Totton P. Heffelfinger, a former president of the
United States Golf Association, saw the opportunity to build a new championship golf course after
The Minikahda Club in
Minneapolis (where
Chick Evans won the 1916
U.S. Open) was threatened by the development of a
freeway. After that club rejected plans for a new course, Heffelfinger met with Robert Trent Jones to design the golf course. The course was originally named "
The Executive Golf Club" and was initially intended to be part of a series of Executive Golf Clubs around the country. However, the name was not favorable and the other clubs did not materialize. The founders decided to call the new course Hazeltine National Golf club in honor of the adjoining
Lake Hazeltine. The course opened for play to club members in 1962. Heffelfinger's ultimate
goal was to have
major championships played at Hazeltine. His wish was fulfilled when the 1966
U.S. Women's Open was played at Hazeltine;
Sandra Spuzich won with a score of 297 (nine over
par) on a course set to . Hazeltine hosted the
U.S. Open in
1970 and the course received much negative press as nearly half the field did not break 80 on the first day. The weather had been very cool and windy. After his round on Friday,
Dave Hill said that the only thing Hazeltine was missing was "80 acres of corn and a few cows."
Tony Jacklin (that year's reigning
Open Championship winner) won the tournament with a seven-under-par 281. The course played to and Hill placed second. After that, the club faced severe financial troubles. The club almost secured a deal to host a
PGA Championship, but ultimately lost the opportunity. However, the course was awarded the
U.S. Women's Open for
1977. This was the first year that
Nancy Lopez played in the championship as a
professional, and she placed second.
Hollis Stacy won the event with a four-over-par score of 292 on a course set at . Over the next few years, the course received a series of renovations. A number of dogleg holes were straightened. The par three sixteenth hole was abandoned and a new par four was laid out along Hazeltine Lake. The par four seventeenth was converted to a par three, keeping the original green site. The 1983
U.S. Senior Open was held at the redesigned course.
Billy Casper and
Rod Funseth were tied after four rounds with scores of four-over-par 288 (the course played as a par 71). After he and Funseth were still tied at the end of an 18-hole playoff, Casper made a birdie on the first hole of sudden death to win. The course played to . The course was awarded the
1991 U.S. Open in January 1986.
Rees Jones, the son of Robert Trent Jones, made more changes to the course in preparation for the U.S. Open. The U.S. Open was remembered for the dramatic duel between
Payne Stewart and
Scott Simpson, who both finished at six-under-par 282. In the 18-hole
playoff, Stewart was two strokes behind coming to the 16th hole. Then, as he had on Sunday, he rallied and won the U.S. Open for his second major championship win (and the first of his two U.S. Opens). Stewart made 57 pars during the 72 holes of regulation. The 1991 U.S. Open is also remembered because of
lightning that struck on Thursday, June 13, the first day of the championship. The day started out with bright blue skies, but a rainstorm soon came in. Spectators left the course or stood under
trees for shelter. Six spectators stood under a tree near the famous sixteenth hole when lightning struck, with one fatality. In 1994, the course hosted the
U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship, one of the major events in
amateur golf. In that competition,
Tim Jackson defeated
Tommy Brennan with a final score of one up (the Mid-Amateur final is held at
match play). The course measured at for that championship. In 2001 another amateur event, the USGA Men's State Team Championship, was held at Hazeltine. John Carlson, Jered Gusso, and John Harris comprised the Minnesota team which won that event with an even-par score of 432. The course played at . Hazeltine also hosted the 1999
NCAA Division I Men's Championship. The
Georgia Bulldogs won the team tournament with a twenty-seven-over-par score of 1179.
Northwestern Wildcats golfer
Luke Donald won the individual championship with a four-under-par score of 284. The course played to . Rees Jones lengthened
tees and added several new
bunkers in preparation for the 84th PGA Championship in
2002. The course played at as a par 72.
Rich Beem was the winner of the championship, with a score of ten-under-par 278, holding off a surging
Tiger Woods, who birdied the last four holes. The course's competitive course record was set in the 2002 PGA Championship as Beem,
Robert Allenby, and
Justin Leonard all shot 66 (six-under-par) during the second round. In 2006 the course hosted the
U.S. Amateur, which was won by
Richie Ramsay of Scotland by defeating John Kelly of USA with a score of 4 & 2. Hazeltine again played host to the PGA Championship in
2009. The tournament was won by
Y.E. Yang of
South Korea. Yang prevailed by three strokes over
Tiger Woods, who had led by two going into Sunday. Yang's victory was significant, as it was the first men's major won by a golfer born in Asia. It also marked the first (and only) time that Woods had lost a major after holding at least a share of first after 54 holes. The
2016 Ryder Cup was awarded to Hazeltine in 2002 and was scheduled for September 27 – October 2. On February 24, 2015,
Davis Love III was named captain for Team USA with
Northern Ireland's
Darren Clarke captaining Team Europe. The United States' 17–11 victory was their first victory in the event since
2008 at
Valhalla and tied the record for the biggest American margin of victory on home soil set in
1979 at
The Greenbrier, which was the first year that Great Britain and Ireland included continental Europe to create the current European team. On March 26, 2018, Hazeltine National was announced as the host of the 2029 Ryder Cup. It will be the first American venue to host a second Ryder Cup. In late June 2019, the club hosted, for the first time, the
KPMG Women's PGA Championship. This event, established in the mid-1950s, is the second-oldest of the LPGA Tour's five major championships, and is conducted by the
PGA of America. On October 10, 2023, Hazeltine National was announced as the host of the 2026 KPMG Women's PGA Championship. ==Major tournaments hosted at Hazeltine National==