McCormick, a 12-year Golf Course Superintendent Association of America member, has spent ten years working at Oakmont. In preparation for the US Open, the Oakmont grounds team worked alongside USGA Senior Director of Championship Agronomy Darin Bevard to get the storied 7,372-yard, par-70 layout ready for its record 10th US Open.
Established in 2022, the E.J. Marshall Platter honors quality in golf course management, recognizing superintendents who demonstrate their expertise and maintain a seamless relationship with the USGA in preparing a course for a national championship. The distinction also extends a salute to the entire maintenance team, made up of staff and volunteers, for their essential work.
“There are a lot of curveballs that come along at a US Open, including this year when the Pittsburgh area saw one of its rainiest springs ever, but Mike and his team have managed to handle everything with a great attitude,” said Bevard. “As soon as we arrived on-site to begin preparations for the 2025 championship, we knew that Oakmont would be more than ready to test the greatest golfers in the world.”
A Sudbury, Mass. native, McCormick oversaw a 2023 renovation of Oakmont, which included over 24,000 sq. ft. of green expansions, 330,000 sq. ft. of bunker renovations and two acres of fairway expansion. His regular maintenance team of over 30 team members welcomed more than 190 on-site volunteers during US Open week. Designed by Henry Fownes in 1903, Oakmont features perennial Poa annua greens and collars. The approaches, tees, and fairways are a mix of Poa and bentgrass, and the rough is an amalgamation of Kentucky bluegrass, ryegrass, and Poa.
After graduating from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, McCormick got his start in golf course maintenance as an intern at Oakmont for the 2010 US Women’s Open and worked the 2016 US Open as an assistant. McCormick then left to become superintendent at The Apawamis Club in Rye, N.Y., before returning to Oakmont in 2022 to take on his current role.
E.J. Marshall was the chair of the green committee at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, in 1920. He went to the USGA and the Department of Agriculture for assistance at Inverness while preparing its course for the US Open. As a result, the USGA formed the Green Section to conduct agronomic research and offer golf course maintenance expertise to facilities.
