Jamie Mulligan’s normally relaxed smile brightens when he talks about Los Angeles Country Club’s North Course. “There’s a subtle pride in California golf,” he says.
Mulligan grew up playing junior events on the North Course and is considered by many the dean of L.A. golf. He’s the CEO of Virginia Country Club, which is about 20 miles from LACC; a longtime PGA Tour swing coach, whose stable of players includes world No. 4 Patrick Cantlay; and as West Coast as golf can be. Like so many others, he’s also waited a long time for this L.A. Open.
“There’s a mystique about West Coast golf because most of the golf world is east of that – it’s Texas, it’s Georgia, it’s Florida, it’s the Northeast.