So far LA's course doesnt' seem to be holding up too well.
(2) 62's and the late day players are making some hay as well.......
(2) 62's and the late day players are making some hay as well.......
2023 U.S. Open Golf thread.....
- Thread starter GregInPitt
- Start date
Does not feel at all like a US Open with all the 2-putt and tap-in birdies (and sheer number of birdies overall). Will be interesting to see how they set the course up tomorrow.
Did you notice all of the advertising NBC is doing for B1G Saturday Night Football? That's Beaver Stadium they're showing at end with fireworks going off.
The commentators were talking about Scheffler putting pretty average on Thursday and yet he shot a 67. I hope that the hard asses at the US Open do not dramatically change the course.....let them dry out a little bit, but keep it playable.
Funniest story that I had heard about the LACC was that Hugh Hefner was not allowed to join. His Playboy Mansion is adjacent to the LACC and so when he got black balled he built a private zoo with animals and you can smell and hear the monkeys from the 13th and 14th tee. The new owner of the Mansion kept the zoo after Hefner passed away. By buying the house the new owner also gained the rights to bang Suzanne Sommers in the grotto.
No, the opposite actually - they were talking about Scheffler putting average all this year coming into the US Open (which is unusual for him as he is one of the absolute best putters on tour)...., however, he had one of the best days with the short-stick on Thursday which is what enabled his 3-under par 67 opening round (only had 29 putts with no chip-ins and a 3-putt on 18 -- meaning he 1-putted 8 of 18 holes or nearly half the holes).
As to calling the setup "playable", it was more than "playable" and ridiculously scoreable for a US Open Venue - not only was the low round in US Open history set by two golfers in the opening round, but the opening round average score was the lowest ever recorded in US Open history. I'm sure the USGA is a bit concerned as it doesn't separate the wheat-from-the-chaff when a course is set up this non-penal... They can't be happy with the scoring they saw the 1st Day - the course played way too easy for a US Open Venue.
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What's really causing the low scores is the generosity of the fairways relative to a typical US Open Venue, let alone the hardest. Using the the US Open "Standard Bearer", Oakmont, these fairways are gargantuan - the last time they played the open at Oakmont, the fairways averaged 26 yards wide; LACC's average fairway is 58% wider than Oakmont's at 41 yards wide. Give these guys that much more fairway per hole, and scores are going to drop precipitously.
Carnival course in my opinion. Having to create trick shots to make course difficult. Putts on line until last 6 inches then breaking sharp left or right. Most claim 3 great things about it. The LA skyline ( LA is not pretty by any imagination ). The tough part 3's ... yeah 81 yards is not a tough hole and the rustic layout ( not sure what that even means ). Looks more rusty than rustic. Many better clubs and more worthy courses in and outside LA that could be US open venues.
Agree somewhat, but it does have a wicked difficult US Open worthy finishing stretch of Par 4's in 16, 17 and 18. 14 is a legit difficult Par 5 as well. And 13 is another long, difficult Par 4. 11 is a man-sixed Par 3 -- closest shot all day was 20 feet. And overall with only one Par 5 on the side, the backside is a legit difficult test of golf and nobody has chewed up the backside. However, the front-side is a completely different story - it is not a legit US Open test. Far too easy with way too many players lighting it up for 30s and 29s all week so far.
The course is praised for its "natural layout" (not rustic) - a "natural layout" means that they didn't move a lot of dirt or change the topography when they laid it out - this was fairly typical at the time LACC was built (1897) as this was the tradition in Scotland (courses were just placed on the land, they didn't push around tons of dirt and massively change the topography.).
Beautiful course in my opinion - greens look beautiful (fast but don't have that lightning fast quality to them like an Oakmont), but that Front 9 is not a legit test of US Open Golf imho - far too easy.
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Torrey Pines is so much better. The US Open is and should be the toughest test of the year. Guys at 10 under after 54 holes is not the US Open.
Personally, I enjoyed watching it a lot on Saturday. Virtually never do I enjoy pro golf on Saturday. With the wider fairways, it is like watching the Masters at Augusta National. The pros are given the chance to show their skills on a wide variety of shots--- instead of just hacking the ball 20 yards out of super deep rough when they miss a fairway. Enjoy this much better than Lee Janzen friendly venues where the idea is just to hit fairways and make pars and avoid a big number.
The wider fairways and relative shortness of the front side essentially neutralize shot-making, not accentuate it. Look at how many different golfers have ripped up the Front 9 only to be brought back to earth on the Back 9. There are only 20 players under par and 5 of those are only 1-Under. There are only 7 players 5 or more under par..... yet there are tons of players that have played the Front 5 or more under par - tons of them. That tells you the Front 9 is completely uncorrelated to the leaderboard and only the players who have been able to play the back 9 at or around par remain in contention.
You make a good point about the front nine, which I didn't see when I watched the tournament late last night. On the other hand, The back nine will determine the winner and it is a lot of fun to watch.
Would add that without severe rough everywhere, you get great shots like that of Wyndham Clark on the 18th hole yesterday.
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If that story is true, that’s hilarious. I would imagine that since it’s in LA and home to the entertainment industry many of the biggest slime balls imaginable are members of that club, yet they blackball Hef. I would bet that many were spiteful because they were denied admission to his playground.
Ironic that the story of the day on Father’s Day was his mother that passed away several years ago.
Maybe the most emotional celebrations I remember.
Maybe the most emotional celebrations I remember.
There are just so many great golfers - worldwide - and to be fair, they start with superb training today at a much earlier age than in decades past. Its a global game now which just makes it impossible for a handful of golfers to dominate like in the past. This was just a great U.S. Open which went down to the last putt.
Magnificent chipping and pitching by Wyndham Clark. Glad the setup for the US Open allowed for that. The cut shot he hit off of hardpan, I believe on the 11th hole, was a fantastic shot under pressure. Also, the chip to several inches on 17th hole was really good.
Totally agree about Clark's chipping and putting - especially some of his unreal chips. Was pulling for Fowler but my hat is off to Clark, he earned it under a ton of pressure.
After this happened, I bet Los Angeles changed their zoning to Outlaw zoos within the city limits. Amazing that he could build a zoo in the center of Los Angeles
It seems Fowler's short miss on 18 on Sat just carried that negative momentum into Sunday. He seemed out of it and incapable of making anything happen on Sunday. Not sure how old he is but this could have been his last best shot at getting a major.
He's 33 I believe (turned Pro when he was 20 I believe). Top 10 Finish in a Major for first time in many years should give him confidence imho. Good guy, apparently told Wyndham Clark, "You're Mon was with you - she'd be very proud of you." when he congratulated him. That's a sign of toughness - he was thinking about Wyndham Clark, not himself, at that moment.
That is awesome he told Wyndham that. Complete class. Pulling for him to break through in a major.
reminds me of sergio a little bit. came in with a bang at a young age, a lot of charisma. played well and was thought to be the next great player but just never was able to get there.
