The USGA didn’t mess around in Massachusetts this week. Here are some photos of some of the best U.S. Open merchandise.
The best players in the world have made the trip to New England for the 122nd U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, just outside Boston.
With plenty of storylines entering the week — Jon Rahm vying for a second straight title, Rory McIlroy searching for his first major since 2014, and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler going for his second major of 2022 — it’s been LIV Golf, unsurprisingly, dominating the headlines.
Hopefully, that all ends when play gets underway Thursday morning.
At a major championship, the merchandise is a token for all fans to bring home to remember their week at one of the biggest events of the year.
The USGA isn’t messing around in Massachusetts.
Here are some photos from inside the enormous merchandise tent at The Country Club.
Johnson has worked with Gil Hanse to restore greens and with the USGA to narrow fairways and grow rough.
When Dave Johnson snuck on to play Nichols College Golf Course in Dudley, Massachusetts, when he was young, the thought never crossed his mind that he’d become director of grounds at a U.S. Open golf course.
“I’m not even sure that I knew what the U.S. Open was at that age,” he said. “I was so young.”
Nevertheless, it’s true. Johnson has been working with the United States Golf Association to prepare to host the U.S. Open this week at The Country Club in Brookline.
Where will that U.S. Open week rank among his career highlights?
“I’ve got to say it’s right at the top,” he said. “How could it not be? I’ve done a lot of fun things, but I’ve never done this, running the show. I’ve been to U.S. Opens, but this is definitely going to be the Mecca.”
The best golfers in the world will tee off on the course that Johnson has maintained since he came to TCC, one of the five founding clubs of the USGA, in March 2018.
“A little bit of pressure, I will say that,” he said, “but in general, the field I’m in, golf course superintendents, every day we try to make our golf courses the best we can for whoever it is who’s playing our golf courses. So to have the best in the world play the property that you present every day, it’s really why we do this, and it’s exciting.”
Dave Johnson at The Country Club in Brookline where he is director of grounds. (Bill Doyle/Telegram-Gazette)
Collaborative effort indeed
Johnson picked the brain of his predecessor, Bill Spence, who retired after working at TCC for 33 years and who was superintendent when the U.S. Open was last held at TCC in 1988. But mostly, Johnson has worked with architect Gil Hanse to restore greens and with the USGA to narrow fairways and grow rough.
“Dave is fantastic to work with,” said Jeff Hall, USGA managing director of rules and open championships. “Obviously, his technical skills with agronomy and all, that’s not where I shine. I know just enough about grass to make it grow, but he understands all of that. But he’s really made the effort to understand what we are contemplating and talking about from a set-up standpoint and of playability. He’s been a wonderful partner, he and his team.”
Johnson has impressed Hall with his even temperament.
“He’s just a steady heartbeat,” he said. “I don’t know that it ever gets too fast or too slow, just very steady. No matter what we talk about, throw at him, discuss, it’s been fantastic to work with Dave.”
“If you get too emotional in this business that’s not going to work out too well,” TCC director of golf Brendan Walsh said, “and he’s got a great staff, people that love working with him, as I always like to use the term, not working ‘for’ him. He’s done a wonderful job training his individuals, giving them a sense of autonomy to go out there and do great things and let them learn. We’re really happy to have him. I’ve really enjoyed working with him.”
When Johnson was in the seventh grade, his family moved to the other side of Dudley and bought a house across the street from the third hole at Nichols College GC, now named Dudley Hill Golf Club. At Shepherd Hill Regional, he played for the golf team and worked on the grounds crew at Nichols. After graduating from UMass-Amherst with a degree in plant and soil science, he worked as an assistant superintendent at Wachusett CC and then as superintendent at Whitinsville GC and at the Wianno Club in Osterville before TCC hired him as director of grounds.
Now four years later, the club is preparing to host the U.S. Open for the fourth time. Each of the previous three was decided by an 18-hole playoff. If there’s a playoff this year, it will be a two-hole aggregate score. The playoff rule was changed in 2018.
In 1913, Francis Ouimet recorded what is considered to be the greatest upset and most impactful victory in golf history. The 20-year-old amateur, who lived in a house adjacent to the 17th hole at the club where he used to caddie, defeated the highly favored Brittons Harry Vardon and Ted Ray in an 18-hole playoff. Ouimet’s victory is credited with popularizing golf in America.
In 1963, Julius Boros defeated Arnold Palmer and Jacky Culprit in the playoff. Worcester native Paul Harney finished a stroke back.
In 1988, Curtis Strange defeated Nick Faldo in the playoff, and he repeated as U.S. Open champion by a shot the following year.
Flags blow in the wind on the 15th hole during a practice round at the 2022 U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass. on Monday, June 13, 2022. (James Gilbert/USGA)
Long preparation for Open
The USGA started preparing five or six years ago with Johnson and his staff for the 2022 U.S. Open.
“It’s exciting for me,” Johnson said, “it’s exciting for my team that’s worked so hard to get here and prepared this property, and it means a lot to my family. They’ve been by my side the whole time. So yeah, it’s very meaningful. This is why we work so hard, for moments like this.”
Johnson’s wife, Maryanne, and oldest daughter, Val, 18, will volunteer in the merchandise tent during U.S. Open week, and his youngest daughter, Sammy, 16, will volunteer in the clubhouse. His parents, Wayne and Joyce, who live in Webster, will attend the U.S. Open as fans.
Johnson has a staff of 36 workers, including two superintendents and a horticulturist. Aidan O’Sullivan, who worked with Johnson at Whitinsville and later served as assistant superintendent at Green Hill Municipal Golf Course, is one of Johnson’s lead assistants. Shaughn Mitchell, who grew up in Clinton and worked at Oak Hill, Sterling National and Wedgewood Pines, is also an assistant at TCC.
One hundred volunteers, many of them golf course superintendents at other clubs, will help Johnson and his staff.
“So many of those volunteers are superintendents at other clubs with big jobs,” Hall said, “and here that week as volunteers, they’re slinging hoses or raking bunkers. No task is beneath them because they’re going to help one of their own shine, and it’s such a wonderful tradition. But the outside-the-ropes folks don’t get much sleep, either, whether it’s trying to manage parking and traffic flows, and if we get weather, that makes life more challenging, but we’ll crown a champion, and it will be all worth it in the end.”
Members of the grounds staff work on the course during a practice round at the 2022 U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass. on Monday, June 13, 2022. (Jeff Haynes/USGA)
Long days
The first tee must be ready by 6:30 a.m. for the opening round on Thursday.
“So we have to have the entire golf course prepared,” Johnson said, “and get 100 people back to our complex before all the fans get in here. So we do it in the middle of the night. Our shift will start at 3 a.m.”
They’ll be riding their maintenance vehicles with the lights on.
The maintenance staff will finish the morning shift at about 8 or 9. Then they’ll return about 4:30 p.m. and be out on the course by 5:30 or 6 p.m. to mow and do whatever else needs to be done.
“Hopefully, everybody’s in bed by 10 p.m.,” Johnson said.
Johnson and much of his staff will stay in rented housing next to the club. Volunteers will be shuttled in from their housing at Boston College.
Because of the wear and tear caused by the fans and the numerous stands and hospitality tents, Johnson said he doesn’t expect TCC to return to normal property conditions until Christmas.
The USGA began erecting tents at TCC in early March.
“Fortunately, up the middle, the championship course will be in great condition,” Johnson said, “and our members will play that golf course.”
Members will be able to play TCC until nine or 10 days before the U.S. Open begins.
Johnson said he hasn’t had many calls from friends asking for U.S. Open tickets.
“I think they know the answer,” he said. “I probably can’t help them.”
—Contact Bill Doyle at bcdoyle15@charter.net. Follow him on Twitter@BillDoyle15.
In the toughest test in golf year in and year out, Koepka has only seen four players finish ahead of him in four starts.
BROOKLINE, Mass. – Here’s the list of all the players who have beaten Brooks Koepka in his last four starts in the U.S. Open.
Gary Woodland.
Jon Rahm
Louis Oosthuizen.
Harris English.
That’s it. That’s the list. Seriously, in the toughest test in golf year in and year out, Koepka has only seen four players finish ahead of him.
The four-time major winner won the 2017 U.S. Open at Erin Hills and went back-to-back by winning the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock. He finished runner-up to Gary Woodland in the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, missed the 2020 edition at Winged Foot with an injury and tied for fourth in the 2021 U.S. Open won by Rahm at Torrey Pines.
“That’s pretty special,” Koepka said Tuesday at The Country Club, home to the 122nd U.S. Open. “I love this event. This event has always been good to me, so hopefully play well this week.”
Later, was asked again about the scant number of players who have bettered him in his past four starts in the U.S. Open, Koepka didn’t hesitate.
Brooks Koepka of the United States poses with the winner’s trophy with Jena Sims after his victory at the 2017 U.S. Open at Erin Hills on June 18, 2017, in Hartford, Wisconsin. This week’s event marks Koepka’s first as a married man. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
“I wish it was less,” he said.
Considering his recent inactivity, Koepka, 32, could be hard-pressed to keep the number the same or slightly higher this week. He’s played once in the past two months – a tie for 55th in the PGA Championship – and got married June 5 to Jenna Simms in Turks and Caicos.
He’s fallen to 19th in the official world rankings and hasn’t won since the 2021 Waste Management Phoenix Open. But Koepka feels he’ll be ready and he has the blueprint to winning a U.S. Open – toughness, talent, discipline, resilience, strength, confidence and the ability to not fear pressure but to embrace it.
“I’ve practiced enough. I haven’t played tournament golf,” he said. “I can take time off and still come back and win. It’s not an issue.
“If I grind like I have, obviously the wedding week I didn’t play or practice, but I got back into it right after. I like where my game is at.”
And when it comes to Koepka, the tougher the test, the better.
“You know it’s going to be tough. I like that. I like scores that are somewhat around even par,” he said. “It’s going to be difficult. You have to drive the ball well. Rough is pretty tough, and it’s only going to get tougher because I’m sure they won’t cut it. Golf course is good. It’s kind of weird; got a couple of blind shots, but other than that, it’s a great golf course, fun golf course to play.
“So should be a good week. I feel good. I feel fine. Just excited to go play, go tee it up. It’s a major.”
Travis Vick’s first-tee experience on Monday at the U.S. Open already ranks as something he’ll never forget.
BROOKLINE, Massachusetts – Travis Vick’s first-tee experience on Monday at the U.S. Open already ranks as something he’ll never forget. He estimates there were 1,000 people at The Country Club there to watch the other Texas Longhorn in the group – World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.
The 22-year-old Vick says he’s on a golf high, and rightly so.
Two weeks ago, Vick clinched the winning point for Texas at the NCAA Championship in Scottsdale, Arizona. One week before that, he shot 9-under 133 in final qualifying at Royal Oaks and Lakewood country clubs in Dallas. Vick eagled the par-5 17th hole at Lakewood to play his way into his first major championship, sweet revenge after being disqualified from his qualifier last year for accidentally playing with 15 clubs.
Vick had lunch with Scheffler ahead of his round at Royal Oaks to get some tips on his home track.
“(Scottie) shot a 58 there, I think,” said Vick. “That gave me confidence that it can be done. That you can go low.”
Scottie Scheffler of the United States plays his shot from the 13th tee during a practice round prior to the 2022 U.S. Open at The Country Club on June 13, 2022 in Brookline, Massachusetts. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
Their conversations around The Country Club on Monday were more about life than golf, though Vick enjoyed the up-close-and-personal view of Scheffler’s game, calling his iron play “underrated.”
“It was a very relaxed atmosphere,” said Vick. “It wasn’t intense grind mode.”
Trey Vick typically caddies for his son but will be outside the ropes this week as swing coach Adam Porzak takes over.
Last summer, Porzak was on the bag for student Brian Stark when he met Vick in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur. Vick got off to a hot start, but then started to struggle with a swing flaw he hadn’t been able to shake mid-round.
“I turned to him and said, ‘Hey, do you know what I’m doing wrong?” Vick recalled. Porzak said yes.
Walking down the fairway together late in the match, Vick turned to Porzak and asked, “Hey, when can I get that lesson?”
Oklahoma State’s Stark, who was walking a few paces behind, said, “Not now!”
It makes for a good story, of course. Since Vick began working with Porzak, he has tightened up his wedge game and made great strides with his short game, though Vick is quick to interject that there’s still much to learn.
“When he has a wedge in his hand now,” said Porzak, “I feel like every time I’m just waiting for it to drop next to the hole. I can honestly say it didn’t used to be like that.”
Vick appreciates the vulnerability Scheffler displayed after his Masters victory, when he talked about how he “cried like a baby” Sunday morning from the stress.
Scottie Scheffler stops to sign autographs at the ninth hole during a practice round at the 2022 U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass. on Tuesday, June 14, 2022. (James Gilbert/USGA)
After the Masters, Scheffler spoke with members of College Golf Fellowship, a faith-based ministry that Vick is heavily involved in, attending several retreats over the years. Scheffler and good friend Sam Burns co-host a retreat each year.
Vick was a three-sport athlete at Second Baptist in Houston through his junior year, winning state championships in golf and baseball and leading his team to the semifinals in football as quarterback.
“It helps with pressure situations,” said Vick of being a multi-sport athlete. “Making that lag putt on 18, putting myself in what the world would classify as high, tense pressure situations.
“When you’ve done that in multiple sports, it helps change your mindset, allows you to focus in.”
When Scheffler competed as an amateur in the U.S. Open, he played practice rounds with Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson and said he’ll always do the same for young amateurs because he learned so much from those experiences.
For Trey Vick, the value of his son’s experience with Scheffler extended far beyond golf.
“Scottie just seems to be so consistent in the way he treats everybody,” said Trey. “I just really appreciate that. You couldn’t ask for anything more as a dad. Because you want your son to come along and to be steady as a human being, which is more important.”
Travis Vick played three sports in high school through his junior year. (Golfweek photo/Tracy Wilcox)
As Vick prepares for the first major of his young career, Scheffler said the best advice he can offer is to keep it light and focus on incremental improvements.
“I find a lot of guys really try to make these quantum leaps where it’s, like, I’m going to make this swing change, and it’s going to totally change my game,” said Scheffler. “That whole rebuilding process I think has a tendency to really hurt guys.
“For me, I always try to get a little bit incrementally better over time, versus making these kind of drastic changes to improve a ton at once.
“Then don’t take you yourself too seriously, because you’re going to hit really, really bad shots. It’s not all about hitting perfect golf shots. It’s about managing your misses and responding to those.”
A storm has been brewing this week at The Country Club ahead of the 122nd U.S. Open.
BROOKLINE, Mass. – A storm has been brewing this week at The Country Club ahead of the 122nd U.S. Open.
Not ominous skies and impending storms. No, the disturbance took root more than two years ago in the Middle East with talks of an upstart golf league that would rival the PGA Tour and potentially pick off some of the game’s best players.
Last week, the league known as LIV Golf which is backed by the controversial Saudi Arabia regime and led by Greg Norman played its first tournament in London, the headliners being Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Louis Oosthuizen, Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter. Also last week, Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed agreed to terms and will be defecting to LIV Golf.
All of the players have been suspended from the PGA Tour by commissioner Jay Monahan.
This week outside of Boston, all the game’s best players have converged to try and win the U.S. national championship, as cherished a major as there is.
Yet the majority of the conversation has been about LIV Golf. Question after question after question has been about LIV Golf.
Two-time U.S. Open champion and four-time major winner Brooks Koepka is sick of it. In fact, the man with the calm demeanor on and off the golf course got a touch heated during his gathering with the media.
“I’m here at the U.S. Open. I’m ready to play U.S. Open, and I think it kind of sucks, too, you are all throwing this black cloud over the U.S. Open,” Koepka said Tuesday. “It’s one of my favorite events. I don’t know why you guys keep doing that. The more legs you give it, the more you keep talking about it.”
A few questions later, LIV Golf came up again. And again. And again.
Brooks Koepka addresses the media during a press conference for the U.S. Open golf tournament at The Country Club. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
Is there a dollar amount that would make you go to LIV Golf? Isn’t LIV Golf perfect for you since you can concentrate on majors and play 8-10 other tournaments with huge purses? What about the future of LIV Golf?
“I don’t understand. I’m trying to focus on the U.S. Open, man. I legitimately don’t get it. I’m tired of the conversations. I’m tired of all this stuff,” he said. “Like I said, y’all are throwing a black cloud on the U.S. Open. I think that sucks. I actually do feel bad for them for once because it’s a sh–y situation. We’re here to play, and you are talking about an event that happened last week.”
