USGA hopes for ultimate golf test
edges, that’s where the excitement is. So I would say the USGA is not reactionary. It’s counterbalancing. So if you go too far one way, you’ve got to come back the other way. You don’t want to fall off the edge.”
That’s the question as the 118th U.S. Open starts Thursday.
Might the USGA lean toward going easy on players because of what happened the last time at Shinnecock Hills? Or will it make it tougher on them because of the record scoring last year at Erin Hills? Brooks Koepka tied the record to par at 16 under, and six others finished at 10 under or lower.
“We’re confident this should be a marvelous test,” said Mike Davis, the chief executive of the USGA who has been setting up the courses for the U.S. Open since 2006 at Winged Foot, when the winnerwas 5 over.
Davis believes Shinnecock Hills is right where the USGA wants it, even with a light, steady rain on the final day of practice. Wednesday is never the measure of how a golf coursepresents itself.
McIlroy is among those who likes what he sees. But it’s not a U.S. Open if players are not complaining, and it’s been a quiet three days ahead of competition. The biggest question is whether the fairwaysare narrow enough.
They are tighter than last year at Erin Hills, for sure.
“Honestly, I think they’ve got it right,” McIlroy said. “It presents guys with options off the tee. You have to make a decision basically on every tee box what you’re going to do. I’m obviously not that old, but when I watched U.S. Opens on TV and saw these long, narrow corridors of fairways and thick rough, that’s what I was used to at a U.S. Open. ... If you look at the venues that are coming up, they’re very traditional venues like Oakmont, Winged Foot, Pebble Beach.
“Maybe you’ll see more of what we perceive as a traditional U.S. Open setup.”
Rain was expected to yield to plenty of sun over the next four days, with the strongest wind on Thursday. Davis said he already has called several audibles on the original plan of where to put the pins on the greens, an example of the USGA not wanting the course to get onthe wild side.
Davis also said the winning score is not an issue at a major where par tendsto be at a premium.
“Never since I’ve been at the USGA — and it’s been almost 30 years — I’ve never heard anybody at the USGA say we’re shooting for even par,” Davis said. “But we talk incessantly, ‘ How do we get the course to be really a great test of golf?’ As we say, get all 14 clubs dirty to make sure that these players are tested to the nth degree.”
This U.S. Open doen’t lack for storylines. Five players have a chance to replace Dustin Johnson at No. 1 this week. Tiger Woods is hitting the ball well enough to win if he ever gets all parts of his game working together. To win a record-tying fourth U.S. Open would cap off an unlikely comeback after four back surgeries. Phil Mickelson, in the USGA record book with his six runner-up finishes, needs only this trophy to complete the career GrandSlam.