At a U.S. Open where PGA Tour uber-stars and wily veterans were expected to have an advantage a puzzling stranger and a promising young gun hold the lead after 36 holes at 5-under. England’s Richard Bland, obscure even in his own country, fired a dazzling 67, balancing seven birdies against three bogeys, while American Russell Henley, the first round co-leader...
Two-time U.S. Open Champion Brooka Koepka started hot early, but then came back to the field late, surrendering an early lead as the first round of the 121st U.S. Open golf championship got underway. Koepka finished tied for third with a 2-under 69 after opening with four birdies in his first 11 holes at Torrey Pines’ South Course. As we go to press, Koepka...
Phil Mickelson picked out a few on the front nine and golf architect Rees Jones focused on 11-13, but perhaps the best aspect of Torrey Pines’ South is its wondrous variety. A mix of short holes and long holes, together with movable teeing grounds and hazards more closely menacing fairways and greens, Torrey Pines should generate wild swings on the leaderboard...
As one of my mentors once wrote, “If you’re gonna write about the U.S. Open, you have to be well-versed in the lore of Francis Ouimet’s knickers.” He was right. It’s important to have sense of history watching this, the 121st edition of America’s national championship of golf. So pay attention. There won’t be a quiz, but the...
LA JOLLA, CA – There’s an old adage that should hold true for every United States Open Championship: the golf course is the star. Oakmont, Winged Foot, Olympic Club, Pinehurst…these are names from the oldest Golden Ages of the game. They materialize out of the mysts of history like a dream, enchant us with their beguiling mystery, and then vanish...
LA JOLLA, CA – Just like his father before him, they called him the Open Doctor, and he took up his father’s mantle and carried it with the same success and grace. Rees Jones has been prepping major championship venues for decades all across America. Now we return to one of his most celebrated success stories, Torrey Pines South Course, site of a regular...
What makes a truly great 18th hole? Easy: It must be a summation of all that came before. The most iconic courses in the world finish with the grandest of flourishes. Some prefer the grandeur of a majestic, sweeping par-5 so the golfer has a chance to close with a birdie. Others prefer 18 to be the hardest par-4 on the course, demanding your best drive and best...
It’s its 97-year history, and over the course of six U.S. Opens, this is the only time you can’t say “Winged Foot won this Open.” 27-year old Bryson DeChambeau claimed the 120th U.S. Open with a closing 67 and total of 6-under, breezing past third round leader Matthew Wolff, who finished second, a distant six shots back at even par. South...
Tiger Woods was among seven former U.S. Open champions to miss the cut at the 2020 U.S. Open. In clear but windy conditions at Winged Foot Golf Club’s West course, Woods followed Thursday’s milquetoast 73 with a ghastly 77, 10-over par, four shots over the cut line and 14 back of leader Patrick Reed. It’s the third missed cut in the last four U.S...
On a cool, windy day, Winged Foot turned the tables on the 2020 U.S. Open field, playing almost three strokes harder than Thursday’s opening round that saw record red numbers for a U.S. Open played over the fabled West course. Only three players broke par on Friday, and just seven more shot even par 70, including leader Patrick Reed, who finished at 4-under at...
On a day when a soft Winged Foot surrendered its lowest scores ever in a U.S. Open, Tiger Woods let his round slip away late, culminating with a ghastly double bogey at 18. As we go to press, Woods’s 3-over 73 has him in a tie for 70th, eight strokes behind leader Justin Thomas. Woods’s mercurial round included five birdies, but also six bogeys and the...
The recent news that the USGA has selected Pinehurst No. 2 as its first anchor site for future U.S. Opens and a new museum was met with widespread joy and acclaim. “In an effort to expand its impact in golf and extend its mission to champion and advance the game, the USGA will establish “Golf House Pinehurst” in North Carolina, to include a new...
This week mighty, venerable Winged Foot Golf Club hosts its sixth U.S. Open, 13th USGA event, and seventh major championship, (it hosted the 1997 PGA). The par-70 layout will play to a bloated 7,477 yards; seven of the twelve par-4s are 467 yards or longer. It also features 4-1/2 to 7-1/2 inch rough, and green speeds around 13 on the stimpometer. In other words, the...
For everyone who relishes U.S. Open week for its sheer bloodthirstiness, welcome to Winged Foot West. It just became your new favorite course. Like will-o-the-wisps feeding off the agonizing cries of their dying victims, everyman golfers will spend this week, pointing at the pros and laughing. Chunks, chili dips, fluffs, fliers, skulls, and walks of shame...
—Of cruel and mighty Winged Foot now to you I sadly sing And all the lost and broken men who felt her deadly sting Who wander now as shadows in her darkness ever more To roam her haunted passageways forsaken and forlorn But chief among the cursed souls that in that valley dwell A phantasm malevolent, most terrible and fell The Ghost of U.S. Opens Past is her...