BROOKLINE, MA – Shocking, positively shocking:Â but delightful as well. Golfer after golfer seized the lead during some point in the third round of the 2022 U.S. Open – eight in all, including three major champions – and none of them could hold on. The country club started as a polo and racing grounds, but it played like a ferociously bucking...
BROOKLINE, MA – Buoyed by an eagle at the Country Club’s gargantuan 641-yard par-5 14th hole, defending U.S. Open champion Jon Rahm powered into contention at the 122nd U.S. Open with a second round 67 for a two-day total of 4-under. He stands one shot behind co-leaders Collin Morikawa and Joel Dahmen. Along with Rahm, North Ireland’s Rory McIlroy...
BROOKLINE, MA – Like a thoroughbred from the days when the Country Club’s golf holes were merely a horse racing oval, Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy sprinted out the gate at the 2022 U.S. Open. Bogeying only the last hole of his round, McIlroy posted a 3-under 67 early, stood atop the leaderboard with a fistful of others, and then watched and...
BROOKLINE, MA – Ordinarily Your Author despises softball questions lobbed at pro athletes like hanging curves, but once in a while those off-brand inquiries lead somewhere interesting. And today at the U.S. Open World Number 1 Scottie Scheffler was prompted into giving everyone news they could use. The question posed to Scheffler was a bit dork-a-tronic:...
BROOKLINE, MA – Back in the Dark Ages, the Holy Catholic Church faced a dilemma; a branch of the religion embraced poverty as a defining virtue, in direct opposition to the rest of the monastic orders, triggering a century long power struggle within the church. The teachings of St. Francis of Assisi were the genesis of the discord, and during the Saint’s...
We are back live in the U.S. Open media center covering all the action from The Country Club for JF.com, Golf News Net, and iHeartRadio’s Jay Flemma Sports Report. It’s a wild time to be a golf writer, what with the Saudi government funded LIV Golf Tour bumbling around like with all the grace and class of John Daly at a Hooters exhibition. It’s...
“We have lost our iconic clubhouse:” with those words the entire golf world wept. Oakland Hills Country Club president Rick Palmer confirmed what everyone feared Friday morning – a devastating fire that broke out Thursday morning completely destroyed the century-old clubhouse, which had stood sentinel over six U.S. Opens, nine major...
Though all eyes are on Louis Oosthuizen, Russell Henley and Mackenzie Hughes at the 121st U.S. Open, three former U.S. Open champions also made moves on Saturday and vaulted into contention. 2011 U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy started the day at 1-over, six shots behind Henley and co-second round leader Richard Bland, but a sparkling 67, the low round of the day at...
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...
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...