As the world of golf descends on earthquake-prone California for the US Open, aftershocks from last week’s bomb tremor on the PGA Tour continue by joining forces with Saudi Arabia’s sporting arm.
Nonetheless, by the end of the week, the best golfer here, whether loyal to the old guard or one who left early for Saudi Arabia’s pot of gold, will have a highly prized 18-inch-tall sterling silver trophy.
The Los Angeles Country Club is hosting the event for the first time and its northern course flush with the mansions of Beverly Hills is largely unknown to the course. Its appearance is also unfamiliar to fans who are used to the courses that regularly host the national open with tight, narrow holes and ankle-deep rough to challenge the best in the world. Instead, LACC offers players a wild expanse high above the hills with fairways almost as wide as the vistas with a bit of roughness.
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Viktor Hovland walks the seventh hole during a practice round for the US Open at the Los Angeles Country Club on Tuesday, June 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt York)
«It’s just different,» says Jeff Hall, managing director of open rules and championships for the US Golf Association.
«Yes, the golf course is a bit wider, but you’ll see holes where that’s not the case,» Hall said. «So, there’s a lot of variety that way. There’s a lot of variety in hole lengths out there…it just has so many variables.»
Players will have plenty of opportunities to pull the driver out of their bags this week in an effort to maximize distance off the tee rather than lean back with a higher club for a better chance of finding the fairway. Your challenge is likely to come from the well-protected greens, where a wide shot could land a player in an awkward lie. A devilish feature of the course are pockets of deep fescue grass where making par will be as difficult as finding a sale on Rodeo Drive.
The two great champions of this year, Jon Rahm (Masters) and Brooks Koepka (PGA Championship), will deserve the attention of the 22,000 fans that are expected every day.
«Keep doing what I’m doing,» Koepka said after his most recent win. «It’s working so far…I’m pleased with the way I’ve been playing.»
THE 15TH HOLE OF THE US OPEN WILL PROVIDE AN INTERESTING STRANGE FOR GOLF’S THIRD MAJOR
Brooks Koepka catches a ball on the 14th hole during a practice round for the US Open on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Koepka has now won five major championships. The only other players this century with that many are Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods. A third US Open victory (2017 and 2018) for Koepka this week would equal Woods, who will sit out while he continues to recover from his latest surgery.
Betting sites list Scottie Scheffler as a favourite. The Texan’s exceptional ball hitting this year led him to two victories. But putting him in the Masters in April and since then has prevented him from another title.
Scheffler may have a small advantage having competed here in 2017 during the Walker Cup, a biennial amateur competition. His teammate that week, Collin Morikawa, is now a two-time Grand Slam champion and grew up only a few miles away. But the 26-year-old hasn’t won in nearly two years and recently withdrew from a tournament due to back spasms.
Another local hope who has done well on the course is six-time PGA Tour winner Max Homa, who shot a course-record 61 during a college event a decade ago.
Rory McIlroy, who won the US Open in 2011, came up just short on Sunday for his third consecutive Canadian Open victory. He has been the standout player on the PGA Tour defense for the past 18 months as the sport has splintered.
In that time, he mixed his usual high-caliber play with signs of fatigue, making him a wild card.
«For some reason, I seem to play better when there’s a little bit of noise in the golf world,» McIlroy said last weekend in Toronto. «It’s nice to be able to be inside the ropes and focus on my job at the end of the day, which is trying to get the ball down the golf course.»
MAX HOMA LOOKS FOR A GREAT BREAK ON THE HOMECOMING AT THE US OPEN
The «open» part of the US Open is that anyone can try to qualify to play in the event. This year, a record number of golfers submitted a ticket to play. After several qualifying stages, only 156 will play on Thursday.
Jon Rahm takes aim as he prepares to putt the fourth green during a practice round at the US Open, Monday, June 12, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio José Sánchez)
«You can’t argue with the fact that 10,200 people around the world said, ‘I’ve got a chance to play that,'» USGA CEO Mike Whan proudly told Fox last month.
He noted that this tournament is unlike any other major sporting event, allowing dreamers the chance to play.
«You know, nobody comes to you six months before the Super Bowl and says, ‘We’re about to do some combinations and if you’re a good enough receiver, you play.'»
Barry Henson, 43, has traveled the world to make a career out of golf. It has not been easy. He never qualified for the PGA Tour. He spends most of his time in Asia, but when he returns to his childhood home in Palm Springs, about 100 miles away, he earns extra money by driving for Uber.
«I really enjoy it. It takes my mind off the golf course,» Henson told «Fox & Friends» last week. «I enjoy talking to people and hearing their life story.
«I have to keep my foot on the ground. My game is ready for a US Open.»
At the other end of the professional spectrum, there are 18 amateurs playing in the tournament. Most are still in college.
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Of course, there is also the possibility of another earthquake. LACC is located on the eastern edge of the Santa Monica fault line. Less famous than the San Andreas Fault, which runs the length of the state, a change in the much smaller Santa Monica could produce quite a jolt for golfers and millions of Angelenos.
While earthquake preparedness is always good policy, the chances of a shakeout this week are pretty slim. Scientists estimate that 1,000 to 3,000 years have passed since this fault line produced a major event.