A flight to Phoenix $652, a taxi ride to Torrey Pines $40, meeting Tiger Woods, priceless.

When Dennis Pilgrim, the superintendent of Tuckers Point Golf Club, was given the opportunity to work at this year's US Open he cannot possibly have imagined that he would be part of one of the greatest events ever played.

The 108th US Open will go down in history as a remarkable tournament won by a truly remarkable man, and for Pilgrim being a part of history is something he will never forget.

As a member of the groundstaff for the tournament, he was responsible for cutting the greens on holes one, four and six, and while the experience of a week of 15 hour days left him exhausted, it was the happy exhaustion that comes from achieving something important.

"It was unbelievable, an experience that I will never, ever forget," he said. "I can say that I was part of the 108th US Open, possibly the greatest US Open ever played, and that, as well as meeting Tiger Woods, is priceless.

"I got to shake Tiger Wood's hand, and I told him to come and play at Tuckers Point. I have people come up to me who want to shake the hand that shook Tiger's hand. People are telling me they are proud of me.

"I made some good friends and had a wonderful time, even though we were working 15 hour days. By the time your head hit the pillow, it was time to get up again.

"But the most amazing thing was the atmosphere and watching Tiger Woods, I'll never forget it. The atmosphere was tremendous, I was at the 17th when he chipped in on the Saturday and the roar, it sends chills down the back of you neck, and then again at the 18th when he putted out on the Sunday. The noise, I've never heard anything like it."

It's a noise that Pilgrim is desperate to hear again, and one he thinks he could be hearing at Tuckers Point in the not too distant future.

"I know that we could host a major tournament," he said.

"They don't do anything different to us, but they have to conform to USGA guidelines, and the supervisors would have meetings twice a day where they would tell us what they were pleased with, and what they weren't pleased with.

"Things like the pin placement, raking the bunkers, consistency of greens, whether to water them or not. They have a stamp to measure how fast the greens are, and all of them have to be the same.

"It was long, and tough, but I've already put my name down for next year, and asked the guys at Torrey Pines if I can go over for the Buick Invitational next year as well."