Let's go back to the 1974 U.S. Open at Winged Foot when Sandy Tatum, then chairman of the USGA's Championship Committee said, "We're not trying to embarrass the best players in the world. We're trying to identify them."
It was a mantra I was keenly aware of when I began my USGA playing experience at the 1983 Girls' Junior through my broadcast career with the governing body ending in 2014. As a player, you always knew the week would be a brutal test, contested over a great course.
The player who got the A+ on the exam held the trophy at week's end.