. Senior Amateur and the 1993 Walker Cup.

Carroll said the Curtis Cup -- a women's amateur event -- is a possibility.

Another possibility, which Interlachen has not discussed up to this point, is the LPGA Championship. The LPGA will take ownership of the major beginning in 2010. The tournament will be played again at Bulle Rock Golf Club in Havre de Grace, Md., in 2009, but could be moved to another permanent location or to different courses on a year-to-year basis starting in 2010.

Here is a look at some of the other events Interlachen could play host to, and the earliest available year:

• U.S. Women's Amateur (2011).

• Walker Cup (2011).

• U.S. Amateur (2012).

• Solheim Cup (2013).

• U.S. Senior Open (2013).

• Curtis Cup (2014).

"Who knows?" Carroll said. "Six or seven years from now, we'll probably be thinking of hosting one of the major events."

Of course, Minnesotans won't have to wait that long. The 2009 PGA Championship at Hazeltine National in Chaska is a mere 14 months away.