The U.S. Open returns to Pinehurst No. 2 on Thursday. Here are the last 10 U.S. Open winners, along with the winning score and the course on which the tournament was played:
2023: Wyndham Clark: 270 (-10) (Los Angeles C.C.)
2022: Matt Fitzpatrick (ENG): 274 (-6) (The Country Club, Brookline, Mass.)
2021: Jon Rahm (ESP): 278 (-6) (Torrey Pines, San Diego)
2020: Bryson DeChambeau: 274 (-6) (Winged Foot G.C., Mamaroneck, N.Y.)
2019: Gary Woodland: 271 (-13) (Pebble Beach Golf Links, Pebble Beach, Calif.)
2018: Brooks Koepka: 281 (+1) (Shinnecock Hills G.C., Shinnecock Hills, N.Y.)
2017: Brooks Koepka: 272 (-16) (Erin Hills, Erin, Wis.)
2016: Dustin Johnson: 276 (-4) (Oakmont C.C., Oakmont, Pa.)
2015: Jordan Spieth: 275 (-5) (Chambers Bay, University Place, Wash.)
2014: Martin Kaymer (GER): 271 (-9) (Pinehurst Resort, Pinehurst, N.C.)
That's a pretty good list of winners, which shows to me that the U.S.G.A. is doing a pretty good job of setting up the host courses. Here are the holes for this year's event at Pinehurst No. 2 (sadly, they don't have names):
1: 402 yards (Par 4)
2: 507 yards (Par 4)
3: 387 yards (Par 4)
4: 529 yards (Par 4)
5: 576 yards (Par 5)
6: 242 yards (Par 3)
7: 424 yards (Par 4)
8: 502 yards (Par 4)
9: 191 yards (Par 3)
OUT: 3,760 yards (Par 35)
10: 617 yards (Par 5)
11: 483 yards (Par 4)
12: 484 yards (Par 4)
13: 385 yards (Par 4)
14: 473 yards (Par 4)
15: 202 yards (Par 3)
16: 528 yards (Par 4)
17: 205 yards (Par 3)
18: 451 yards (Par 4)
IN: 3,828 yards (Par 35)
TOTAL: 7,588 yards (Par 70)
Let's hope we get some drama at this tournament.
That's a lot of long par fours. You get that pattern quite a bit at the U.S. Open, and the result is often that it feels like you're watching these guys play the same hole over and over.
ReplyDeleteJon Rahm (ESP) has withdrawn from the tournament due to a foot infection.
ReplyDeleteHere are the current Top Ten on the Official World Golf Ranking:
ReplyDelete1. Scottie Scheffler
2. Xander Schauffele
3. Rory McIlroy (NIR)
4. Wyndham Clark
5. Viktor Hovland (NOR)
6. Ludvig Aberg (SWE)
7. Collin Morikawa
8. Jon Rahm (ESP)
9. Patrick Cantlay
10. Max Homa
Justin Thomas is ranked Number 25.
ReplyDeleteJordan Spieth is ranked Number 26.
Here are the current Top Ten in the FedEx Cup Ranking:
ReplyDelete1. Scottie Scheffler
2. Xander Schauffele
3. Rory McIlroy (NIR)
4. Wyndham Clark
5. Sahith Theegala
6. Collin Morikawa
7. Byeong Hun An (KOR)
8. Ludvig Aberg (SWE)
9. Hideki Matsuyama (JPN)
10. Shane Lowry (IRL)
On this list, Justin Thomas is 14, and Jordan Spieth is 53.
DeleteJustin Thomas is plus-2 over his first seven holes, so he might already be in a scramble to make tomorrow's cut. Phil Mickelson absolutely is--he's plus-5 through six.
DeleteHere are future sites for the National Open. Apparently they have decided to move away from the experiments that they tried in the 2020's:
ReplyDelete2025: Oakmont C.C., Oakmont, Pa.
2026: Shinnecock Hills G.C., Southampton, N.Y.
2027: Pebble Beach Golf Links, Pebble Beach, Calif.
2028: Winged Foot G.C., Mamaroneck, N.Y.
2029: Pinehurst Resort & C.C. (Course No. 2), Pinehurst, N.C.
2030: Merion G.C., Ardmore, Pa.
2031: Riviera C.C., Pacific Palisades, Calif.
2032: Pebble Beach Golf Links, Pebble Beach, Calif.
2033: Oakmont C.C., Oakmont, Pa.
2034: Oakland Hills C.C. (South Course), Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
2035: Pinehurst Resort & C.C. (Course No. 2), Pinehurst, N.C.
2036: Shinnecock Hills G.C., Southampton, N.Y.
2037: Pebble Beach Golf Links, Pebble Beach, Calif.
2038: The Country Club, Brookline, Mass.
2039: The Los Angeles C.C. (North Course)
2040: Merion G.C., Ardmore, Pa.
2041: Pinehurst Resort & C.C. (Course No. 2), Pinehurst, N.C.
2042: Oakmont C.C., Oakmont, Pa.
In 2042 I will be 76 years old, so that list is pretty definitive from my perspective. I think it's interesting that the U.S.G.A. has decided to imitate the British Open and move closer to a standard rota of courses. These are mostly great courses, but it's a shame that the Midwest will only host the National Open one time in the next 18 years. There are a lot of great courses in the Midwest.
There is a much shorter list of future sites for the PGA Championship. Here's what they have:
ReplyDelete2025: Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte, N.C.
2026: Aronimink G.C., Newtown Square, Pa.
2027: PGA Frisco, Frisco, Tex.
2028: The Olympic Club (Lake Course), San Francisco, Calif.
2029: Baltusrol G.C. (Lower Course), Springfield, N.J.
2030: Congressional C.C., Bethesda, Md.
2031: The Ocean Course, Kiawah Island, S.C.
I generally approve this list -- I'm pleased that the National Open isn't going back to The Olympic Club or Baltusrol, but I really think Congressional should have been given another chance to host the Open. On the other hand, Congressional deserves another major, so I'm glad it's getting a PGA.
What's really interesting here is that there has been a tremendous number of new courses built in recent years, and some of those courses are very highly regarded, and yet we aren't going to see any of them (except for PGA Frisco) hosting a major.
ReplyDeleteAlso notice that this year's trip to Louisville is the closest that the PGA will come to the Midwest for a long time.
ReplyDeleteHere are future venues for the Ryder Cup:
ReplyDelete2025: Bethpage Black, Farmingdale, N.Y.
2027: Adare Manor and Golf Resort, Limerick, IRELAND
2029: Hazeltine National G.C., Chaska, Minn.
2031: (To be determined)
2033: The Olympic Club (Lake Course), San Francisco, Calif.
2035: (To be determined)
2037: Congressional C.C., Bethesda, Md.
I will be 71 years old in 2037. Goals!
It's important to set goals. One of mine was to get to see the Paris Olympics next month, so I'm getting pretty excited about that one.
DeleteI'm feeling better about the U.S.G.A.'s plan to concentrate the U.S. Open at a smaller group of clubs. I went back through the list of courses they've played on in the past, and the only one that I really miss is Cherry Hills, and I think that course is now too short to host an Open. The courses they have picked are probably the best courses available.
ReplyDeleteI thought Torrey Pines was a good host, but we get to see it in other contexts, and I'm fine with using Riviera instead. I think the experiments with new courses like Erin Hills and Chambers Bay really didn't work. I think Congressional should get another chance, but I'll get to see the PGA and Ryder Cup there. The other courses weren't that interesting for spectators.
ReplyDeleteI also liked Whistling Straits, which hosted the PGA on several occasions, but the last time they went there the winning score was 20 under par, so I imagine that sank their chances of getting another major anytime soon. I'm afraid Valhalla may go the same way.
ReplyDeleteThe U.S. Open is currently being led by Matthieu Pavon, a Frenchman who won the 2024 Farmers' Insurance Open. According to Wikipedia, that's the only win by a Frenchman on the PGA Tour since 1907. Pavon is 4 under through 12.
ReplyDeleteAs Eric has already noted, Justin Thomas (7 over through 14) and Phil Mickelson (9 over through 13) are already out of it. Webb Simpson (3 over through 12) and Dustin Johnson (5 over through 13) aren't far behind. So far, Tiger is 3 over through 14.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, Sergio Garcia (ESP) and Brooks Koepka are each 1 under through 15. Patrick Cantlay is 3 under through 14, while Ludvig Aberg (SWE) is 3 under through 13.
ReplyDeleteTo me, Patrick Cantlay feels like exactly the sort of golfer who could win this tournament. He's got eight wins on tour, he's always hanging around in big tournaments, and guys like that win a lot of U.S. Opens.
ReplyDeleteAberg, who is only 24 years old, is now 4 under through 13 and tied for the lead. Tony Finau is 2 under through 14, and Finau is another guy (like Webb Simpson or Wyndham Clark) who could win the U.S. Open.
ReplyDeleteCantlay picks up another birdie, and now we have a three-way tie for the lead:
ReplyDeleteT1. P. Cantlay: --4 (15 holes)
T1. L. Aberg (SWE): -4 (14)
T1. M. Pavon (FRA): -4 (13)
Koepka bogeys the 16th hole and falls back to even par.
ReplyDeleteTo me, Pinehurst No. 2 is basically what it would look like if you went to Augusta National, and replaced all the water and flowers with sand.
ReplyDeleteAberg takes a bogey, and falls back to 3 under through 15.
ReplyDeleteCollin Morikawa holes a long birdie putt on 18. He birdied the last two holes, and he is in the clubhouse with a score of even-par 70.
ReplyDeleteKoepka also shoots an even-par 70.
ReplyDeleteTiger shoots 36+38=74, and he is 4 over after the first round. Justin Thomas shoots 38+39=77, and he is 7 over.
ReplyDeleteCantlay picks up another birdie, and he is now 5 under through 17.
ReplyDeletePavon takes a bogey to fall back to 3 under through 16, and Cantlay has a two-shot lead on the field.
ReplyDeleteCantlay shoots a 65. He started on the back nine, which he played in 34, and then played the front nine in a blistering 31 shots. He is 5 under par, and he leads the field by two shots.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Wikipedia, Cantlay was born in Long Beach, California, and now lives in Jupiter, Florida. That's about a 2,700-mile/40-hour drive, according to Google Maps, and I wonder if 32-year-old "Patty Ice" has ever driven it.
DeleteSergio shoots a 69, and is one-under par after his first round.
ReplyDeleteAberg finishes with a birdie and posts a 4-under par 66. I have to say that a final-day battle between Cantlay and Aberg seems like a very likely outcome for a U.S. Open.
ReplyDeleteFinau bogeys his last hole and finishes with a 2-under par 68.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, Rory McIlroy (NIR), Scottie Scheffler, and Xander Schauffele have just teed off on the first hole.
ReplyDeleteBrian Harman tees off, and NBC (well, the USA Network) puts up a graphic describing him as the 2023 Champion Golfer of the Year. Well, of course that just means that he won the British Open last year. He may be the Champion Golfer of the Year in Britain, but over here he's just the defending British Open champion.
ReplyDeletePavon wraps up his 3-under par 67, and now the leaderboard looks like this:
ReplyDelete1. P. Cantlay: -5 (18 holes)
2. L. Aberg (SWE): -4 (18)
3. M. Pavon (FRA): -3 (18)
T4. T. Finau: -2 (18)
T4. W. Mack III: -2 (14)
T4. G. Sigg: -2 (3)
So now we see if any of the folks teeing off in the afternoon can match those scores.
ReplyDeleteMickelson shot a 79. Thomas shot a 77. Dustin Johnson matched Tiger's 74. Matthew Fitzpatrick, who doesn't get to play another Open at The Country Club until 2038, shot a 73. Rickie Fowler shot a 71.
ReplyDeleteOK, so here's how this course works. The holes are mostly very long, and if you miss the fairway you go into some sort of sand/high grass combination that should lead to a bogey. If you are in the fairway, then you want to put your ball in the middle of the green -- if you aim for the pin you are likely to go spinning off down the nearest hill, and then you're left with a very difficult chip shot. And then, if you're on the green, you putt for birdie -- but you putt carefully, because the greens are extremely fast. So, as usual, this Open will reward straight hitters who can really putt, and will probably punish anyone who plays aggressively. (See Mickelson's score above.)
ReplyDeleteTiger was just quotes as saying that "Being aggressive to a conservative line is I think how you need to play this particular golf course," and that's pretty much what I was trying to say in my last comment.
ReplyDeleteThere are only a few golfers still out on the course who teed off in the morning, and it seems clear that Cantlay, Aberg, Pavon, and Finau will be the only ones to beat 1 under par.
ReplyDeleteI know that having sand everywhere is supposed to make this course look more authentic, but it is ugly.
ReplyDeleteMcIlroy chips in from off the green on 5 and moves to 2 under par. He hasn't won a major since 2014, in large part because he often gets off to bad starts. If he gets off to a good start, he could be very tough to beat.
ReplyDeleteWikipedia says McIlroy hails from Holywood, County Down, Northern Ireland, and, like Cantlay, now lives in Jupiter, Florida. I feel pretty confident that 35-year-old "Rors"/"Wee-Mac" hasn't driven it.
DeleteI have to say that this looks like a pretty strong leaderboard so far:
ReplyDelete1. P. Cantlay: -5 (18 holes)
2. L. Aberg (SWE): -4 (18)
T3. M. Pavon (FRA): -3 (18)
T3. R. McIlroy (NIR): -3 (11)
T5. T. Finau: -2 (18)
T5. B. DeChambeau: -2 (11)
T5. Mr. G. Sargent (am): -2 (9)
Mr. Gordon Sargent (born May 27, 2003), grew up in Mountain Brook, Alabama and plays for Vanderbilt University.
ReplyDeleteSchauffele is even through 12. Scheffler is 1 over through 12. Spieth is even through 10.
ReplyDelete