The US Open is headed to one of the crown jewels of American golf at Shinnecock Hills, and it’s a test so difficult that even par might be just enough to secure the season’s third major.
Shinnecock Hills is one of the five founding members of the USGA, and a return to the Long Island course means a stiff examination of the world’s best from the PGA Tour, LIV and amateurs. The course itself is incredibly difficult, and that’s before you consider the constant wind that likes to wreak havoc with any player who sets foot on the grounds.
And if the wind blows, which it almost certainly will, longtime golf commentator Rich Lerner believes the US Open winning score could be even par.
US Open Winning Score at Shinnecock Hills: Even Par … Or Worse?
“I cannot imagine (the USGA is) going to go over the edge. To your question, will they wimp out? The phrase they’re using is, we’re going to let Shinnecock be Shinnecock,” Lerner said on a June 10 Golf Channel media call. “So, I still think it’ll be – if the winds blow and the turf is firm, then I think we get probably even par, 1-under, 2-under, as a winning score.”
That certainly shouldn’t come as much surprise for anyone who remembers recent US Opens at Shinnecock Hills. Brooks Koepka failed to break par the last time the legendary course hosted the event in 2018, and he still walked away as the champion with a winning score of 1-over. Only two Shinnecock Hills US Open champions have broken par in the stroke-play era.
2018: Brooks Koepka (1-over)
2004: Retief Goosen (4-under)
1995: Corey Pavin (even)
1986: Raymond Floyd (1-under)
US Open Course Setup Will Be Major Storyline Once Again
There is always a lot of talk about what the USGA will do with the course setup. The two betting favorites, Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, have both already weighed in before even setting foot in New York.
Former US Open champion Jim Furyk talked about how the course has evolved in just the last two decades and how that could play into how the course is laid out.
“The greens are the protection at Shinnecock,” he said on the media call. “We’ve looked at two totally different golf courses in the most recent U.S. Opens in ‘04 and ‘18. In ‘04, there was a lot more rough around the greens when (Goosen) won, so the up and downs probably came from a lot more out of the rough, a lot closer proximity to the green.
“In ‘18, when they kind of did the renovation, they enlarged the greens but a lot of the enlargements weren’t really usable space, it was more runoffs to pull the ball away from the green, away from the pin, and so I think, as these guys have talked about, how critical the short game is. You’re going to see a lot of short game, though, off of tight lies to elevated greens, pitching runs into hillsides, or skipping balls off of those runoffs with a little spin near the pin. It definitely takes some deft touch.”
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