Shorter par-4 15th hole teases the field
Players take the bait at birdie opportunity
OF ERIN – Michael Hurdzan, one of three architects who designed Erin Hills, knew what would happen when the 15th hole played as a drivable par 4 in the U.S. Open.
“Most guys are going to go for it,” he said. “It’s just too easy of a plum.”
The United States Golf Association moved golfers to the front tee on No. 15 in the third round Saturday. The hole measured 288 yards, after playing at 368 in the first round and 348 in the second.
Hurdzan was right. The green, perched on a hill, was a tantalizing target. The flagstick was located in the backleft portion of the green, with a backstop helping to kick balls back toward the hole.
“You can make an eagle there with that pin,” said Louis Oosthuizen.
In fact, three players did record eagles and Kevin Na came close to making a holein-one. There were 31 birdies – one more than the 30 pars – and No. 15 played easiest in relation to par. The field averaged 3.515 after averaging 4.135 in Round 1 and 4.039 in Round 2.
But the contours on the green and the severe pitch of the slope to the right of it, plus a couple of nasty bunkers, exacted a toll, too. The fans sitting in the grandstand behind the green were treated to a litTOWN tle bit of everything.
Take, for example, playing partners Kevin Kisner and Branden Grace. Both hit the green with their tee shots, but their balls rolled toward the back, trickled down a slope and wound up some 40 yards from the flag.
Grace’s ball stopped in the collection area but Kisner’s rolled a few more feet, into thick rough. Playing first, Kisner hit a pitch that didn’t quite crest a ridge in the green. His ball took a left turn, rolled slowly across the putting surface – serenaded by groans from the gallery – and down the slope and his next shot was another 40-yarder. He made a bogey.
Grace, with the benefit of hitting off a perfect lie instead of out of the rough, hit a nice pitch that spun to a stop 7 feet above the hole. Though he missed his birdie putt, the contrast between his shot and Kisner’s was extreme.
Not everybody went for the green off the tee.
“I had it in my head that I was just going to hit 6-iron and a sand wedge if they played that up tee,” said Steve Stricker. “I didn’t want to bring in any trouble and just tried to make my birdie that way.”
He executed his plan and made an 11-footer for birdie.
Na’s tee shot finished 5 feet behind the hole, earning a loud ovation from the gallery. His playing partner, Brandon Stone of South Africa, missed the green to the right but hit an excellent pitch to 2 feet. Both made their putts, Na’s for eagle and Stone’s for birdie.
Justin Thomas, at 11-under going into the final round Sunday, also hit the green with his tee shot, a “cut 3-wood.” He had visions of making the 6foot eagle putt and then finishing with three birdies for a 62.
He missed the putt, but tapped in for birdie, then birdied No. 17 and eagled No. 18 for a 63, which tied the record for a major championship.