When you conduct the U.S. Open in Pinehurst you are in an environment where the players, dignitaries, administrators and sponsors are self-contained in a small village. Dinners, breakfasts and simply walking around you are likely to bump into tons of people who play or used to play. Wednesday morning, I met some friends for breakfast at the Carolina Inn the historic hotel that sits ½ mile from the resort and the first tee at Pinehurst No. 2. I said good morning to Matt Kuchar in the coffee shop and he expressed utter delight at the hotel and the village. He couldn’t believe how charming everything was from the shops to the history of the hotel.
I had a nice chat with three-time U.S. Open champion Hale Irwin who was an invited guest for the hall of fame ceremony as an enshrined member and who was doing what you do when you win the championship three times, you monetize it, even 34 years after the last win. I also had a brief chat with the 2014 champion Martin Kaymer who returns as a guy people struggle to remember won the last time the event was here.
The USGA press conference was thorough and reflective of an organization that has made a massive commitment to Pinehurst, not only for the U.S. Open, but so many of their championships. Mike Whan knows how to talk and say something which is not a guarantee. The organization is in good hands with a pragmatic CEO and a golf lifer in John Bodenhamer who focuses on setting up the championship venues.
I talked to Randy Smith, Scottie Scheffler’s long time swing coach, and Randy embodies the Scheffler team. Straight forward and focused on the golf and only the golf. Scottie was playfully messing with Tom Kim’s golf bag and this is the fourth time in the last month I watched Scottie and Tom mess with each other. Kim has surrounded himself with the right people at the top of the game with Scheffler and Jordan Spieth in his adopted hometown of Dallas.
Standing on the top side of the Thistle Dhu putting course this afternoon it showcased why Pinehurst is so well positioned to host the biggest championship of the USGA. The massive putting green, the short game area and the Cradle, which is being used as the range is the greatest practice footprint in golf. The scope and scale amplifies what is needed now to host the biggest events in golf and with fans surrounding the entire perimeter of the area it is a majestic site.
At 2 pm I was standing on the first tee when Martin Kaymer and Rory McIlroy began their nine-hole two-ball practice round. Both players played irons off the first tee, and I saddled up to walk close by as they put the finishing touches on their U.S. Open prep. Rory hit driver on 2, 4, 5 and 8. He hit iron off the tee on 7 but hit a second ball with driver to take on the dogleg. He pulled it slightly into the left native area. Iron off the tee left him a short iron for his second. The crowds for a Wednesday afternoon were massive and when Rory and Kaymer played the second hole the gallery extended a few people deep from tee to green.
Having played No. 2 almost 75 times in my life I still marvel at a few features. The 2nd green is so unorthodox it’s hard to explain. Effectively the green 2000 square feet of useful area and the runoffs are menacing. I walked completely around the 5th green, and the runoff front left is sinister. You have to hit the ball nine steps into the green to avoid it running back off and into the native area 15 yards short and below the green. The native areas and crude bunkering that guard the right-hand side of the 7th fairway is art. That hole summarizes what Coore/Crenshaw executed when they restored the golf course in 2011.
Leaving the property at 5 pm the golf course is so prepared to star. The dry conditions since Sunday night have the golf course completely in the hands of the USGA. I never push back on another’s likes or dislikes regarding golf courses, so I know there are folks who are not totally smitten with No. 2, but I am for many reasons. Its nuanced, it’s not all aerial, there are options and the whole place is golfy. I think this is going to be special and I think the door is open for a few players down the marquee who will shine.
Some names I like to have good weeks. Thomas Detry, Tom Hoge, Russell Henley, Aaron Rai and Akshay Bhatia.
You can make reasonable cases for 8 to 10 players and I expect Collin Morikawa, Cam Smith, Xander Schauffele and Rory to contend but this comes down to the best player not having to be his best but be better than everyone else and I expect Scottie Scheffler to thrive under the conditions and pressure.
Scheffler wins. Enjoy Day 1.