For Alex Habjan, the U.S. Open Tees Up a Lifetime of Memories

Alex Habjan traveled thousands of miles throughout the United States and abroad over the past five years to attend some of the most glamorous events in professional golf. With VIP access that allowed him to watch from inside the ropes, Habjan rubbed elbows with some of the game’s greatest players.

Habjan is a human resources generalist supporting Carnegie Mellon’s College of Fine Arts. He started at CMU five years ago as a fixed-term employee, then progressed to roles as an HR coordinator for the Student Worker Services team and a senior HR coordinator before becoming an HR generalist in January 2024. He now assists CFA employees with Workday inquiries, enters department transactions into Workday and is a general problem- and question-solver.

“It’s a very detail-oriented position, sort of a Workday expert,” Habjan said. 

Habjan got his up-close exposure to golf through his father, Ed Habjan, a respected local club pro who spent four years on the PGA of America board of directors before passing away unexpectedly in October 2024. In his role, Ed Habjan represented the board at PGA events and tournaments around the world — and often brought his family along.

“It was an amazing experience,” Habjan said. “Now that my dad's not here, I’m thankful to have all those memories.”

Habjan’s father grew up in Penn HIlls, a short distance from Oakmont Country Club — the site of this year’s 125th U.S. Open — and went on to become an award-winning member of the Tri-State PGA Section. He was the head club professional at Green Oaks Country Club in Verona for 21 years. 

“Everybody always said to me, ‘Your dad’s a golf pro, so why don’t you play golf?’” said Habjan, who was a part of swimming and soccer teams as a kid. “I’d tell them I didn’t have the patience for it.”

Although playing golf never clicked for Habjan, he still grew to appreciate the sport because it meant so much to his father.

“It was my dad’s career, a huge part of his life,” Habjan said. “So for our family, golf has always been a big part of our lives too.” 

That’s how Habjan found himself on the greens during the 2021 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin; the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma; the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in Pittsford, New York; and the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome, Italy.

The 2021 Ryder Cup was Habjan’s first in-person major tournament. When his dad handed him a ropes pass, Habjan didn’t know what it was. “Dad told me, ‘You can literally walk inside the ropes, and you can follow whoever you want,’” Habjan said. 

Habjan put on his lanyard and ambled over to the first tee. The group included Justin Thomas, who six months earlier had won the Players Championship. Standing just a few feet away, Habjan watched Thomas get the competition underway with a mighty swing.

“It was amazing. It’s completely different when you see it in person than when you watch it on TV,” Habjan said. “There’s so much behind-the-scenes stuff. You can hear the golfer talking to his caddy and see him searching through his bag. When everyone is walking down the fairway, you see the grounds crew raking and fixing things up.”

At the 2022 PGA Championship, Habjan followed Tiger Woods, who was playing in his first major after sustaining severe leg injuries in a car wreck 15 months earlier. 

“Watching him walk, you could tell he was in pain,” Habjan said. “It was such a big, memorable moment, so to be there kind of with him, walking alongside him inside the ropes, was an incredible experience.”

For the 2023 Ryder Cup, Habjan made a 9,000-mile round trip to Rome with his parents and his sister, Nicole. After the tournament, the family lingered in Europe for an extended vacation. “We’d never have gone to Italy if not for the Ryder Cup,” Habjan said. “It was the last big thing my dad did before he passed away.”

Habjan isn’t attending the U.S. Open at Oakmont this weekend, but he plans to watch it on television. His vantage for viewing golf tournaments is different now, but Habjan always smiles as he reflects on how the sport formed a bond between father and son.