John Minchillo/Associated Press
Fans who’ve faith been keeping an survey on the direction at Winged Foot Golf Membership originate no longer have faith any doubt stumbled on themselves awed by the slickness of the greens and the depths of the tough and bunkers.
It seems the misfortune of the direction intimidated the USGA quite forward of the U.S. Open, too.
“We saved having a explore at recommendations [to] originate the golf direction a chunk bit more straightforward because of here is this form of mountainous test,” USGA CEO Mike Davis informed ESPN’s Gash Pietruszkiewicz Wednesday. “It places the head price on all the pieces.”
The U.S. Open has a prolonged historic past of trying to interrupt the center of attention and composure of the discipline.
After Gary Woodland won the tournament at 13-under par in 2019—the 2d-lowest salvage within the tournament on file—the USGA is returning to fabricate with a setup determined to peep some excessive rounds. Especially within the gap days.
“Whereas you suspect about one of the critical most mountainous U.S. Open avid gamers of all time—Bob Jones, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods—you by no formula heard them complain,” Davis acknowledged. “They permitted the predicament. They knew—truly, in many recommendations, they knew when others had been complaining, it gave them an profit. Part of the lore of a U.S. Open is it is a extraordinarily demanding golf direction, expectantly role up in a comely but a stern formula.”
Calling Winged Foot “stern” is terribly a exquisite sentiment in itself.
When Geoff Ogilvy won the closing U.S. Open held on the direction in 2006, he did so at five over par. Woods infamously uncared for the lower that yr after posting back-to-back rounds of 76 to attain at 12 over par.
Of the five earlier U.S. Open tournaments held at the New York direction, four seen the winner attain over par.
The 2020 predominant might perchance carry extra of the identical.
John Bodenhamer, USGA senior managing director, set it merely when speaking to Pietruszkiewicz.
He desires to let Winged Foot be Winged Foot.
