Tour Confidential: Will this U.S. Open be as brutal as anticipated?

Test in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the most well liked matters within the sport, and be part of the dialog by tweeting us at @golf_com.

The difficulty of Pinehurst No. 2 has been a serious speaking level at this week’s U.S. Open, however as we prepared for the primary spherical, do you suppose that storyline has been overblown? Or do you suppose we’ll see scores a lot larger than anticipated on Thursday?

Jessica Marksbury, senior editor (@jess_marksbury): Regardless of how arduous a golf course is meant to be, it looks like there’s at all times somebody who manages to shoot an outlier low rating. However that mentioned, I do suppose Pinehurst will present some tooth this week, and I count on even par can be thought-about a fantastic spherical.

Dylan Dethier, senior author (@dylan_dethier): I’m very, very involved by the quantity of green-watering that appears to be occurring. However when you consider the gamers, this factor is gonna be brutal — in a great way. Tiger Woods speaking about guys enjoying ping-pong. Wyndham Clark referred to as the greens borderline on Monday. Martin Kaymer, who received right here final time, speaking about how a lot more durable it appears to be like this time round. These of us who love watching the professionals deal with a terrifying U.S. Open check are sometimes upset to get to match time and see the course play simpler than marketed, however I don’t suppose that’ll occur this week. I hope not. Successful rating is three below. 

Jack Hirsh, assistant editor (@JR_HIRSHey): I actually just like the six- to 10-under-par that has been successful U.S. Opens of late. Sure, the greens are difficult and whereas they’re watering the course now, as Dylan experiences, it’s going to take much more than hosing to melt this course with the excessive temperatures coming Thursday via Sunday. After the greens, the subsequent protection of this golf course is the size as a result of you will get away with some huge misses off the tee. These guys will nonetheless have a number of wedges into greens. There can be loads of birdies to maintain the successful rating in that candy spot scoring zone, but in addition a number of practice wrecks to maintain many of the subject on the opposite aspect of par. Seems like a U.S. Open to me.

Sean Zak, senior author (@sean_zak): It’s been precisely portrayed. It’s all of the gamers can appear to speak about, a breath of contemporary air from Valhalla final month, which one caddie informed me immediately, “Didn’t really feel like a serious.” That’s as a result of the ball sat precisely the place it landed on the bottom. There was no considering, no arduous work for caddies. Gamers are speaking in regards to the issue of the course as a result of their brains are switched ON. They need to be. It’s exhausting. It’s the U.S. Open. I don’t see scores ballooning, essentially, however there’s positively room for some chaos, which is nice. A depraved enjoyable weekend awaits. Six below wins.

Zephyr Melton, assistant editor (@zephyrmelton): I’m positive the check can be stern, however I don’t see scores being as excessive as they’ve been within the earlier Opens right here, with simply 4 gamers whole ending below par. Because the Saturday bloodbath at Shinnecock in 2018 (giving us Zach Johnson’s notorious “They’ve misplaced the golf course” speech) the USGA has been very cautious about pushing issues to the sting. The successful U.S. Open scores since then have been 13 below, 10 below, and 3 times at six below.  I’d guess that the successful rating this 12 months can be one thing in that six below vary. Carnage isn’t as a lot within the DNA for the present USGA regime.

Josh Sens, senior author (@joshsens): The excellent news about this week is that the course received’t should be tricked as much as be toughened up. The greens alone at No. 2 are sufficient of a protection to maintain scores from working into deep-red Valhalla numbers, with out having to chop pins on goofy nobs or bake the placing surfaces to asphalt consistency. And since they’re now bermuda (a change for the reason that final U.S. Open right here in 2014) the course setup peeps ought to have the ability to get the placing surfaces super-tight with out worrying about burnout. Must be fierce however honest. By the top of the week, I believe you’ll have the ability to depend the entire variety of gamers below par on one hand. Scottie Scheffler will most likely be the bottom of them, at seven below.