SOUTHAMPTON, NY – Six stroke lead or not, Championship Sunday at Shinnecock Hills will be a five-hour golf round as difficult as a doctoral dissertation for Wyndham Clark as well as the rest of the field chasing him at the 126th U.S. Open. Should he falter – and that’s just one bad swing and one bad decision – eight players are at even par or better.
On Championship Sunday, all 18 holes are crunch time. You don’t have to play perfectly all day. You have to play great in the clutch. Here are the clutch moments to watch for
Hole 1 – Westward Ho, Par-4, 396 yards, 14th hardest
As Ian Fleming wrote in Goldfinger, “It’s never too early to start inwng and it’s always too early to start losing.” The first hole is attackable and a birdie op under right circumstances. The fairway that appears inviting, but the landing area narrows significantly the further a drive travels, quintessential risk-reward.
Those chasing have no choice but to take the daredevil’s line, whether or not the wind is helping. The risk, however, is substantial. Deep bunkers guard both sides and a severe fall-off beyond the green leaves difficult recovery shots. And don’t double-cross one into the rough or the media tent. It’s arguably the best birdie op of the day, other than the par-5 fifth. You’ll need the driver working all day, so start well, by cutting the corner and lasering a wedge.
Hole 2 – Plateau, Par-3, 252 yards, 2nd hardest.
We’ve spoken at length this week about the outrageous difficulty of Shinnecock’s par-3s. At the halfway point of the tournament, they were ranked the first, second, third, and sixth hardest holes on the golf course.
ANY par-3s in the top three of a golf course in difficulty is almost unheard of but 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 6th??!! That’s a complete statistical outlier.
Once again Shinnecock Hills stands alone in the world of golf.
Once again, it’s a win for Golden Age Golf Architectural principles.
Of the four par-3s the second is both the longest and the hardest, playing to 3.33 strokes for the week. That means for every three pars, there’s a bogey. And birdies? Good luck. Anyone who cards a birdie here gains at least a stroke and a half on the field. It’s likely more than one contender will give back the birdie they just gained at the first. But that’s both Shinnecock and the U.S. Open. Often the winner is he who percolates down the leaderboard the least.
Hole 5 – Montauk, Par-5, 592 yards, Easiest Hole
Five has proved fascinating, as about half the field try to spin a wedge from a comfortable distance rather than bomb away and hold a severely-sloped, uphill green with a fairway metal. There have been five eagles carded in the first three rounds on this hole. The rest of the golf course has surrendered just two more, for a total of 11 thus far for the week. Playing to just 4.6, it’s the only hole at Shinnecock playing under par for the week.
Hole 10 – (Eastward Ho), Par-4, 415 yards, 3rd Hardest
Another of Shinnecock’s and golf architect William Flynn’s strategic marvels, brought back to like by Coore and Crenshaw. Moreover, the dunes get higher on the second nine, and the pressure ratchets up a notch as this is the last sprint to the finish.
Like the first, a diagonal attack off the tee is played over a ridge to a blind landing area. The approach left is a short iron or even a wedge, but a treacherous false front rejects any shot that comes up short almost fifty yards back down the fairway, while misses long can roll well beyond the back edge into a large closely mown collection area. Birdies are available, but missing the green leaves dicey pitches from awkward lies and angles. The green flat-out repels poorly executed shots. As one writer opined, ten is, “totally capable of producing bogeys from seemingly routine positions.”
Originally the first hole in Flynn’s 1931 design, the club flipped the nines to speed up play shortly after that iteration of the course debuted.
Hole 14 – (Thorn’s Elbow), Par-4, 520 yards, 7th hardest
One of the longest and sternest strongest par 4s on the course, though the elevated tee allows for a beautiful expansive view across the property, positioning remains crucial as the fairway naturally tilts from right to left. The challenge lies in the left side being the preferred angle for the approach; thread a needle. The second shot plays uphill towards an cunningly contoured green with a pronounced run-off behind. Holding the green with a long iron or wood is crucial.
Hole 16 – (Shinnecock) Par-5, 620 yards, 4th Easiest
Usually playing into the prevailing wind, this is par-5 is nonetheless rarely an easy or straightforward birdie. Reaching the green in two requires both length and precision, while the winding fairway forces players to think carefully about positioning on any shot and any strategy. Most golfers will lay up short of the final fairway bunker, leaving a full wedge approach. Those who choose to attack must contend with a narrow green protected by bunkers and severe contours.
Hole 18 – (Home), Par-4, 490 yards, 9th hardest.
One of the finest finishing holes in championship golf, the tee shot plays towards the iconic Stanford White clubhouse, with a partially blind landing area and a prevailing breeze that typically pushes drives from right to left. The ideal line hugs the right side of the fairway, opening up the best angle into the green.
The approach is no easier. Players often see only part of the flagstick from the fairway, while the green itself slopes significantly from back to front. With championship pressure at its peak, finding the correct level of the green.
Off the tee Shinnecock is the widest it’s been in 50-75 years. So today, the driver, wedge, and putter will be the three crucial clubs. Those are the three clubs today that will win the U.S. Open.
