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Koepka’s trip around the world leads to major title at home

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(Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
Canadian Press

Before their names shared space on the silver U.S. Open trophy, Brooks Koepka and Jordan Spieth were together in a less attractive location.

Both failed by three shots to advance out of the second stage of qualifying school in Texas, leaving them with no status on any tour.

That was five years ago, and each went his own way.

Spieth, a U.S. Junior Amateur champion who won an NCAA title with Texas, received sponsor exemptions to PGA Tour and Web.com Tour events and rode a runner-up finish in the Puerto Rico Open to a meteoric year that ended with him on the Presidents Cup team at age 20.

Koepka began filling his passport.

One three-week stretch on the Challenge Tour took him from India to South Africa to Kenya. He played in Kazakhstan and Madeira Island, Finland and Belgium. He won in Italy and Spain, and he was on the verge of a third victory, this one in Scotland, that would earn him graduation to the European Tour.

And he was ready to come home.

He called Blake Smith, his manager at Hambric Sports, and told him, “I don’t even want to play.”

“I don’t want to say homesick. I was just tired of golf. Tired of travelling,” Koepka said. “I just wanted to be home, even though I was about to win the third one. For some reason, I just wanted to get out and go home.”

He stayed. He won. And then he flew to London early the next morning and qualified for the British Open.

All of which made his U.S. Open victory Sunday at Erin Hills all the more special.

Koepka can’t count the miles he travelled after leaving Florida State, but he wouldn’t trade the path that led him to a major championship at age 27.

“I think it helped me grow up a little bit and really figure out that, ‘Hey, play golf, get it done and then you can really take this somewhere.’ And I built a lot of confidence off that,” Koepka said.

Those who saw him couldn’t ignore the sheer athleticism, raw power and quiet confidence.

“I kept telling people last year after the Ryder Cup,” Brandt Snedeker said, “when Brooks figures out how good he is, he’s going to be a world beater.”

He beat everyone at Erin Hills, and in the end, it wasn’t even close.

One shot behind going into the final round, Koepka didn’t miss a green until the par-3 13th – the only one he missed in the final round – and he saved par with an 8-foot putt that might have been more meaningful than the three straight birdie putts that followed.

“I needed to make that if I was going to win this tournament,” he said.

Brian Harman in the final group behind him made back-to-back bogeys and couldn’t catch up. Hideki Matsuyama shot 66 but started too far back. Koepka closed with a 67 for a four-shot victory, the lowest final round by a U.S. Open champion since Tiger Woods at Pebble Beach in 2000 when he won by 15.

Only after he signed his card did Koepka realize a birdie on the par-5 18th would have broken another U.S. Open record at Erin Hills. He made par and finished at 16-under 272, matching the record to par by Rory McIlroy, who shot 16-under 268 at Congressional in 2011.

No big deal.

It takes a lot to get Koepka excited, and while a U.S. Open certainly does the trick, it was hard to tell. When he started out Sunday, one shot out of the lead and among 12 players within five shots, he did little more than walk to the cup after three birdies on the front nine.

When he was tied for the lead with six holes to play, he gave a light fist pump, clenched his hand a little tighter after each of those four big putts.

“Did you see that fist pump there on 18,” Koepka said with a proud smile.

Yes, both of them, neither to be mistaken with anything Tiger Woods has done over the years.

Despite such a chill personality, there was some irritation about not winning as much as he felt he should. Koepka won the Turkish Airlines Open in 2014 over Ian Poulter and Henrik Stenson. Three months later, he powered his way to victory in the Phoenix Open.

And that’s been it in the big leagues, though he has done well enough to make the Ryder Cup team last year (going 3-1-0 in his matches).

“I’d won once on the PGA Tour, once on the European Tour,” Koepka said. “I just felt like I should be winning more. I don’t know why. It’s one of those things. Not a big fan of losing. I don’t think anyone out here is. And I just couldn’t stand the fact that I’d only won once.”

This makes two on the PGA Tour, and it was a big one.

“It’s crazy to think that this is only his second win,” Justin Thomas said. “But he’s a great player and he has no fear. … When he’s on, there are not many people in the world better.”

For the full U.S. Open leaderboard click here.

PGA TOUR

Brooks Koepka caps a record week with US Open title

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(Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Canadian Press

Brooks Koepka received a short piece of advice from a valuable source on the eve of the final round at the U.S. Open.

Defending champion Dustin Johnson was doing most of the talking.

“It was a long phone call for us – it was like two minutes,” Koepka said. “But he just said a few things, and just stay patient. And I’ll win if I stay patient and just keep doing what I’m doing.”

What he did looked awfully familiar Sunday at Erin Hills, minus any mess involving the rules.

With athleticism and power, and four straight putts over the back nine that allowed him to pull away, Koepka capped off his hardscrabble journey around the world and found stardom at home as the U.S. Open champion.

He closed with a 5-under 67, only realizing after his par on the final hole that a birdie would have set yet another U.S. Open record in a week filled with them.

Koepka finished at 16-under 272, matching the lowest score to par first set by Rory McIlroy six years ago at Congressional.

Tied for the lead with six holes to play, Koepka holed an 8-foot par putt on the 13th hole that gave him confidence with his stroke and momentum to pour in birdies on the next three holes to turn the final hour into a celebration of another young star in golf.

The 27-year-old Koepka wound up winning by four shots over Brian Harman, who was done in by back-to-back bogeys right when Koepka was making his run, and Hideki Matsuyama, who closed with a 66.

“That’s probably the most emotion I’ve ever shown coming down the stretch,” Koepka said. “It feels amazing to get my name on this trophy with so many other great names. It’s truly an honour.”

Emotion? The most he displayed was a light fist pump, his hand clenched a little tighter with each birdie, and a double fist pump on the 18th when he tapped in for par.

It’s not much different from Johnson.

They are close friends on the golf course and in the gym, and they play a similar game of power off the tee, a clean strike with the iron and a knack for looking calm even as the pressure is ramping up.

And now their names are on the U.S. Open trophy, one after the other.

It capped quite a journey for the Floridian. Without a card on any tour when Koepka got out of Florida State, he filled his passport on the Challenge Tour with stamps from Kazakhstan to Kenya, Scotland and Spain, India and the Madeira Island.

One night in Scotland, he called his agent and wanted to come home, even though he was leading the tournament. He had been on the road for so long, in so many different countries, and was feeling lonely.

He won the next day to graduate to the European Tour. The next year, he earned a spot in the U.S. Open through a qualifier in England, and his tie for fourth at Pinehurst No. 2 helped him earn a card on the PGA Tour.

Koepka took it from there – a victory in Turkey against a strong field, his first PGA Tour victory in the Phoenix Open, his first Ryder Cup and now a major championship.

“To go over there, I think it helped me grow up a little bit and really figure out that, hey, play golf, get it done, and then you can really take this somewhere,” he said.

Koepka became the seventh straight first-time winner of a major championship, and it was the first time since 1998-2000 that Americans won their national championship three straight years.

Tommy Fleetwood, who played alongside Koepka and closed with a 72 to finish fourth, played the Challenge Tour a year before Koepka arrived.

“It gives you a good grounding,” Fleetwood said. “Obviously, Brooks dealt with it amazingly. He came and kicked everyone’s (behind) over there, didn’t he? But he’s proven for a long time how good he is. Now he’s done it in a major.”

Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., stuggled to an 8-over 80 to finish the tournament 9-over 297.

It was only fitting that Koepka left Erin Hills with yet another record matched or broken.

McIlroy finished at 16-under 268 when he won on rain-softened Congressional in the 2011 U.S. Open. But the low scoring went much deeper than that.

Only six players had ever reached double digits under par in the previous 116 times at the U.S. Open. McIlroy and Tiger Woods (12 under at Pebble Beach in 2000) had been the only players to finish there.

This week alone, nine players reached at least 10 under and seven finished there.

Xander Schauffele, a rookie on the PGA Tour playing in his first U.S. Open, birdied his last hole for a 69 to tie for fifth at 10-under 268 along with Bill Haas (69) and Rickie Fowler (72), who was poised at yet another major to win only to fall back.

Fowler started one shot out of the lead at the Masters this year and shot 76. He was only two behind when he made the turn, but bogeys on the 12th and 15th holes – and no birdies until No. 18 – ended his hopes.

Justin Thomas, coming off a 9-under 63 that matched the major championship scoring record and was the first 9-under round at a U.S. Open, went out in 39 and closed with a 75 to tie for ninth.

The week ended with 31 players under par, breaking the U.S. Open record of 28 players at Medinah in 1990. There were 133 sub-par rounds, nine more than the previous record in that 1990 U.S. Open.

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PGA TOUR

Justin Thomas shoots 63, trails Brian Harman by 1 at US Open

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(Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
Canadian Press

Justin Thomas landed a 3-wood on the 18th green where some players couldn’t land a wedge, leaving him an 8-foot eagle putt that he calmly made for a 9-under 63 that matched one U.S. Open record and broke another.

It also put him squarely in the mix to capture his first major.

On an Erin Hills course that again lacked enough wind to be the stern test that the U.S. Open wants, Brian Harman weaved his way through traffic at the top of the leaderboard Saturday for a 5-under 67 and a one-shot lead over Thomas, Brooks Koepka and Tommy Fleetwood.

Thomas became the fifth player to shoot 63 in a U.S. Open and the first player at 9 under. And if his hot pink pants were not enough, he did it in style. He had 310 yards to the hole when he hit 3-wood that could have led to big trouble if he went too far long or left.

“Oh gosh, Jimmy, be good,” he said to caddie Jimmy Johnson when the ball was in the air, and it was close to perfect. The ball landed on the front of the green just soft enough that it rolled out 8 feet by the hole.

Thomas poured that in to become the 29th player with a 63 in a major championship.

“The finish was awesome. I’d love to have another one of those,” said Thomas, who posted at 11-under 205.

The way this U.S. Open is going at Erin Hills, he might need it.

Only six players had ever reached 10-under par or lower in the previous 116 U.S. Opens. There are five players in double digits at Erin Hills.

Harman was at 12-under 204.

Koepka also reached the green in two on the 667-yard closing hole for a two-putt birdie and a 68. Fleetwood was poised to take the lead until his pitch to the 18th wasn’t strong enough and his next shot went beyond the flag and down the slope some 70 feet away. He got that up-and-down for a bogey and a 68.

Rickie Fowler, sharing a house with Thomas this week, was being left behind until he ran off three straight birdies and shot 68. He was 10 under.

Not to be overlooked was Si Woo Kim, who captured The Players Championship last month. He shot 68 and was only three back.

Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., slid down the leaderboard. He shot a 3-over 75 and is 1 under for the tournament.

Even with the course drying out, there simply was not enough wind to frighten anyone on their game.

Thomas, the 24-year-old from Kentucky who is a major away from joining the young elite in golf, only added to a year of low numbers. He made an eagle on his final hole at the Sony Open in January to shoot 59, and he went on to break the PGA Tour’s 72-hole scoring record.

The U.S. Open didn’t seem to faze him, and he delivered a variety of big shots that led to his sensational finish.

He rolled in an 18-foot birdie putt on No. 5 from the edge of the green that broke so severely that he stood with his toes facing the hole and rapped the ball toward his left foot. It took a hard turn to the right and rolled in. In the hay left of the 12th fairway, he gouged it out with a 9-iron and watched it roll to 10 feet.

And with the tees moved up on the 15th hole to make it reachable, Thomas hit a 3-wood that rolled off the back slope of the green to 6 feet. He two-putted for birdie, and he rolled in a 25-foot birdie putt on the 17th.

“It doesn’t matter how long, how whatever the course is,” Thomas said about the longest course in major championship history. “When you give us soft greens, good greens and not much wind, you know there are going to be some good scores. I was just happy that I was the one that was able to take advantage of it today.”

But the work is not done.

Of the five other players who shot a 63 in the third round at a major, none went on to win. Most of them had to come from far back going into the weekend, and it was difficult to put together two good rounds.

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PGA TOUR

The top 3 miss US Open cut, leaving 4-way tie for the lead

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(Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
Doug Ferguson/ Associated Press

The biggest surprise at this U.S. Open was not who was leading, but who was leaving.

Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy and Jason Day – the top three players in the world, all of them professing expansive Erin Hills to be perfect for their games – spent Friday cleaning out their lockers after missing the cut.

Left behind was the biggest 36-hole logjam in 43 years at the U.S. Open.

Paul Casey chopped his way to a triple bogey, only to respond with five straight birdies that carried him to a 1-under 71 and make him the first to post at 7-under 137. He set the target early under warm sunshine, and even as the wind tapered in the afternoon, no one could catch him.

Brooks Koepka had the lead until he turned a birdie chance into a bogey on the par-5 first hole after making the turn. He didn’t make a birdie the rest of the way and had to settle for a 70. They were joined by Brian Harman and Tommy Fleetwood of England, who each had a 70.

Right behind was a trio of players that included Rickie Fowler, who went 28 holes before making his first bogey and then went three holes without making a par. Fowler shot a 73 and was still very much in the hunt at a second straight major.

The four-way tie was the most after two rounds in a U.S. Open since Winged Foot in 1974, back when the names were more familiar for a major – Raymond Floyd, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Hale Irwin, who went on to win his first major.

The last six majors have been won by first-timers, and that cycle has a good chance to continue. The top 18 players on the leaderboard going into the weekend have combined for zero majors. Only a half-dozen of them have even experienced Sunday contention in golf’s biggest events.

“Tomorrow will be a very cool experience,” Fleetwood said. “It’s still Saturday – 36 holes is a very long time in a U.S. Open. Anything can happen.”

Just about everything already has at Erin Hills.

A commercial blimp crashed to the ground and caught fire just outside the course Thursday, about the time the county health department was analyzing samples that confirmed evidence of the E. coli bacteria in water at a hydration station near the 12th hole. The USGA is providing complimentary bottled water the rest of the week. There have been no reports yet of anyone getting sick.

And then Friday, a 94-year-old man at the tournament for the first time stopped breathing while in a grandstand on the sixth hole and died of what Washington County officials said appeared to be natural causes.

Next up is a weekend without most of the biggest names in golf. The cut for the top 60 and ties was at 1-over 145, tying a U.S. Open record set in 1990 at Medinah.

Johnson was hitting it so well that he appeared to be safe even when he was on the cut line. But then he three-putted from long range on the 13th and the 14th, and lost all hope when he missed the green on the 17th while going after the flag. He shot 73 and missed the cut by three.

“I couldn’t have shot any higher,” Johnson said. “I couldn’t possibly shoot any higher than I did. I just struggled on the greens. It’s simple.”

Day never had a chance, following his career-worst 79 in a U.S. Open with a 75. McIlroy came to life when it was far too late. He made four birdies over the last six holes to salvage a 71, but he still missed the cut for the second straight year.

Joining them with a weekend off – British Open champion Henrik Stenson, Alex Noren, Jon Rahm, Justin Rose and Adam Scott. That left only four of the top 12 in the world to play the weekend at Erin Hills.

Fowler has the best chance, even though he lost so much ground over the final two hours. He went from pouring putts into the centre of the cup to burning the edges, and his 39 on the back nine cost him the lead, though not his chances of breaking through for that first major.

“We’re in a good spot,” Fowler said. “Looking forward to the next two days.”

Casey discovered how little it takes to make a big number in the U.S. Open – and at this U.S. Open, how a recovery is never too far away.

Casey laid up in the rough, took two chops to get out of more rough behind the 14th green, and staggered away with a triple-bogey 8 that might have ruined his day at Erin Hills. Moments later, he began a run of five straight birdies that put him right where he wanted to be going into the weekend.

“Not every day you enjoy a round of golf with an 8 on the card, but I’m a pretty happy man,” Casey said. “Yeah, it was a bit of a roller coaster. I guess it’s rare you get through a U.S. Open or any major without some kind of a hiccup.”

Canada’s Adam Hadwin is T24 at 2-under-par after a second round 74.

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PGA TOUR

Erin Hills didn’t put up much of a fight in round one of the US Open

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(Copyright USGA/Jeff Haynes)
Canadian Press

The USGA wants to get away from references of the U.S. Open being the toughest test in golf, preferring instead the “ultimate test.”

The question is whether Erin Hills delivered either in the opening round.

Rickie Fowler never came seriously close to a bogey on his way to a 7-under 65, which matched the U.S. Open record to par for the opening round. Jack Nicklaus and Tom Weiskopf each shot 7-under 63 in the first round at Baltusrol in the 1980 U.S. Open. They were three shots clear of anyone else.

Fowler only had a one-shot lead over Paul Casey, who started eagle-birdie, and Xander Schauffele, a rookie on the PGA Tour who is playing his first major championship.

And it doesn’t stop there.

Seventeen players shot in the 60s at Erin Hills, which at 7,845 yards was the longest course in major championship history. The 44 players who broke par in the opening round set a U.S. Open record that had stood since there were 39 subpar rounds at Medinah in 1990.

At times, it felt like a regular PGA Tour event.

Attribute that to the Wisconsin weather. The rain leading into the start of the U.S. Open only softened the greens, and they already were slightly softer than usual because of the wind that could lead to unplayable conditions. The wind wasn’t nearly as strong as thought.

It was the perfect recipe for low scoring, provided the ball was kept in the short grass.

Rory McIlroy found that out the hard way. He didn’t hit a fairway after the 10th hole and shot a 78, his highest score in the U.S. Open. Jason Day had two triple bogeys, the first one when it took him three chips to stay on the green at the fourth hole, and shot a 79.

Dustin Johnson had to gouge it out of the rough on at least eight occasions, including the par-5 14th hole when he tried to play conservatively and laid up into rough. That led to a double bogey, which hurt him as badly as making only one birdie. The defending champion shot a 75.

“The golf course has got plenty of moisture in it,” Justin Rose said after his 72. “It’s the kind of golf course that if you’re on point and playing well and you’re in the fairways, you really feel like you can be aggressive and attack and make some birdies. But as soon as you get out of position on this golf course, you’re really struggling and suffering for par.”

The U.S. Open is known for putting a premium on par, even as the USGA tries to convince golf fans that it’s not preoccupied with par. It has learned to accept that in pristine scoring conditions – mainly, soft conditions – low scores don’t distract from the tournament.

It was super soft at Congressional in 2011 when McIlroy set the 54-hole record (199) and 72-hole record (268) in an eight-shot victory. Rain for the opening two rounds at Pinehurst No. 2 contributed to Martin Kaymer opening with 65-65 (a U.S. Open record) on his way to an eight-shot victory in 2014.

What raises immediate questions about Erin Hills is the number of players under par, even with so many top stars struggling. Of the top 10 players in the world, only Fowler (No. 9) and Sergio Garcia (No. 7), who shot a 70, broke par.

No one from the top 17 players on the leaderboard after one round has won a major.

Everyone expects the U.S. Open to get harder as the week goes on because it usually does. But more storms were in the forecast for Friday afternoon and Saturday afternoon, so there’s not much chance of Erin Hills getting firm, fast and scary.

The last thing the USGA wants is to trick up the golf course, because the U.S. Open has had too many bumps (conditions at Chambers Bay, the rules mess at Oakmont) to risk anything but a smooth week.

And the biggest test of all could be the USGA proving that it’s not trying to protect par.

“I know people get caught up with this even par thing,” USGA executive director Mike Davis said this week. “I can tell you nobody at this table got caught up. We don’t even talk about it. What we do talk about is making sure we can adjust the course. If there’s soft conditions, maybe we tuck a hole location a little bit more, versus if we get real firm conditions and it gets windy, we’re sitting there talking among ourselves saying, ‘How do we tone this thing down?’

“It really isn’t about the score,” he said. “It’s about just setting the golf course up properly.”

What it’s really about is a stern test. The ultimate test. And three rounds remain to judge that.

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PGA TOUR

Rickie Fowler leads US Open, Canada’s Hadwin is T7

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(Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
Canadian Press

Erin Hills made its debut as a U.S. Open course Thursday with a most gracious welcome for Rickie Fowler, who matched the record to par in the opening round with a 7-under 65 on the longest course in major championship history.

Fowler had a one-shot lead over Paul Casey and Xander Schauffele. And they plenty of company.

The low scoring suggested the 11-year-old course was a cream puff, hardly the USGA’s idea of the ultimate test in golf.

Just don’t mention that to some of the best players in the world.

Jason Day had two triple bogeys and posted a 79, his worst score ever in the U.S. Open. Rory McIlroy joked earlier in the week that anyone who couldn’t hit such wide fairways “might as well pack your bags and go home.” He spent all day in the knee-high fescue and shot 78, his worst U.S. Open score.

Defending champion Dustin Johnson probably didn’t feel so badly by the end of a most peculiar day. He only shot 75, with just one birdie.

“You won’t get a better day for scoring,” Johnson said wistfully during the long walk to sign his card.

No one took advantage like Fowler.

Fowler, who shared the 36-hole lead at the Masters in April, never came seriously close to bogey because he was never in trouble. He kept it in the short grass, the secret to Erin Hills that wouldn’t appear to be that difficult with some of the widest fairways for this major.

“You don’t get many rounds at the U.S. Open that are stress-free,” Fowler said.

Fowler’s seven birdies were from no more than 12 feet, including three in a row around the turn. His 7-under par tied the record to par for the first round of a U.S. Open held by Jack Nicklaus and Tom Weiskopf, who each shot 7-under 63 at Baltusrol in 1980.

“It is always cool to be part of some sort of history in golf,” Fowler said. “But I’d rather be remembered for something that’s done on Sunday.”

Day and McIlroy, just to name a few, might not make it that far.

Of the top 10 players in the world, only Masters champion Sergio Garcia (70) and Fowler broke par. For players like Jordan Spieth (73) and Johnson, it was a matter of not making enough putts. For most others, it was being careless off the tee and facing the rigorous test of recovering.

Casey started eagle-birdie and finished with two birdies over the final four holes for his 66.

“I was just trying to have half as good a round as Rickie had,” said Casey, who played in the afternoon. “The scoring was so good this morning. I was happy it stayed benign for us, and I capitalized on it.

The opening round was without Phil Mickelson for the first time since 1993. He was in California for his daughter’s high school graduation, hopeful for enough of a weather delay to jet across the country to Wisconsin. But as the sun rose over Erin Hills, and the forecast was for no rain, Mickelson withdrew.

More startling than the low scores was smoke rising from about a half-mile away when a commercial blimp, not affiliated with the tournament, crashed into a field and burst into flames. The pilot, the only one aboard the blimp operated by Florida-based AirSign, was being treated for injuries.

“I was teeing off and I looked up and saw it on fire, and I felt sick to my stomach,” Jamie Lovemark said.

On the golf course, there was only a barrage of birdies.

Brooks Koepka, Tommy Fleetwood and Brian Harman were at 67, with Patrick Reed and Adam Hadwin in the group at 68. Hadwin tied a U.S. Open record when he made six straight birdies, from the 18th hole through the fifth hole. He was 100 feet away for birdie on No. 6 and burned the edge of the cup on that one, except that it ran by some 7 feet and he three-putted for bogey.

“You don’t often see that in a U.S. Open,” Hadwin said. “But there’s way too many holes out here where one bad shot could be a double bogey quickly. So I did a really good job of staying present, staying focused on the next shot.”

The course was set up at 7,845 yards, the longest of any major. Length wasn’t the issue. It was sporadic storms earlier in the week that has softened the greens. One example of that was Fowler hitting 3-wood into the green on the 632-yard 18th hole, with a breeze at his back. His ball landed on the green and only rolled out about 10 feet. On typical U.S. Open greens, that would have run all the way off the back of the green.

Still to be determined is what kind of test Erin Hills can present the rest of the week, especially with more rain on the way Friday and Saturday afternoon.

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PGA TOUR

McIlroy’s complaint: It’s the US Open, leave rough alone

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(Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Associated Press

Rory McIlroy couldn’t hold back on his complaints about the U.S. Open at Erin Hills, with an unusual twist: He was discouraged to hear the USGA is making it too easy.

The USGA said Tuesday that overnight storms and more rain in the forecast were making some of the native grasses lay down, which would create such dense rough that it would be virtually unplayable. So it set out to trim the thickest rough on the fourth, 12th, 14th and 18th holes.

This was bad news to McIlroy, whose power and accuracy off the tee is his strength.

“Really?” McIlroy said during his news conference.

His issue – and the opinion Kevin Na did not share when he posted video of thick stuff earlier in the week – was that the fairways were wide enough already.

“We have 60 yards from left line to right line,” McIlroy said. “You’ve got 156 of the best players in the world here. If we can’t hit it within that avenue, you might as well pack your bags and go home. These are the widest fairways we’ve ever played in a U.S. Open. Even the first and second cut is another ten yards on top of that. So if you’ve got 50 or 60 yards to hit into and you’re complaining about the fescue that’s wider than that, I don’t think that’s an issue.”

The grass is so thick that it’s essentially a one-shot penalty. The options are to take a penalty shot for an unplayable lie or hack it out to the fairway, assuming the player can get a club on the ball.

“I get that it’s thick and whatever, but it’s a hazard,” McIlroy said. “If you put red lines just right along that people wouldn’t complain. It’s a hazard. I don’t know. It’s a U.S. Open. It’s supposed to be a tough test. And if guys can’t put it into play within a 50-yard zone, I don’t think they’ve got much to complain about.”

Former U.S. Amateur champion Peter Uihlein had a different outlook.

He took a photo of the maintenance staff trimming away and tweeted, “Guess the USGA decided to be nice this week and cut down some of the rough.”

RULES OFFICIALS: The U.S. Open wants to be a little quicker with its communications over rules issues, especially in light of last year at Oakmont.

Dustin Johnson’s ball moved ever so slightly on the fifth green. The USGA realized a few holes later it needed a closer review. It told him about the possibility of a penalty on the 12th tee, and said he could review it after the round. That meant Johnson played the last seven holes not knowing what his score would be.

He won by four, then was docked one shot, so it went down as a three-shot victory. He still got the trophy, but the USGA looked bad.

USGA President Diana Murphy says there will not be walking scorers on the weekend for the first time. Instead, the USGA will station at least two officials on every hole (except for par 3s) and in other strategic spots along the course.

“We regretted the handling last year,” Murphy said in a meeting with golf writers. “We want to stay out of the way and not be part of the story.”

FIRST-TIME WINNERS: Zach Johnson won the British Open two years ago at St. Andrews for his second major. Since then, there has been nothing but first-time winners at the majors – Jason Day, Danny Willett, Dustin Johnson, Henrik Stenson, Jimmy Walker and Sergio Garcia.

When players don’t have a reasonable explanation, that can mean only one thing – it’s a cycle more than a trend.

Jordan Spieth, for example, noted that at one point he, McIlroy and Day had combined to win five of six majors when they were Nos. 1, 2 and 3 in the world.

“So maybe it’s a trend and maybe that’s the way that it happened to crumble there,” he said, without mentioning any particular cookie.

It’s way too early for a trend.

Not too long ago, first-time major champions had won 12 out of 13, from Lucas Glover in the 2009 U.S. Open through Webb Simpson winning the 2012 U.S. Open. The exception in that span was Phil Mickelson at the 2010 Masters.

And there was a time when Europeans couldn’t win a major. Paul Lawrie of Scotland won at Carnoustie in the 1999 British Open. It took 31 majors before another European won, Padraig Harrington at Carnoustie in the 2007 British Open.

Since then, Europeans have won 15 majors.

Of course, Tiger Woods won 12 of 33 majors during one stretch. That didn’t leave much room for anyone else.

McIlroy referred to it as a cycle.

“I just hope I end that streak this week,” McIlroy said.

PLAYOFF FEVER: A U.S. Open record is on the line this week at Erin Hills.

Dating to Tiger Woods winning the 2008 U.S. Open in a playoff over Rocco Mediate at Torrey Pines, there hasn’t been a Monday playoff. That’s eight straight U.S. Opens, matching the longest streak without in U.S. Open history.

There also was eight years without a playoff after Lou Graham in 1975 at Medinah until Fuzzy Zoeller beat Greg Norman at Winged Foot in 1984.

The only really close call was Dustin Johnson missing a 4-foot birdie putt to finish one shot behind Jordan Spieth in 2015 at Chambers Bay.

MCILROY’S SUMMER: Rory McIlroy has played only six tournaments this year because of a rib injury that cost him seven weeks at the start of the year, and a recurrence of the injury that made him sit out six weeks ahead of the U.S. Open.

But he has a busy summer scheduled.

McIlroy is playing the Travelers Championship next week in Connecticut. After a week off, he plans to play three straight tournaments in Europe – the Irish Open (that he hosts), the Scottish Open and the British Open.

PGA TOUR

Tough rough: US Open conditions may rob drama from a major

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(USGA/Jeff Haynes)
Canadian Press

Remember last year, when Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson played a round for the ages, trading birdies and spectacular shots until Stenson finally came away with the British Open title?

The U.S. Open won’t be like that.

First off, barring a long rain delay on Thursday, Mickelson will be absent, attending his daughter’s high school graduation in California.

And though Erin Hills, at first glance, may look like the sort of British links course that Mickelson and Stenson tore up last summer, Stenson will be the first to tell you it most certainly isn’t.

“Golf at the U.S. Open has always been a bit harder than at the (British) Open or any of the other ones,” Stenson said.

So true.

In the closing round at Royal Troon, Mickelson and Stenson combined for 14 birdies, an eagle and 19 pars, and Stenson won by three shots with a closing score of 20-under par. A few weeks later, at the PGA Championship, Jimmy Walker made a key birdie on No. 17 to outlast Jason Day, who, playing one hole ahead, kept pressure on Walker by making eagle on 18. Walker shot 14 under to win by one.

And at this year’s first major, the Masters, Sergio Garcia beat Justin Rose in a playoff to close out a riveting day of golf. Garcia and Rose tied at 9 under in regulation.

The last two U.S. Opens, meanwhile, have been most notable for Dustin Johnson’s three-putt on the 18th green at a baked-out Chambers Bay, then Johnson’s three-shot win last year at Oakmont despite a scoring/rules dust-up that left him playing the final seven holes without knowing the exact size of his lead.

Over the last five years, the average winning score of the other three majors has been 12.2 shots below par. At the U.S. Open over the same period: 3.1 under.

“The U.S. Open, you normally play on golf courses that are tricked up just to the limits, sometimes over the limits and sometimes just underneath,” Stenson said.

Much has been made about the creation of Erin Hills, built on a 650-acre tract of Wisconsin farmland that was, according to USGA executive director Mike Davis, simply screaming to have a golf course built on it. It was developed specifically with the idea of hosting a U.S. Open.

It’s huge, the longest U.S. Open course ever, at more than 7,741 yards (with room to make it even longer). Some fairways are almost wide enough to land a Boeing 767 airliner.

“You could fit 2 1/2 fairways at Winged Foot into the No. 10 fairway here,” Davis said.

But when the USGA gives, it almost always finds other places to take away.

Already this week, some players were complaining about the depth and stickiness of the rough . That tall, hay-like grass lingering just outside those massive fairways? It’s fescue, but not all of it is the typically wispy stuff you see on the edges of British Open courses. The mist floating into the vegetation from the irrigation systems at Erin Hills has made some of it healthier than expected.

Meanwhile, author Ron Whitten, who helped design the course, said among his proudest achievements are the bunkers, most of which don’t have flat lies and aren’t nearly as well-manicured or maintained as what these players face on a weekly basis. There are 138 of them covering what will be the first par-72 test at a U.S. Open since Pebble Beach in 1992.

“I’m surprised more players aren’t complaining about the bunkers,” Whitten said.

The USGA will look at the forecast and try to set up holes to dampen, not exacerbate, the effect of wind that can blow as hard as 30 mph. Davis said it blew that hard last Saturday, and conditions were so extreme that play likely would’ve been suspended had the tournament been going on because balls on the greens wouldn’t stay still.

“We try to make the course exacting,” Davis said. “If it’s too exacting, we’ll be back here in the media centre” to explain why.

It wouldn’t be the U.S. Open without some chance of that happening.

It’s why Stenson is easing into a week at this monster of a major course, where it’s expected to be humid with temperatures in the 80s most of the week. His hay fever is bugging him, too. He played 18 on Monday and will go only nine holes Tuesday and Wednesday. The key to the week for him, and anyone in the 156-player field: “Patience and pars.”

“It’s certainly a tiring week,” Stenson said. “But it’s all worth it if you stand there with the trophy on Sunday.”

Editors note: as of 2:00 p.m. ET the USGA is cutting some of the rough on holes No. 4, 12, 14, and 18.

Visit the 2017 U.S. Open website here.

PGA TOUR

Berger wins at St. Jude Classic for second straight year

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(Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Canadian Press

The first few shots of Daniel Berger’s final round didn’t give much clue that his second straight victory at the St. Jude Classic was only a few hours away.

He hit his drive on No. 1 into the rough, sent his next shot into the rough far past the hole and his third shot was a chip that didn’t even make it to the green. What was left was an awkward 25-foot chip to save par.

He drilled it.

And from that point on, Berger put together a stellar day on a firm, fast, challenging course at TPC Southwind, shooting a 4-under 66 to erase a three-shot deficit and beat South African Charl Schwartzel and South Korean Whee Kim by one stroke.

Now he just might be one of the young players to watch going into the U.S. Open next week at Erin Hills in Wisconsin.

“We hear a lot about the young guns and about the Justin Thomases and Jordan Spieths, but I feel like I kind of get forgotten a little bit,” Berger said. “I’m pretty good, so I’m just going to try and keep doing my thing and see if I can’t get a few more.”

Berger is the fourth back-to-back winner at St. Jude and the first since David Toms did it in 2003 and ’04. He played a bogey-free round on Sunday, usually avoiding trouble after the first hole. His 17-foot birdie putt on No. 15 put him ahead for good and he finished at 10-under 270.

“I played really great through the first couple days but I didn’t make as many putts,” Berger said. “Then the last couple days they just started to fall and that was the big difference.”

Schwartzel shot a 66 and Kim shot a 67 to finish in second. Amateur Braden Thornberry and Billy Horschel were among five players two shots back.

Schwartzel played well for most of the tournament, but a 4-over 74 in the third round made for a steep hill to climb on Sunday. He nearly made it, but a long putt on No. 17 stopped just short of the birdie he needed to pull even with Berger.

Stewart Cink, Ben Crane and Rafa Cabrera Bello started Sunday with a one-shot lead on a crowded leaderboard that included 12 players within three shots of the lead. Cabrera Bello stayed in contention for most of the day, finishing with a 71, but Cink and Crane both shot a 73.

The leaderboard was a jumbled mess through much of the final round. At one point, there were nine players tied for the lead at 8-under before Berger finally emerged from the pile.

“I just hit so many good shots coming down the stretch and I can’t even explain,” Berger said. “It’s just – I feel like I wasn’t even on the golf course. It just kind of happened.”

Phil Mickelson briefly had a share of the lead during the final round, but a triple bogey on No. 12 –
which included a shot into the water – knocked him out of contention. He still shot a 68 and finished at 7-under, three shots behind the leaders.

Mickelson, who is not expected to play in the U.S. Open next week because of his oldest daughter’s high school graduation, said he feels good about how he’s playing except when it comes to between his ears.

“The good news is that my physical game is there and I should be able to find the mental toughness here soon,” Mickelson said.

Thornberry shot a 65 and became the first amateur to finish in the top 10 at the St. Jude Classic since 1965. Thornberry, a sophomore at Mississippi who is from nearby Olive Branch, Mississippi, recently won the NCAA individual championship with for the school’s first golf title.

Brantford, Ont., native David Hearn finished T10 at 6-under par after a final round 70. The 10th place finish is his best result of the season to date.

For the full leaderboard click here.

PGA TOUR

Cink, Cabrera Bello among 3 leaders at St. Jude, Hearn T9

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(Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
Canadian Press

Rafa Cabrera Bello shot a 5-under 65 on Saturday to join Ben Crane and Stewart Cink in a three-way tie for the lead after three rounds at the St. Jude Classic.

Cabrera Bello, a 33-year-old from Spain, has four international victories, but has never won on the PGA Tour. He’s 30th in the World Golf Ranking.

Crane shot a 68 while Cink had a 69 to tie Cabrera Bello at 9-under 201.

The 44-year-old Cink has gradually improved his game since missing several weeks last year to help care for his wife Lisa, who was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer. He qualified for the U.S. Open on Monday in Ohio and has now had three solid rounds at the par-70 TPC Southwind course to contend for his first victory since winning the 2009 British Open.

He had a good start on Saturday, with birdies on three of his first five holes. He opened up a three shot lead at 11-under after a seven-foot birdie putt on No. 5, but dropped back to the field after three bogeys on the back nine.

Crane won the St. Jude Classic in 2014.

Luke List and Chad Campbell both shot a 66 and are one stroke behind the leaders. List made two eagles on the back nine to vault into contention.

Campbell, who recently turned 43, hasn’t won a tournament since the 2007 Viking Classic. He started Saturday five shots back of the leaders, but charged up the leaderboard with five birdies and only one bogey.

Chez Reavie, Charl Schwartzel and Sebastian Munoz started the third round with a one shot lead over Cink, but all of them struggled. Reavie is still in contention after shooting a 72 and is tied with Matt Jones and Kevin Chappell at 7-under, two shots behind the leaders.

Schwartzel shot a 74 and Munoz a 75.

Brantford, Ont., native David Hearn is T9 after a 3-under par 67. He’s 6-over par three shots back of Cabrera Bello

For the full leaderboard click here.