Shinnecock Tribe Member And World War II Veteran Lubin Hunter, 101 Years Old, Meets Tiger Woods At U.S. Open On Tuesday

One of the Shinnecock Indian Nation’s most venerable members met one of golf’s legends at the 118th U.S. Open Championship at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on Tuesday.

Tribal member Lubin Hunter, who recently celebrated his 101st birthday, was introduced to Tiger Woods after Mr. Woods’s morning practice round at the course. Mr. Woods may be the world’s most famous golfer, but Mr. Hunter has had a truly remarkable, if not world-renowned, life. He is a World War II veteran who flew B-17 bombers over England and in the South Pacific as one of the Army Air Corps’ “Fly Boys.” He grew up on the Shinnecock Indian Reservation, attending its one-room school before ultimately graduating from Southampton High School. He worked many different jobs, living in Queens for a time, before returning to his home on the Reservation, where he still lives today.

Mr. Hunter is a lifelong fan of golf, and was a founding member of the Shinnecock Golfer Association, which hosted tournaments at several clubs on the East End, including nearby Shinnecock Hills. In his younger years, he worked as a caddy at the club, for longtime pro Charlie Thom, who he recalled in an interview last year as a “rough old Scotsman.” He said Mr. Thom taught him and other friends who worked at the course as caddies how to play, and always insisted they look their best, with shoes shined and a pressed white shirt. If they didn’t comply with those rules, Mr. Hunter said, they were sent home to change their clothes. Mr. Hunter said last year, on the cusp of his 100th birthday, that he would still occasionally take out a golf club and hit a few balls well into his 90s. On Tuesday at Shinnecock, he reveled in the presence of pro golfers at the course he played and worked many decades ago, smiling while enjoying a beer in the sunshine with his family.