Knicks steal limelight, golfing paradise and Scot's $335 prize - Martin Dempster's US Open diary

New York Knicks steal sportlight spotlight

With all due respect to the US Open, the first round at Shinnecock Hills wasn’t the main sporting attraction in the New York area on Thursday morning.

That’s because a victory parade was being held in Manhattan for the New York Knicks after the basketball team landed a first NBA title in more than 50 years last weekend.

The parade took a route known as the “Canyon of Heroes” for its history as the setting of ticker-tape parades.

The Knicks were presented with the keys to the city by Mayor Zohran Mamdani but, after some overzealous celebrations last Saturday night, a total of 10,000 members of the NYPD were out on the streets.

Golfing paradise on Long Island

Shinnecock Hills has some illustrious neighbours, with this part of Long Island being similar to lots of areas in Scotland in terms of having top courses in close proximity.

Sitting right next door to it is the National Golf Links of America, where the Walker Cup was staged in 2013.

Next to that, meanwhile, is Sebonack, where the course was designed by Jack Nicklaus and Tom Doak and where the US Women’s Open was held 2013.

According to Golf Digest’s Jamie Kennedy, Shinnecock Hills, National Golf Links of America and Sebonack are all ranked in the top 50 in the US.

There’s also Southampton Golf Club, which, according to its website, “flies under the radar” and, as a private club, is perfectly happy about that.

Sleepy head Padraig Harrington

A first-round fog delay left Padraig Harrington, the oldest player in the 156-strong field, wishing he’d had a later first-round tee time.

“I just want to go back to bed,” declared the three-time major winner as he was interviewed on the range as players waited for the action to restart. “I was in seeing the physio and slept for ten minutes!”

Harrington qualified for this year’s event after winning last year’s US Senior Open and the 54-year-old was heading out with 17-year-old amateur Miles Russell.

“I’m trying to not let myself cool down too much because, at my age, I need to be up for it,” he said with a smile. “A second warm up is not ideal, but, as pros, we are used to this.”

Scot’s Shinnecock prize was $335

The US Open was a different beast when St Andrews-born James Foulis won just the second staging of the event at Shinnecock Hills in 1896.

“There were 35 entrants in the field,” recalled Mike Whan, the USGA’s CEO, in his pre-event media chat. “We played 36 holes over one day. We played a golf course that was about 4,400 yards and the purse was $335.”

Laughing, he added: “I know there are a lot of locals that wish we still played in one day!”

Foulis, son of a foreman at Old Tom Morris’s shop in St Andrews, recorded his title triumph 12 months after finishing third in the inaugural US Open at Newport in Rhode Island.