2024 US Open - Pinehurst No. 2

[cshea]

The golf world heads to North Carolina for the 3rd major of the year. Pinehurst No. 2 is hosting it's first US Open since 2014 (Kaymer romp) and has been named an anchor site for future Open's.

Scottie Scheffler enters as the dominant force in golf, 5 wins in his last 8 starts. At last check, he's 3/1 in the betting markets. If not for an arrest, there's a reasonable chance he's in the midst of a Grand Slam chase.

Other field notes:

• Defending champ Wyndham Clark has been in the wilderness for the last month or so, missing the cut at the Masters, PGA, and this past week at the Memorial.
• Xander comes in as probably the 2nd best player in the world, winning the PGA and T8 at the Memorial.
• Jon Rahm withdrew from LIV Houston in the middle of the 2nd round on Saturday with a foot infection. His status for the week is unclear.
• Rory finished runner up to Wyndham last year. He's been in decent form recently, T20 or better in his last 4 starts.
• Colin Morikawa hasn't won since the 2021 Open (excluding the Zozo last October) but has been in the final group on Sunday in the past 2 majors.
• Adam Scott ended up getting in via the OWGR. His streak of consecutive majors continues (92).
• Sergio got in off the alternate list. It will be his 25th consecutive US Open appearance.
• Tiger received a special exemption from the USGA and will tee it up.

Broadcast (Find your remote - otherwise knows as the FU from Comcast/NBC)

The main broadcast team is a 4-man booth. Dan Hicks and Brandel Chamblee will call the even holes, Mike Tirico and Brad Faxon have the odds.

In addition to the normal NBC broadcast team (Smylie Kaufman, John Wood, Curt Byrum, Notah Begay), Bones returns as well as Roger Maltbie and Gary Koch.

Thursday
6:30am-5:00pm - USA
5:00pm-8:00pm - Peacock

Friday
6:30am-1:00pm - Peacock
1:00pm-7:00pm - NBC
7:00pm-8:00pm - Peacock

Saturday
10:00am-12:00pm USA
12:00pm-8:00pm NBC

Sunday
9:00am-12:00pm USA
12:00pm-7:00pm NBC

 

[voidfunkt]

Scottie's the easy favorite to win.

Course is going to be baked. Hot and sunny without rain in the forecast. This is the US Open, we're all rooting for the course here so let the annual slaughter commence.

 

[cshea]

The NLU deep dive pod on US Open's at Pinehurst got me to go back and watch the 1999 final round. Pretty good stuff if anyone is looking to kill 5 hours.

(also the course is going to look a lot different this week)

View: https://youtu.be/9a7tlNBREAE?si=10NmRleZ_OKZ-bTH

 

[Comfortably Lomb]

Oh, right, the waste areas hadn't been restored yet in 1999 (and 2005):







That's certainly a different look now.

 

[cshea]

I think it's so much better now. It's more natural looking. The waste areas are playable and can provide some excitement and shot making. You can also get boned by the lie if you go in there and get stuck in a tuft of grass or a bush. Chop out rough gets boring.

In 2014 Kaymer won at -9 but only 2 other players finished under par, Rickie and Erik Compton both at -1 It'll still be hard as shit without chop out rough. And obviously the greens are diabolical.

 

[voidfunkt]

Totally different course. Almost certainly closer to what Ross intended with the design than the thing that it became in the latter half of the 20th century.

 

[canderson]

I’m here for carnage. If an Open isn't full of bogeys I want nothing to do with it.

 

[cshea]

It is always a bit weather dependant but it'll likely be a week of carnage. Winning scores:

1999: -1
2005: E
2014: -9 (an outlier; only 2 other players broke par, both -1)

It plays about 7,500 yards. It won't be narrow with deep, hack out rough like Winged Foot or Shinnecock but it'll be firm, fast and the green complexes are diabolical with crazy undulation and closely mown surroundings. I think Jack called them "turtleback" greens at one point. Someone will probably putt a ball off the green and into a bunker at some point during the tournament. If you are out of position around a green you can ping pong it back and forth.

 

[Comfortably Lomb]

Yup. Turtleback... sort of like upside down bowls at times. The greens have a lot of false front/sides/backs that the ball just won't stay on. So the safe landing area is a lot smaller than green is itself. I don't recall it being too prone to doubles or worse but can be really hard to get up-and-down depending on the miss (though we might get a few highlight reel screw-ups around the greens). There should be birdie opportunities too. Guys who are strong with their irons or short games should have an edge.

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

I’m here for carnage. If an Open it’s full of bogeys I want nothing to do with it.

Assume you meant isn’t, @canderson ?

 

[canderson]

Assume you meant isn’t, @canderson ?

Ah, yup - edited to correct.

 

[johnmd20]

2014: -9 (an outlier; only 2 other players broke par, both -1)

That 2014 US Open was the worst US Open in history to watch. It was over at 1pm on Friday when Kaymer, dominant, finished his 2nd round.(he went off early on Friday) It was then 28 more hours of TV golf with everyone playing for 2nd.

 

[cshea]

Noteable tee times for Thursday:

7:29am: Tiger, Matt Fitzpatrick, Will Zalatoris
7:40am: JT, Morikawa, Brooks Koepka
7:51am: Finau, Ludvig, DJ

1:14pm: Scottie, Xander, Rory
1:25pm: Bryson, Viktor, Max
1:36pm: Hideki, Rahm, Spieth

 

[kenneycb]

It is always a bit weather dependant but it'll likely be a week of carnage. Winning scores:

1999: -1
2005: E
2014: -9 (an outlier; only 2 other players broke par, both -1)

It plays about 7,500 yards. It won't be narrow with deep, hack out rough like Winged Foot or Shinnecock but it'll be firm, fast and the green complexes are diabolical with crazy undulation and closely mown surroundings. I think Jack called them "turtleback" greens at one point. Someone will probably putt a ball off the green and into a bunker at some point during the tournament. If you are out of position around a green you can ping pong it back and forth.

Or you can hit a moving ball like Long John did back in 1999.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uiJhzxPHC0

 

[cshea]

Noteable tee times for Thursday:

7:29am: Tiger, Matt Fitzpatrick, Will Zalatoris
7:40am: JT, Morikawa, Brooks Koepka
7:51am: Finau, Ludvig, DJ

1:14pm: Scottie, Xander, Rory
1:25pm: Bryson, Viktor, Max
1:36pm: Hideki, Rahm, Spieth

Didn't make the connection until NLU put it out there, but viewers will have to pony up for the 'Cock if you want to watch the majority of Rory/Scottie/Xander the first 2 rounds.

They will be somewhere around 12/13 depending on pace of play (it will be slow as shit) when the TV broadcast ends at 5:00pm on Thursday and the entirety of their round will be on Peacock on Friday.

I know Tiger is still the needle and he'll be on TV the entire time but it's a travesty from the USGA and Comcast/NBC that that group is behind the paywall for close to 27 of their opening 36 holes.

View: https://twitter.com/NoLayingUp/status/1800547234205008145

 

[Dan Murfman]

View: https://twitter.com/martysmithespn/status/1800630086942490695?s=46&t=lRRJs5ySDY6Z8VLw05vTlw

 

[Senator Donut]

Didn't make the connection until NLU put it out there, but viewers will have to pony up for the 'Cock if you want to watch the majority of Rory/Scottie/Xander the first 2 rounds.

They will be somewhere around 12/13 depending on pace of play (it will be slow as shit) when the TV broadcast ends at 5:00pm on Thursday and the entirety of their round will be on Peacock on Friday.

I know Tiger is still the needle and he'll be on TV the entire time but it's a travesty from the USGA and Comcast/NBC that that group is behind the paywall for close to 27 of their opening 36 holes.

View: https://twitter.com/NoLayingUp/status/1800547234205008145

That's not correct. Featured groups are available on the USGA website and app without a paywall and some cable providers (including YouTube TV) will carry them as well.

https://www.usopen.com/viewing-schedule.html

 

[ernieshore]

Robert Rock qualified this year- despite retiring a couple years ago to teach.

I always liked him just because he usually doesn’t wear a hat - like me, unless it is very sunny.

 

[Pablo's TB Lover]

View: https://twitter.com/martysmithespn/status/1800630086942490695?s=46&t=lRRJs5ySDY6Z8VLw05vTlw

It sounds minor, but I can't blame Rahm. After his showing in the first 2 majors this season, he really needs a strong showing in his next major or else it becomes a "streak".

Bryson, to name an example, seems to have made the adjustment well to popping into the format after playing LIV the remainder of his schedule, but Rahm could be an example of someone who needs the PGA reps between majors in order to not be a fish out of water. Time will tell...

 

[joe dokes]

That 2014 US Open was the worst US Open in history to watch. It was over at 1pm on Friday when Kaymer, dominant, finished his 2nd round.(he went off early on Friday) It was then 28 more hours of TV golf with everyone playing for 2nd.

Which made the Dokes's quite happy. My father-n-law lived in Pinehurst at the time and attended the Open rather than coming north to his older granddaughter's high school graduation. Other than him getting hit by lightning, a relatively shitty Open was the best outcome. He was pretty much dead to us after that. Her sister didn't even invite him three years later to her graduation. And now he's actually dead (last winter). My wife's not a golf fan and only realized it was at Pinehurst a couple of weeks ago. "Aww...too bad Dad didn't live to see another USOpen in Pinehurst," she said, quite sarcastically.

 

[cshea]

That's not correct. Featured groups are available on the USGA website and app without a paywall and some cable providers (including YouTube TV) will carry them as well.

https://www.usopen.com/viewing-schedule.html

That's fair, I'll give them that.

I still think it's a pretty lousy user experience. How many casual fans are going to hunt out the free stream or add a Peacock subscription? I know the NFL has started putting games, including playoff games, behind a paywall and everything but they have an established enormous market. Pro golf has plummeting ratings, even the majors. I think it needs to be more accessible at this point, not less. I know it's free but people still have to find it.

I think they should be leaning in and marketing the hell out of Scheffler. How many people first heard of him because he got arrested and it was a national news story? How many of those people might be curious to see this guy who got arrested but also apparently wins every golf tournament play in the US Open? How many are going to shrug and give up because they can't find it or are asked to pay a subscription fee?

I know it's unrealistic to have 12-14 hours of golf on NBC for 4 straight days. But the moving targets between Peacock, NBC, USA and the USGA app is rough. This is also a company that owns a channel ostensibly named "Golf Channel" which will show exactly zero shots of the US Open, their biggest tournament of the year.

 

[TheGazelle]

That's fair, I'll give them that.

I still think it's a pretty lousy user experience. How many casual fans are going to hunt out the free stream or add a Peacock subscription? I know the NFL has started putting games, including playoff games, behind a paywall and everything but they have an established enormous market. Pro golf has plummeting ratings, even the majors. I think it needs to be more accessible at this point, not less. I know it's free but people still have to find it.

I think they should be leaning in and marketing the hell out of Scheffler. How many people first heard of him because he got arrested and it was a national news story? How many of those people might be curious to see this guy who got arrested but also apparently wins every golf tournament play in the US Open? How many are going to shrug and give up because they can't find it or are asked to pay a subscription fee?

I know it's unrealistic to have 12-14 hours of golf on NBC for 4 straight days. But the moving targets between Peacock, NBC, USA and the USGA app is rough. This is also a company that owns a channel ostensibly named "Golf Channel" which will show exactly zero shots of the US Open, their biggest tournament of the year.

I completely agree with this. Scottie's round should be on TV and easy for casual fans to watch. This is so stupid.

 

[Comfortably Lomb]

That's fair, I'll give them that.

I still think it's a pretty lousy user experience. How many casual fans are going to hunt out the free stream or add a Peacock subscription? I know the NFL has started putting games, including playoff games, behind a paywall and everything but they have an established enormous market. Pro golf has plummeting ratings, even the majors. I think it needs to be more accessible at this point, not less. I know it's free but people still have to find it.

I think they should be leaning in and marketing the hell out of Scheffler. How many people first heard of him because he got arrested and it was a national news story? How many of those people might be curious to see this guy who got arrested but also apparently wins every golf tournament play in the US Open? How many are going to shrug and give up because they can't find it or are asked to pay a subscription fee?

I know it's unrealistic to have 12-14 hours of golf on NBC for 4 straight days. But the moving targets between Peacock, NBC, USA and the USGA app is rough. This is also a company that owns a channel ostensibly named "Golf Channel" which will show exactly zero shots of the US Open, their biggest tournament of the year.

It's most certainly a lousy user experience. That's because the mission here is only to extract every dollar possible from viewers and drive up those Peacock account signups so some CEO can puff his chest at the next investor's meeting and buy a bigger yacht.

 

[Dan Murfman]

View: https://twitter.com/KDPomp/status/1800653315102941365

 

[TFP]

View: https://twitter.com/KDPomp/status/1800653315102941365

That video is kinda misleading (not your fault). He's dropping it on the edge of a false front on probably the most severe spot on any green on the course. You don't want to ever miss short left on 5 (where he drops it) and that won't happen with a normal putt or anything. That pin is on the front-most edge of the pinnable area on the green (the front is toward the left In the vid). If he drops that a yard further towards the middle of the green, it's not going anywhere.

It's going to be really hard, but quite fair if you hit it in the right spots.

 

[steveluck7]

These videos surface every year at the US Open. These and the “watch the ball disappear into the rough when I drop it right at my feet” videos.
They never seem to come into play on the weekend with the top groups.

 

[cshea]

Opening birdie for Tiger.

In the same group, Zalatoris gets the Pinehurst experience. 2 good shots to the front of 10th green. Blades the pitch over the back of the green, then has his putt from way off the green come back to his feet. Bogey.

 

[Zomp]

Did you guys know this course is hard?

 

[Comfortably Lomb]

Did you guys know this course is hard?

Ruh row, are the announcers telling us this early and often?

 

[Zomp]

Only every shot

 

[cshea]

Tiger is pouring in 10 footers.

 

[TFP]

Only every shot

How can you tell through all the commercials?

 

[Comfortably Lomb]

Not quite sure who the featured group announcers are but they might be blind.

"This looks like it's going to come up a bit short of the hole." - ball flies green

"This isn't on a very good line." - long putt strikes pin

Might be time to schedule that annual eye visit guys.

 

[Dave Stapleton]

I heard that the greens are fast too.

 

[cshea]

13 seems fun. Only 390 yards, most guys taking iron off the tee, then can't hit the green with wedges. Curious if more of the afternoon guys take driver and try to get is as far up there as possible.

 

[Dave Stapleton]

Tiger looks as good as I’ve seen him lately. Irons seem smooth and his putting distances are right there. I know it’s early but ….

 

[Dave Stapleton]

13 seems fun. Only 390 yards, most guys taking iron off the tee, then can't hit the green with wedges. Curious if more of the afternoon guys take driver and try to get is as far up there as possible.

Hovland was going for it during practice.

 

[Dave Stapleton]

Tiger looks as good as I’ve seen him lately. Irons seem smooth and his putting distances are right there. I know it’s early but ….

Sorry to jinx you Tiger

 

[Comfortably Lomb]

Tiger looks as good as I’ve seen him lately. Irons seem smooth and his putting distances are right there. I know it’s early but ….

He looks relatively sharp. Best he's looked walking in some time. Let's see how he wears down. I hope he plays a few Senior events in 2026.

Sorry to jinx you Tiger

Never seen a player more prone to either piping it perfectly or missing well wide.

 

[cshea]

Tiger looks as good as I’ve seen him lately. Irons seem smooth and his putting distances are right there. I know it’s early but ….

This is probably the type of course he can get around. It's not a links but is closer to a British Open than some of the other US Open venues. Long, narrow fairways and deep rough is the type of course he probably can't really compete at anymore. This is wide fairways, the waste areas are playable when he does miss as opposed to automatic hack out and the creativity required around the greens are up his wheelhouse. It's also hot so theoretically he'd loosen up easier.

We'll see, it's only 5 holes.

 

[Dave Stapleton]

He looks relatively sharp. Best he's looked walking in some time. Let's see how he wears down. I hope he plays a few Senior events in 2026.


Never seen a player more prone to either piping it perfectly or missing well wide.

You haven’t seen me play lately. Last week I’m played the back nine at +4 with 7 pars ….

 

[Average Reds]

Never seen a player more prone to either piping it perfectly or missing well wide.

The problem for Tiger is that he he really doesn’t play a draw with his driver anymore. (Just hard to hit with his various infirmities.) And 16 is a short par 5 converted to a 4 for this championship that demands a draw. So he overdid it.

If he can save 4 from the fairway, it bodes well for his chances to be around for the weekend.

Edit: Leaving himself a 15-20 footer from 75 yards isn’t a great sign.

 

[Dave Stapleton]

The problem for Tiger is that he he really doesn’t play a draw with his driver anymore. (Just hard to hit with his various infirmities.) And 16 is a short par 5 converted to a 4 for this championship that demands a draw. So he overdid it.

If he can save 4 from the fairway, it bodes well for his chances to be around for the weekend.

Edit: Leaving himself a 15-20 footer from 75 yards isn’t a great sign.

Hit another great putt but these greens are really hard dontcha know?

 

[voidfunkt]

No. 2 looks so much better with the waste areas instead of all the manicured rough.

 

[cshea]

The problem for Tiger is that he he really doesn’t play a draw with his driver anymore. (Just hard to hit with his various infirmities.) And 16 is a short par 5 converted to a 4 for this championship that demands a draw. So he overdid it.

If he can save 4 from the fairway, it bodes well for his chances to be around for the weekend.

Edit: Leaving himself a 15-20 footer from 75 yards isn’t a great sign.

Eh, bogey won't kill him in a US Open. For the 3rd shot he had to get it past the hole, it looked like there was a pretty severe false front. If he tried to get too cute he would've run the risk it rips off the front and his got a lengthy pitch for a 4. I think he hit his 3rd right where he wanted to, it just didn't rip back as much as he expected. But he took 6 out of play and gave himself a shot at a 4.

 

[Average Reds]

“He looked a little late on that swing.” (Morikawa hits it to 3 feet.)

These guys have played golf, right? Like, they are former players?

Eh, bogey won't kill him in a US Open. For the 3rd shot he had to get it past the hole, it looked like there was a pretty severe false front. If he tried to get too cute he would've run the risk it rips off the front and his got a lengthy pitch for a 4. I think he hit his 3rd right where he wanted to, it just didn't rip back as much as he expected. But he took 6 out of play and gave himself a shot at a 4.

I hear you. He played the hole smartly. I’m just not expecting much given his year to date. Would love to be wrong.

 

[Average Reds]

BTW, it’s been decades since I played #2, but I remember 17 (and 18) as an absolute bear of a hole.

 

[The Napkin]

I heard that the greens are fast too.

how's the rough?

 

[TFP]

“He looked a little late on that swing.” (Morikawa hits it to 3 feet.)

For what it's worth, Morikawa said "Oh no" as soon as he it.

Also I'm loathe to give them credit, but the All Access feed on the Cock is excellent. They're jumping between the USA coverage and the featured groups seamlessly with barely any commercials. Basically like a multiview, but full screen with a producer switching between each one. This is something that's absolutely worth paying for.

 

[TimNJsoxfan]

Tiger 3 putts from 25"...oof +2