‘the Beast’ Chews Up World’s Best Golfers After Two Rounds At U.s. Open

The United States Golf Association had 1 point successful mind erstwhile they chose a play people to big its astir prestigious championship. Make it arsenic difficult arsenic imaginable for nan champion players successful nan world – astatine least, that’s what it seemed for illustration astir years.

What is truthful difficult astir nan U.S. Open astatine Oakmont?

This weekend, nan people astatine Oakmont Country Club will beryllium nan clear winner, on pinch nan lone subordinate who does conscionable capable to survive. With 2 rounds successful nan books connected Friday, June 13, you tin count nan number of players nether par connected 1 hand.

In an property erstwhile exertion and weight training person turned astir courses into birdie factories, it is refreshing for galore fans to spot nan five-and-a-half-inch rough, nan knee-deep fescue, nan heavy bunkers, nan blowing upwind and nan lightning-fast greens. It’s play torture.

Adjectives for illustration diabolical, evil, dreadful and hopeless are heard complete and complete connected nan NBC sports broadcast, and players person yet to scope nan weekend. First-round leader JJ Spaun is still nether par astatine -2, and he feels fortunate to beryllium there.

“It’s challenging successful each benignant of facet aliases adaptable successful golf,” Spaun said. “Off nan tee, you person to get it successful nan fairway, aliases you’re chipping retired aliases hacking thing retired unless you get a fortunate lie. Landing it successful circumstantial spots, which you’re only capable to do if you’re retired of nan fairway.”

How are immoderate of nan champion playing done it?

Oakmont, successful nan Pittsburgh suburbs, was known arsenic “The Beast” and had been location to 9 erstwhile U.S. Open Championships. The scores successful those events and truthful acold this week proved it was so nan hardest people successful awesome golf. The celebrated Church Pews bunker had world number 1 Scottie Scheffler slamming his nine successful frustration. That’s nan toughest of nan 168 bunkers that dot nan course. The joke going astir is that Oakmont tin make Scottie look human.

“This play people is truthful good bunkered,” Scheffler said. “Especially for a play people without trees, this is simply a play people that tin really get distant pinch it because location are truthful galore bunkers everywhere, and they’re truthful deep, and it’s a existent punishment erstwhile you deed nan shot successful nan bunkers here.”

The leader aft 2 rounds is Sam Burns, who talked astir his putting connected Oakmont’s greens aft an eye-opening 65 connected Friday, June 13, 1 of only 5 players retired of 156 to sprout nether par.

“A batch of times, you person putts from 15 aliases 20 feet wherever you’re not moreover trying to make them,” Burns said. “You’re conscionable trying to get nan velocity correct and dream it snuggles up adjacent to nan hole. I moreover had a mates today, 15 aliases 20 feet, and they went 3 aliases 4 feet by without moreover reasoning astir it.”

How would your crippled fare astatine Oakmont during a U.S. Open?

A nosy mobility going astir nan people during nan early portion of nan week was really precocious a people would a play subordinate pinch an 18 handicap shoot?

For comparison, Matt Vogt, an Indianapolis dentist, qualified Monday, June 2, aft shooting a brace of 68’s astatine a people successful Walla Walla, Washington. He was a erstwhile caddy astatine Oakmont and knows nan people well. He changeable 82 successful information one, followed by an 81 Friday decorativeness +23 for nan tournament.

“My goodness, honestly, I came successful pinch specified optimism for this play course,” Vogt said. “But it is truthful hard. It’s conscionable so, truthful hard. Your caput starts spinning retired here, and it conscionable gets distant from you. I’d opportunity successful nan moment, you consciousness for illustration you get punched successful nan face, but ultimately, yeah, I’d opportunity it was fun.”

Remember, he’s a dentist. Vogt will beryllium a spectator complete nan play pinch immoderate of nan champion successful nan world, for illustration defending champion Bryson DeChambeau, who was 10 complete par, Justin Thomas, who vanished 12 complete par, Justin Rose, who was 14 complete and Shane Lowrey astatine 17 over.

Two-time U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka, who made nan trim astatine +2, said he expects nan weekend to beryllium moreover tougher arsenic nan power dries retired nan greens and nan USGA puts nan spread locations successful nan toughest places possible.