The following editorial originally appeared in The Pilot on Oct. 6, 1997.

There are a lot of reasons for people in the Sandhills to be glad that Pinehurst will host the 1999 U.S. Open Championship.

Not the least of them is the fact that proceeds from the tournament will establish a Boys and Girls Club in southern Moore County.

Pinehurst Resort & Country Club, which is staging the Open on its legendary No. 2 course, has already donated $50,000 to kick off the project. The Resort will make a much larger donation after the tournament. The new Boys and Girls Club of the Sandhills will use the money for a broad range of programs to benefit young people in need of personal, educational, vocational, emotional and spiritual guidance.

If recent history is any indication, this charitable venture will be a resounding success.

Last year, when Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club in Southern Pines hosted the U.S. Women’s Open, proceeds went to breast cancer research. Due in large part to this community’s response, the tournament broke attendance records. There is every reason to believe revenues generated by the 1999 Open will be the highest in the history of that event.

Support for the Boys and Girls Club initiative is yet another reaffirmation of Pinehurst Resort & Country Club’s long-standing commitment to corporate citizenship.

During this decade, the company has donated more than $1 million to a variety of charitable causes, and its employees have generously contributed their time and talents to the civic, cultural and educational life of Moore County.

This latest venture is in keeping with the Resort’s historical generosity of spirit.

We are proud that the U.S. Open — golf’s national championship and one of the world’s premier sporting events — will be played here. The difference the Open can help make in the lives of children is something in which we can take even more pride.