1998 US Open

This artwork by Ken Reed captures a scene from the 1955 US Open as a design to wet the appetites for fans attending the 1998 U.S. Open, held at The Olympic Club in San Francisco. The composition places you right at the edge of the action. In the foreground, the legendary Ben Hogan swings from thick, lush rough—suggesting the notoriously difficult conditions of the course. Hogan had hooked his drive into the very deep rough and took three strokes to get on the fairway: he made a 25-foot (8 m) putt to save double-bogey, but Fleck’s regulation par sealed the upset by three strokes, 69 to 72. Hogan’s caddie, wearing a white uniform with a bold number on the back, stands nearby watching the shot’s outcome. The ball is barely visible, emphasizing the challenge of escaping the dense grass. A massive gallery of spectators stretches across the entire middle ground, forming a sweeping arc around the hole. Their varied clothing—light suits, hats, and casual wear—adds texture and a sense of occasion, evoking the prestige and crowd intensity typical of a major championship. On the left, a clubhouse draped with patriotic bunting overlooks the scene, reinforcing the event’s American identity. The rolling fairway and bunkers lead the eye toward the green, framed by dramatic, stylized trees and a sky filled with bold, abstract shapes in gold, blue, and gray. These colors give the piece a slightly graphic, poster-like quality rather than strict realism. Overall, Ken Reed blends detailed crowd work with simplified, almost illustrative landscapes, creating a celebratory and energetic snapshot of championship golf—highlighting both the pressure of the moment and the grandeur of the event. What is also remarkable about this artwork in the beautifully painted hand lettering, the meticulous detail of the 1998 US Open Logo and the way he has handled the spectators looking with wonder at what the outcome might be. This is more than just a poster, it’s a piece of golfing history, stylishly painted by someone who was not just an artist, but by someone who played golf himself and was also a golf historian. Contrast the 1998 US Open poster with Ken Reed’s poster for the 1998 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.