Built for competition, Pinehurst has played host to more single golf championships than any course in America. Donald Ross designed the course in 1907 and deemed it “the fairest test of championship golf I have ever designed.” Now, the 124th U.S. Open Championship will host the best golfers in the world to compete at Pinehurst for the second time since the golf course was significantly overhauled by the architecture team of Bill Coore and Masters winner Ben Crenshaw.
Who to watch?
Scottie’s Comeback
He’s the world No. 1, and even being jailed couldn’t keep him from battling for the PGA Championship. All eyes will be on Scottie Scheffler, who hasn’t won a U.S. Open—yet. The situation from the PGA Championship is behind him following the charges being dropped on May 29, but golf is as much of a mental game as it is physical. Scheffler will need to focus on playing his game and tune out the noise if he wants to capture his second major of the season.
Tiger’s On The Prowl
Tiger Woods is still looking to join Jack Nicklaus, Willie Anderson, Ben Hogan and Bobby Jones as the only players to win the event four times. He has struggled early this season and missed the cut at the PGA Championship, but he remains optimistic. “I need to clean up my rounds,” he said following the PGA Championship. Although Tiger is physically improving each week, he recognizes that he isn’t back to full condition just yet. “I still have lots of improvement to go physically, and hopefully my team and I can get that done pre-Pinehurst,” he says. His last U.S. Open Championship came back in 2008.
Xander and Bryson
PGA Championship winner Xander Schauffele and past U.S. Open champ Bryson DeChambeau are both carrying momentum into the tournament. Schauffele is coming off his first major win at Valhalla where he shot a 62 in the opening round before closing out the weekend holding onto his one stroke lead, just bettering DeChambeau. On the other hand, DeChambeau has been hot this season with a T6 finish at the Masters and second place at the PGA Championship. His one career major came at the U.S. Open Championship in 2020, and he will try to recreate that at this year’s tournament.
Canadians In The Field
With Adam Svensson and Ashton McCulloch qualifying for the championship, there will be seven Canadians in the field for the U.S. Open Championship. Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin will both look to bounce back after missing the cut at the RBC Canadian Open.
Corey Conners, Mackenzie Hughes and Taylor Pendrith, on the other hand, will be looking to carry their momentum into the tournament after a 6th-place finish for Conners at Hamilton Golf and Country Club, T7 for Hughes, and Pendrith finishing just outside of the top-20, but shooting 7-under at the tournament.
Pinehurst is the fourth longest course the pros will play this season, measuring at 7,588 yards. The lengthy course could favour the hard-hitting Pendrith, but as we all know golf isn’t only about who can hit the ball the farthest. Hadwin could also make waves this tournament, ranking third on tour for approach shots from 175 to 200 yards.