Miller doubting Thomas record

NO SOONER had Justin Thomas created US Open history on Saturday with the first round of nine under par than the man he surpassed was voicing the thoughts of many in wondering whether the score should effectively be followed by an asterisk. This was a US Open like no other in terms of low scoring and Johnny Miller was quick to express his disquiet. Thomas’s 63 came 44 years to the day after Miller shot the first such score in a major to win at Oakmont, which has a par of 71. ‘A 63 for a par 72 is a heck of a score, and particularly with US Open pressure,’ said Miller, before adding: ‘Even if the course was set up like it was the Milwaukee Open.’ One remarkable statistic underlined the fact. In 116 previous editions of the tournament from 1895 to 2016, only six players had reached double digits under par. On Saturday night, there were five more. ‘Take nothing away from Justin’s score,’ said Miller, before doing just that. ‘But it isn’t a US Open course I’m familiar with, the way it was set up. I’m not sure what happened to the 24-29 yard fairways we always played. It’s interesting to see where the USGA has gone with this.’ After being pelted with criticism — rightly, it should be said — for their foul-ups the previous two years, where the USGA went was to be uber-friendly in a bid to get the players back on side. You think that fescue rough is a bit too penal, boys? Why don’t we cut it all back on the eve of the event to make the 50-yard wide fairways even wider? To be fair, the USGA did not have the weather gods on their side either. Every time the course looked like it was drying out there would be another evening storm. The other point is whether the history books get tarnished if fabled records are broken when the event is staged on a new course in the middle of nowhere. ‘Call me old fashioned, but I prefer to see the US Open on traditional courses like Winged Foot and Oakmont,’ said Jack Nicklaus, adding his considerable weight to the debate. Personally, I’m no great fan of Erin Hills, but I enjoyed this US Open a lot more than some of the bore-fests we have seen. Far better the USGA succumb to the players and mother nature and allow low scores than trick up traditional venues like they did with the Olympic Club in 2012, or Shinnecock Hills in 2004. In any event, it is not an experiment the USGA will be repeating anytime soon. The venues for the next decade are all set in stone and they are all storied sites that will meet with Nicklaus’s approval.