SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) — In the four previous U.S. Opens in Shinnecock Hills, one quality stands out among the champions.
Toughness.
Raymond Floyd had a brilliant wedge game and was equally known for his glare when he got locked in, particularly that 1986 win at Shinnecock at age 43. Mark O’Meara described Floyd as the most intimidating player he face.
“He plays every shot like it’s the last shot of his life,” O’Meara once said.
Corey Pavin won in 1995, geared toward toughness as being one of the shorter hitters as the game was moving toward power, another masterful chipper and most famous in these parts for his 4-wood to the 18th green to win the Open.
Retief Goosen not only survived being struck by lightning, he overcame a three-putt from 12 feet that forced him into a playoff he won in 2001 at Southern Hills, and a gallery full-throated behind Phil Mickelson in 2004 when Goosen one-putted the final six greens.
The most recent winner at Shinnecock Hills was Brooks Koepka in 2018, a five-time major champion. He was asked Tuesday for his definition of a tough golfer.
“A guy that doesn’t let the previous shot affect the next shot,” Koepka said. “A trier. A guy that’s just got a lot of grit and doesn’t give up, I think is a very tough golfer. Then you add talent in there, and it’s pretty tough to beat.”
Koepka is famous for once saying majors were easier to win because he figured he could simply beat half of the 156-man field, and half of them probably wouldn’t play well, and then he factored in how the pressure would affect others and the list kept dwindling.
So many tough players are there at this U.S. Open?
“It’s grown,” he said. “It’s doubled since it was in 2018, I’ll tell you that much.”
The par-3 11th hole is short and scary at Shinnecock
Even as courses get longer, one popular thought among golfers is the shortest par 3s are some of the best. Often cited is the “Postage Stamp” eighth hole at Royal Troon, the 106-yard sixth at Pebble Beach and the 12th at Augusta National.
Perhaps the 11th hole at Shinnecock Hills can be added to the list.
“You’re really scared on the tee,” Adam Scott said. “And you’ve got a 9-iron, maybe. We play so many 220-yard par 3s over water. I think the fact that a 150-yard hole scares us is brilliant.”
He’ll get no argument from Koepka. That hole was crucial to him winning the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. He made a bogey.
The small green is 40 feet above the tee, surrounded by bunkers, a false front and a slope behind the green that can send the ball into deep grass. That’s where Koepka found himself in the final round. He smartly played through the green into a bunker, blasted out to 8 feet and made the putt.
Koepka said at the time it felt like making birdie, maybe even eagle. He was asked Tuesday how to play that hole in the final round with wind. His first advice was to not go long and left.
“I think the green complex is so undulating, so small, it’s very difficult. If you’re going to miss it, you’ve got to miss it right. I think that’s the first thing you’ve got to do,” Koepka said. “From there, it’s just a good par 3. You’ve got to be precise with your distance and your accuracy. I think it’s a good challenging hole, and you can walk away with 5 very easily.”
The UK invasion in the majors
For the first time since 2013, international players have won the first two majors of the year with Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) repeating at the Masters and Aaron Rai (England) in the PGA Championship at Aronimink.
It has happened two other times dating to the inaugural Masters in 1934 — 2011 with Charl Schwartzel (South Africa) and McIlroy, and in 1994 with Jose Maria Olazabal (Spain) and Ernie Els (South Africa).
Unique about this year is both major champions are from the U.K.
“European golfers, the majority of our golf is in the United States — three of the four major championships are here,” McIlroy said. “I think just over time we’ve got a lot more comfortable with the style of golf that you need to play and the setups around here.”
Is there a possibility of three in a row for international players? That hasn’t happened since 1994, when Nick Price (Zimbabwe) won the final two majors to follow Olazabal and Els.
“I would say this is more a U.K.-European style of test than certainly the first two majors at Augusta and Aronimink,” McIlroy said. “So it certainly wouldn’t surprise me to see a few players from Europe and the U.K. in contention on Sunday.”
Divots
The final 156-man field shows only 68 players having to go through 36-hole qualifying. … In support of Adam Scott playing in his 100th major, the back of his press conference had a small gallery of Jordan Spieth, Alex Noren, Scott’s caddie John Limanti and Sam Pinfold, the Australian caddie for Cameron Smith. Asked why he was there, Spieth jokingly said, “You always come watch me at work. I thought I’d come watch you.” … Geoff Ogilvy still recalls the wisdom of Judy Rankin on the morning he won the 2006 U.S. Open at Winged Foot. “Everyone wakes up Monday morning, looks at the newspaper and is surprised the score that won the U.S. Open.” Ogilvy won at 5-over 285.
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