‘The standard has been set’
John Coppins is no stranger to the USGA, having worked with them in many different capacities since 2009. He’s no stranger to the Southeast, either, having grown up in Florida, so when the U.S. Women’s Open brought him down to Alabama, he wasn’t disappointed.
“Having spent five winters in the beautiful state of Pennsylvania, the opportunity to come back to the Southeast where folks have their priorities in order as it relates to pro football versus college football [was welcome],” he said during the Homewood Chamber of Commerce luncheon on May 15.
Coppins, who is serving as the championship manager for the U.S. Women’s Open, moved to Birmingham in September 2016 in order to start preparing for the event, which will host some of the best golfers in the world. While it’s the first U.S. Women’s Open to be held in Birmingham, it’s the fourth USGA championship to be held in the city in the last 10 years, Coppins said.
“There are plenty of cities — much, much, much larger than Birmingham — that cannot state that claim,” he said, thanking everything the community has done to support “the biggest championship in women’s golf.”
The U.S. Women’s Open will run May 31–June 3 at Shoal Creek and is open to any female golfer with a handicap index of 2.4 or less, professional or amateur. This year’s field has 156 competitors, one of whom is University of Alabama golfer Emma Talley.
Talley — who’s home club is Shoal Creek — qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open in early May.
“It’s not just the professional golfers, it’s golfers like Emma who’s dreams are realized as professional golfers qualifying for this championship at their home court,” Coppins said.
The course, which is billed at par 72, will cover approximately 6,700 yards. The course itself was created by Jack Nicklaus and opened in 1977, although renovations were completed about a year and a half ago. Coppins said all putting surfaces and bunkers were “drastically changed.”
Shoal Creek has hosted two previous USGA championships, too, as well as the 1984 and 1990 PGA championships.
“This golf course is no stranger to major competitions; it’s no stranger to the world’s best golfers,” Coppins said.
Coppins said they expect this event to bring about 100,000 spectators over six days, both from the Southeast and the world, and to generate about $25 million in revenue for the area. He said that Birmingham has provided record-breaking support for the event.
“Birmingham businesses and the corporate community turned out unlike anything we’ve ever seen,” he said. “The standard has been set here moving forward.” He hopes the city and community will continue to support both the event and the athletes, too.
The players and viewers at home can sense when there is a small crowd, he said, and encouraged those who are able to volunteer or attend to do so, even if there isn’t a direct team tie.
“I think that’s the last thing left, is to turn out in large crowd numbers and show these golfers that Birmingham cares about them and supports them,” Coppins said.
Fox will be broadcasting the entirety of the event with no commercials, Coppins said, so viewers could theoretically “start watching Thursday and watch the entire championships Thursday to Sunday.” To find out more about the U.S. Women’s Open or, to volunteer or to purchase tickets, visit usga.org and click on U.S. Women’s Open under the championships tab.