Horses for Courses: U.S. Open

What is old is new again as historic Winged Foot Golf Club is hosting the 2020 United States Open. The West Course, located in Mamaroneck, N.Y., will be the challenge for the sixth time in history but the first since 2006 in determining our national champion. Oddly enough it will also decide the first major champion of the 2020-21 season, the first of SIX to be crowned. The Par-70 will stretch to 7,469 yards and provide an unbelievable test of all 14 clubs and especially the six inches between the ears. There will be bogeys and doubles bogeys. There will be three and four putts. As with any big ballpark, those who can give it a knock off the tee will have the advantage. Finding the short grass as frequently as possible will create scoring chances but pars will be excellent this week. As Geoff Ogilvy famously remarked, the only safe place at Winged Foot is in the clubhouse. A.W. Tillinghast made his mark in this part of the county (Bethpage Black) and Winged Foot is considered by many the perfect challenge for determining the finest golfer in all of the land. Designed and opened in the early 1920s, the winners at Winged Foot have included Bobby Jones, Billy Casper, Fuzzy Zoeller, Geoff Ogilvy and the survivor of the “Massacre at Winged Foot” Hale Irwin, who won by posting seven-over, 287. Davis Love III also won the 1997 PGA Championship on this track. The West Course is known for its incredible green complexes and diabolical rough and both of those will be front-and-center this week. Gil Hanse has brought the greens back to their original sizes, adding more pin placements in theory, which won’t favor anyone. The massive complexes of bent and poa will test the 144 players on speed, read and creativity. Running upwards of 13 feet on the Stimpmeter being above the hole or even pin-high in certain spots will create problems. Only one creek pops up and the trees lining the rough will only affect those far enough off the beaten path. Missing large greens won’t come with a reward this week so players who can grind out pars will feel like they’ve made birdies. Accuracy is rewarded both off the tee and into the greens, as it should be. Hanse also removed plenty of trees to help the routing visually. Social media suggested Monday that the notorious rough was getting its last haircut of the week. Yes, Monday. Upwards of five inches in the thickest spots, the graduated cut doesn’t allow the big miss to avoid penalty. Remember, with no galleries this week there won’t be any matted-down areas from foot traffic to provide any relief for the extremely errant strikes from the tee box or attacking the greens. Last year Gary Woodland collected $2.25 million from a $12.5 million purse so that will give gamers an idea of what’s a stake this week. The official prize money, as of Tuesday morning, has not been released yet. The top 60 and ties play the final 36 holes. If there is a playoff required, it will be a two-hole aggregate followed by sudden death. 2006 U.S. Open (entered this week) 2 Phil Mickelson 6 Steve Stricker 12 Ian Poulter 12 Paul Casey 21 Adam Scott 26 Henrik Stenson 32 Scott Hend 37 Charles Howell III 48 Graeme McDowell MC Rory Sabbatini Zach Johnson Lucas Glover Tiger Woods Billy Horschel Matt Kuchar Sergio Garcia Last 10 U.S. Open Winners 2019: Gary Woodland (Pebble Beach) 2018: Brooks Koepka (Shinnecock Hills) 2017: Brooks Koepka (Erin Hills) 2016: Dustin Johnson (Oakmont) 2015: Jordan Spieth (Chambers Bay) 2014: Martin Kaymer (Pinerhurst No. 2) 2013: Justin Rose (Merion) 2012: Webb Simpson (Olympic Club) 2011: Rory McIlroy (Congressional Country Club) 2010: Graeme McDowell (Pebble Beach) 2006 Recap Geoff Ogilvy (+5) The Aussie posted first and watched as those behind him couldn’t make par down the stretch. Getting up and down from everywhere, including his impossible chip-in par at No. 17, Ogilvy holed a five-footer at the last for par to post 72 and five-over. Did not have one round in the 60s. Notables: Phil Mickelson doubled the last to miss the playoff by a shot. Wayward tee shots (two fairways on Sunday, zero on the back nine) put tons of pressure on his short game. … Colin Montgomery, a legend in the ball-striking department, missed the green from No. 18 fairway from 171 yards and made double, missing the playoff by a shot. Montgomery was the only player to post a red number, 69, on Sunday. … Jim Furyk (70) also had six feet to force a Monday playoff but his par putt slide by. … Steve Stricker, another who is more accurate than long, claimed T6. Key stat leaders Top golfers in each statistic on the 2019-2020 PGA TOUR are listed only if they are scheduled to compete this week. Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green (* – previous top 10 at U.S. Open since 2015 or past champion) 1 *Justin Thomas 2 *Hideki Matsuyama 3 *Jon Rahm 4 *Sergio Garcia 5 Collin Morikawa 6 *Rory McIlroy 7 *Xander Schauffele 9 *Dustin Johnson 11 *Tony Finau 12 Patrick Cantlay 13 *Tyrrell Hatton 15 *Daniel Berger 16 Corey Conners 16 *Webb Simpson 18 Harris English 19 Bryson DeChambeau 20 Viktor Hovland 21 Paul Casey 23 Joaquin Niemann 26 *Patrick Reed Strokes Gained: Putting 2 *Matthew Fitzpatrick 5 *Kevin Na 6 *Ian Poulter 6 Matt Kuchar 8 Mackenzie Hughes 10 Bryson DeChambeau 12 *Patrick Reed 13 *Webb Simpson 14 JT Poston 15 Kevin Kisner 17 *Daniel Berger 18 Harris English 20 Brendon Todd 21 Richy Werenski 22 *Jon Rahm 23 Troy Merritt 26 *Tommy Fleetwood Scrambling 1 *Daniel Berger 2 *Xander Schauffele 3 Brendon Todd 4 *Kevin Na 6 Harris English 9 *Brian Harman 10 Abraham Ancer 11 *Jon Rahm 12 *Webb Simpson 16 Kevin Kisner 17 Bryson DeChambeau 19 *Hideki Matsuyama 20 Alex Noren 21 *Patrick Reed 23 Lanto Griffin 25 *Justin Thomas 26 Brandt Snedeker 28 *Jason Day 29 Carlos Ortiz Most US Open Appearances (thru 2019) Phil Mickelson (28) Steve Stricker (21) Tiger Woods (21) Sergio Garcia (20) Adam Scott (18) Lee Westwood (18) Matt Kuchar (17) Paul Casey (16) Zach Johnson (16) Major Champions in the field Tiger Woods (15) Phil Mickelson (5) Rory McIlroy (4) Jordan Spieth (3) Zach Johnson (2) Martin Kaymer (2) Bubba Watson (2) Collin Morikawa Shane Lowry Gary Woodland Patrick Reed Justin Thomas Sergio Garcia Henrik Stenson Dustin Johnson Jimmy Walker Danny Willett Jason Day Justin Rose Adam Scott Webb Simpson Keegan Bradley Louis Oosthuizen Graeme McDowell Lucas Glover

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