Tag: Brookline

U.S. Open: 5 things we learned Sunday, from Matt Fitzpatrick’s work ethic and LIV Golf prep to the USGA’s set up

Here’s what we learned from Sunday’s final round at The Country Club.

BROOKLINE, Mass. — On a chilly, overcast New England day, the lead at the 122nd U.S. Open went back and forth throughout the afternoon. Matt Fitzpatrick, Will Zalatoris and Scottie Scheffler all reached 6 under during their rounds at The Country Club on Sunday, but only one of them, the Englishman who won the 2013 U.S. Amateur at this course, was able to finish there.

Fitzpatrick becomes the third golfer to win a U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open on the same course, joining Jack Nicklaus at Pebble Beach and Juli Inkster at Prairie Dunes.

Here are five things we learned on Sunday at The Country Club.

U.S. Open: Scores | Winner’s bag | Prize money

Matt Fitzpatrick carves out unique piece of USGA history with dramatic 2022 U.S. Open win

Fitzpatrick earned his first major championship with a Sunday 68 to win by one.

The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, provided a challenging but fair test for the field at this week’s 2022 U.S. Open, setting up for a thrilling finish on Father’s Day.

Just how good was the Sunday’s final-round action? When the leaders in the last group were on the 15th hole, each of the top six players on the leaderboard was ranked inside the top 20 of the Official World Golf Ranking.

The last three U.S. Opens held at The Country Club all went to a playoff but that trend was bucked this year as Matt Fitzpatrick claimed the win at 6 under, one shot ahead of world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris. The win is Fitzpatrick’s first major title and made him just the 13th player to win the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open, and the first to accomplish the feat at the same golf course since Jack Nicklaus won his second U.S. Amateur and third U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.

Fitzpatrick shot a 2-under 68 in the final round for his first win since the 2021 Andalucía Masters on the DP World Tour.

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2022 U.S. Open final round tee times, how to watch the action at The Country Club

Everything you need to know for the final round at The Country Club.

It all comes down to this.

After 54 holes at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, Will Zalatoris and Matt Fitzpatrick are tied atop the leaderboard at 4 under, one shot clear of defending champion Jon Rahm. Fitzpatrick has the opportunity to make history as the 12th player to win both the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open, and the first to do so at the same course.

Phil Mickelson, Webb Simpson and Viktor Hovland highlight the list of notable players who missed the cut for the weekend.

From tee times to TV and streaming info, here’s everything you need to know for Sunday’s action at The Country Club. All times Eastern.

Final round tee times

Time Players
8:49 a.m. Stewart Hagestad (a), Harris English
9:00 a.m. Brandon Matthews, Sebastian Söderberg
9:11 a.m. Wil Besseling, Chris Naegel
9:22 a.m. Tyrrell Hatton, Austin Greaser (a)
9:33 a.m. Bryson DeChambeau, Grayson Murray
9:44 a.m. MJ Daffue, Callum Tarren
9:55 a.m. Joaquin Niemann, Max Homa
10:06 a.m. Chris Gotterup, Sam Bennett (a)
10:17 a.m. Patrick Reed, Todd Sinnott
10:28 a.m. Guido Migliozzi, K.H. Lee
10:44 a.m. Travis Vick (a), Brooks Koepka
10:55 a.m. Justin Rose, Sam Stevens
11:06 a.m. Joseph Bramlett, Beau Hossler
11:17 a.m. Xander Schauffele, Andrew Putnam
11:28 a.m. Marc Leishman, Mackenzie Hughes
11:39 a.m. Richard Bland, Adam Scott
11:50 a.m. David Lingmerth, Thomas Pieters
12:01 p.m. Joohyung Kim, Adam Schenk
12:17 p.m. Justin Thomas, Cameron Tringale
12:28 p.m. Jordan Spieth, Patrick Cantlay
12:39 p.m. Collin Morikawa, Patrick Rodgers
12:50 p.m. Brian Harman, Davis Riley
1:01 p.m. Hideki Matsuyama, Dustin Johnson
1:12 p.m. Min Woo Lee, Sebastián Muñoz
1:23 p.m. Hayden Buckley, Aaron Wise
1:34 p.m. Matthew NeSmith, Seamus Power
1:50 p.m. Gary Woodland, Denny McCarthy
2:01 p.m. Nick Hardy, Joel Dahmen
2:12 p.m. Rory McIlroy, Sam Burns
2:23 p.m. Scottie Scheffler, Adam Hadwin
2:34 p.m. Keegan Bradley, Jon Rahm
2:45 p.m. Matt Fitzpatrick, Will Zalatoris

How to watch

Sunday, June 19

TV

USA: 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
NBC: 12-7 p.m.

STREAMING

Peacock: 9-10 a.m.
Featured groups: 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Featured holes (Nos. 11-13): 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
U.S. Open Radio: 10 a.m.-7 p.m.

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Watch: Scottie Scheffler holes out for eagle to take lead at 2022 U.S. Open

Scottie took the U.S. Open lead with style on Saturday.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler hit the shot of the day – at least so far – in the third round of the 122nd U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Scheffler holed a wedge from 102 yards for eagle at the par-5 8th hole.

Scheffler’s tee shot sailed right into the thick rough and he had to lay up for his second shot.

“This probably is the most dangerous shot on the front nine,” NBC’s Paul Azinger said with the shot in mid-air.

Scheffler wedged his ball past the hole and it spun back into the cup. It was a thing of beauty.

The eagle catapulted the reigning Masters champion into sole possession of the lead for the moment, two strokes ahead of Collin Morikawa, Patrick Rodgers and Aaron Wise at the time.

Scheffler pumped his fist, caddie Ted Scott chest bumped him and they did a better job of slapping five than the previous day when Scheffler holed out for eagle at the 14th hole in the second round in what was termed “an awkward celebration.”

The eagle continued an impressive run for Scheffler, who improved to 8 under in his last 19 holes and is the only player in the field with two eagles this week.

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Justin Thomas teed off at U.S. Open officials after not getting a free drop in NSFW rant

JT can’t get no relief

Justin Thomas had a pretty rough go of things early on Saturday afternoon as he worked to climb up the U.S. Open leaderboard.

At a par-four No. 4 hole that’s given him trouble all weekend, Thomas landed his third-round tee shot just a few inches from a drain pipe. He thought the location would cause enough interference to afford him a free drop from USGA officials. He was wrong. Officials instead told him to play the ball as it lies.

That resulted in Thomas completely duffing his second shot and landing it in the sand trap short of the green. An understandably upset JT then launched an expletive-laden rant as he walked down the fairway.

Warning: NSFW

The NBC broadcast crew said Thomas was asked if he could hit the ball and his answer meant he had to. Which explains Thomas saying “so many other people would lie about being able to hit that” as he argued for a free drop.

But the counter-argument there is that the drain pipe creates more of a mental block than a physical one—meaning Thomas shouldn’t get relief just because of a difficult lie. After all, MJ Daffue hit a shot off a hospitality tent deck on Friday and he was in first place at the time, too.

Fortunately, Justin Thomas is a much better golfer than you and I because that whole little adventure only ended up costing him one stroke. He’d go onto bogey a hole that he’d bogeyed the two previous rounds.

Thomas made it through the seventh hole plus-two on the day, three over for the tournament and in a tie for 37th place. He’s still +7500 live at Tipico Sportsbook, but those odds appear to be getting longer as his day goes on.

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U.S. Open: 5 things we learned Friday, from ballstriking to card-wreckers and the value of patience

There was a lot to learn from Friday’s second round.

BROOKLINE,  Mass. — You can excuse the Boston sports fans for being a little subdued on Friday morning at The Country Club, site of this year’s U.S. Open. The Celtics lost in the NBA Finals last night to the Golden State Warriors and storms were forecasted to hit the area shortly after lunch.

Thankfully, while sprinkles did fall, the lightning stayed safely away and play at the 122nd U.S. Open was never stopped. And in the afternoon, as the skies brightened and the wind softened, the action heated up. Scottie Scheffler shot an early 67, but stars like Collin Morikawa, Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy climbed the leaderboard, along with Joel Dahmen and Aaron Wise who are now in the mix heading into the weekend.

Here are five things we learned during the second round of the U.S. Open.

2022 U.S. Open Saturday tee times, how to watch

Everything you need to know for moving day at The Country Club.

It’s Moving Day at the U.S. Open.

After the first 36 holes at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, Collin Morikawa and Joel Dahmen are tied for the lead at 5 under, with Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Hayden Buckley, Aaron Wise and Beau Hossler all T-3 just one shot back. Hossler (67) and Joohyung Kim (68) were the lone who players to sign for bogey-free rounds on Friday.

Phil Mickelson, Webb Simpson and Viktor Hovland highlight the list of notable players who missed the cut for the weekend.

From tee times to TV and streaming info, here’s everything you need to know for Saturday’s action at The Country Club. All times Eastern.

Third round tee times

Time Players
9:49 a.m. Joseph Bramlett, Stewart Hagestad (a)
10:00 a.m. Sebastián Muñoz, Patrick Cantlay
10:11 a.m. Sam Bennett (a), Denny McCarthy
10:22 a.m. Sam Stevens, K.H. Lee
10:33 a.m. Min Woo Lee, Tyrrell Hatton
10:44 a.m. Chris Naegel, Chris Gotterup
10:55 a.m. Guido Migliozzi, Grayson Murray
11:06 a.m. Max Homa, Adam Scott
11:22 a.m. Jordan Spieth, Wil Besseling
11:33 a.m. Todd Sinnott, Richard Bland
11:44 a.m. Harris English, Bryson DeChambeau
11:55 a.m. Gary Woodland, Austin Greaser (a)
12:06 p.m. Cameron Tringale, Mackenzie Hughes
12:17 p.m. Joaquin Niemann, Marc Leishman
12:28 p.m. Sebastian Söderberg, Patrick Reed
12:39 p.m. Justin Rose, Dustin Johnson
12:55 p.m. Séamus Power, Justin Thomas
1:06 p.m. Adam Schenk, Hideki Matsuyama
1:17 p.m. Andrew Putnam, Brandon Matthews
1:28 p.m. Joohyung Kim, Brooks Koepka
1:39 p.m. Thomas Pieters, Will Zalatoris
1:50 p.m. Keegan Bradley, Xander Schauffele
2:01 p.m. Davis Riley, David Lingmerth
2:12 p.m. Travis Vick (a), Callum Tarren
2:28 p.m. MJ Daffue, Adam Hadwin
2:39 p.m. Matt Fitzpatrick, Sam Burns
2:50 p.m. Brian Harman, Patrick Rodgers
3:01 p.m. Matthew NeSmith, Scottie Scheffler
3:12 p.m. Nick Hardy, Beau Hossler
3:23 p.m. Aaron Wise, Rory McIlroy
3:34 p.m. Jon Rahm, Hayden Buckley
3:45 p.m. Joel Dahmen, Collin Morikawa

How to watch

Saturday, June 18

TV

NBC: 12-8 p.m.

STREAMING

Peacock: 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
Featured groups: 11 a.m.-7 p.m.
Featured holes (Nos. 11-13): 9 a.m.-6 p.m
U.S. Open Radio: 10 a.m.-7 p.m.

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Two-time major champion Collin Morikawa and his baby draw atop the stacked leaderboard at the 2022 U.S. Open

“It’s fun for all of us because we all want to compete against the best and beat the best,” said Jon Rahm.

BROOKLINE, Mass. — A week before the 2021 Open Championship, Collin Morikawa was lost as he struggled to finish 71st in the Scottish Open in his first encounter with links golf, befuddled by the sand-based, firm turf that was wrecking the accuracy of the masterful iron player.

Upon his arrival at Royal St. George’s a day later, he switched out a few irons, hunkered down on the practice ground and then won the Claret Jug for his second major championship.

Ahead of this week’s U.S. Open at The Country Club, Morikawa had been adrift during his tour of the PGA Tour, calling it a weird year and knowing he’s the only player in the top 10 in the world ranking who has not won this season. The culprit? His bread-and-butter cut with his irons has been disoriented.

So he’s set up camp for a few weeks now on driving ranges trying to work through it, even adding a small draw – think a 2-yard bend – to his arsenal. And the draw has worked so well he’s put the cut in the trunk for the most part.

“No,” Morikawa said when asked if the baby draw was here to stay. “What it proves is just you can play this game with many shots. I remember the first time I played with Tiger, and he hit every shot that called for it. Pin is on the right; you hit a little cut. Pin is on the left; you hit a little draw.

“I think this is just going to hopefully make my iron play and make my game a little bit more well-rounded rather than just hitting a cut. But this week we’re just going to work with what we have, and right now it’s a little baby draw.”

U.S. Open: Photos | Leaderboard | How to watch

Well, it’s working just fine. Morikawa fashioned a solid 4-under-par 66 under bright skies and amidst calm winds in Friday’s second round to move to 5 under. Well positioned atop the first page of the leaderboard, Morikawa is 36 holes away from winning the third leg of the career Grand Slam, having won the 2020 PGA and last year’s Open.

But he’s only worried about the third round.

“Right now my game feels really good,” said Morikawa, ranked No. 7 in the world. “The last few days is a huge confidence booster for me heading into this weekend, and hopefully we can kind of make some separation somehow.”

It will be tough to separate from those also on the first page of the leaderboard.

Joining Morikawa at 5 under was Joel Dahmen, who has won one PGA Tour event but has looked very steady this week with rounds of 67-68. And the cream has started to rise to the top as No. 3 Rory McIlroy, last week’s winner in Canada, and defending champion, No. 2 Jon Rahm, are among those one shot back. McIlroy has posted 67-69, Rahm 69-67.

Two back is world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (70-67). Three back are No. 9 Sam Burns (71-67) and No. 18 Matt Fitzpatrick (68-70).

“It’s fun for all of us because we all want to compete against the best and beat the best, and it’s obviously a lot more fun for people watching,” Rahm said. “I think it’s great for the game of golf that the highest-ranked players and the best players are up there (on the leaderboard), especially in the tournament where truly the best player ends up winning.”

Last week, McIlroy outdueled reigning PGA champion and No. 5 Justin Thomas and No. 15 Tony Finau over the last 36 holes to win the RBC Canadian Open. He relishes the opportunity once again to go against the best.

“For a little part of the day there, it seemed like I was going to be a few more behind, but I dug deep and played the last eight holes really, really well,” said McIlroy, who had an early double bogey but played his last eight in 3 under. “After I bogeyed 10, I just wanted to try to shoot under par. I had some chances coming up. Just played a really clean eight holes, which was pleasing. Hit fairways, hit greens, gave myself chances. Got myself right back in the tournament.

“You want to go up against the best to try to bring the best out of yourself. And to see Collin and Jon and Scottie and Sam up there and whoever else, that’s what major championship golf is all about. That’s what competition is all about.

I certainly don’t want it to be easy. I want guys to go out and shoot 65 so I have to go and shoot 64. That’s competition, and that’s at the heart of this game.

“I’m excited to be in that mix going into the weekend.”

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U.S. Open: Scottie Scheffler’s golf equipment at The Country Club

Check out the gear the World No. 1 is using this week.

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A complete list of the golf equipment Scottie Scheffler is using at The Country Club during the 2022 U.S. Open:

DRIVER: TaylorMade Stealth Plus+ (8 degrees), with Fujikura Ventus Black 7X shaft.

[afflinkbutton text=”Scottie Scheffler’s driver – $599.99″ link=”https://globalgolf.pxf.io/QOx7z3″]

FAIRWAY WOOD: TaylorMade Stealth 3HL (16.5 degrees), with Fujikura Ventus Black 8X shaft

[afflinkbutton text=”Scottie Scheffler’s fairway woods – $329.99″ link=”https://globalgolf.pxf.io/vngY1j”]

IRONS: Srixon ZU85 (3-4), with Nippon Pro Modus3 Hybrid Tour X shaft, TaylorMade P-7TW (5-PW), with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shafts.

WEDGES: Titleist Vokey Design SM8 (50, 56, 60 degrees), with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 shafts.

[afflinkbutton text=”Scottie Scheffler’s wedges – $159.99 each” link=”https://www.linkconnector.com/ta.php?lc=160251000012006787&atid=schefflerusopen&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pgatoursuperstore.com%2Fvokey-sm8-tour-chrome-wedge%2F2000000010636.html”]

BALL: Titleist Pro V1

[afflinkbutton text=”Scottie Scheffler’s golf ball – $49.99 per dozen” link=”https://globalgolf.pxf.io/LPY9EZ”]

PUTTER: Scotty Cameron Special Select Timeless Tour prototype

GRIPS: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

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Scott Stallings is ‘home’ at U.S. Open: ‘I’m a confused New England redneck. But I can speak both languages’

Stallings was born in Worcester and lived there until he was three years old before his family moved to Tennessee.

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BROOKLINE, Mass. — You would never know by his voice but Scott Stallings is from Massachusetts.

The professional golfer was born in Worcester and lived there until he was three years old before his family moved to Tennessee. That’s where Stallings developed his southern drawl.

“I’m a confused New England redneck. But I can speak both languages,” Stallings, 37, said. “I can roll the Rs, drag the As and I can take 10 minutes to say one sentence. I always say I learned the language from my mom.”

A three-time winner on the PGA Tour, Stallings is in Brookline this week for the 122nd U.S. Open at The Country Club.

“This one means a little bit more…,” Stallings wrote in a note on social media on May 23. “Not often a major championship is played in New England, so to qualify for this in Massachusetts – where I’m from and where a lot of my family still lives … this is special.”

U.S. Open: Photos | Leaderboard | How to watch

Although he’s excited to be back in Boston, the burly golfer says he’s on a business trip. But that mindset didn’t stop him from indulging in Italian food in the North End or discussing the option of jumping on a duck boat with his kids.

“As much as it is exciting to be here and definitely (is) my favorite city, it’s still work. So that’s first and foremost,” Stallings said. “… At the end of the day it’s a golf tournament. There’s 18 holes start to finish. So put your head down and deal with it.”

Last year, Stallings signed a partnership with NOBULL – a footwear, apparel and accessory brand that also sponsors New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones. During practice rounds this week, an entourage of people wearing NOBULL clothing followed Stallings around.

One of those people was Matt O’Keefe, of Massachusetts. O’Keefe and Stallings became friends four years ago through fitness training.

“He helps me with golf and I help him with fitness,” said O’Keefe, who went to Boston College. “He wouldn’t agree with that, but that’s sort of how we met.”

Scott Stallings plays a shot from the rough onto the fifth green during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament. Photo: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

O’Keefe caddied for Stallings for all three of his practice rounds. The two have become close through fitness – and their love of Boston sports.

“I’m so happy for him,” O’Keefe said. “I know this was one of the top goals he had – especially this year but maybe of his career – to come home because how often do you get to play in a major championship in your hometown?”

One hint that Stallings has ties to Boston is his yardage book. On one side is a red ‘B’ Boston Red Sox logo and the other a New England Patriots logo.

On Tuesday, Stallings and his family toured Fenway Park and attended a Sox game. Stallings posted a photo on social media of his wife and two kids sitting in the Green Monster seats with the caption of “Doesn’t get much better” followed by a red heart and baseball emoji.

Two days later, Stallings teed it up on the 10th hole to start his third Open championship.

He began with a bogey on the 500-yard Par 4 before securing two pars. Stallings then bogeyed the 437-yard Par 4 13th hole before he recovered on the next hole with a birdie. Yet Stallings couldn’t get it going after that and carded three more bogeys to finish with a 4-over-par 74.

“Not my best on the course today, but this is a win,” Stallings posted on Instagram following the round as he referenced a picture of a braid he made in his daughter’s hair. “Better tomorrow @usopengolf.”

Scott Stallings plays his shot from the third tee during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

In 2019, Stallings missed an Open cut with an 80-74 at Shinnecock Hills while he made the cut in 2013 at Merion Golf Club and finished tied for 53rd. This year, he’s hoping to compete on the weekend.

“You obviously have places throughout your season and career that you tend to focus on and want to be ready for and this has definitely been one of them,” Stallings said. “I did the work to get here. We’re not just here to participate. We’re here to compete.”

“This is going to be a wild weekend and I hope Scott is there to experience it because I think the crowd will get around him being a hometown kid,” O’Keefe said.

Stallings starts his second round on Friday at Hole No. 1 with a 1:14 p.m. tee time.

Tommy Cassell is a senior multimedia journalist for the Daily News. He can be reached at tcassell@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @tommycassell44.

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