Tag: LACC

USGA’s Mike Whan keeps promise: There will be fewer TV commercial interruptions during 2023 U.S. Open

This year, NBC Sports will present the most expansive TV coverage in USGA history.

LOS ANGELES – Mike Whan is a man of his word.

During last year’s U.S. Open, social media was abuzz at the intrusion of too many commercial interruptions into the telecast, which was split between NBC, USA Network and Peacock. Whan read the sea of complaints and promised that the U.S. Golf Association and NBC Sports would fix it for this year. Lo and behold, they worked together to create a 30 percent reduction in commercials breaks during weekend coverage at the 123rd U.S. Open, which amounts to 19 fewer commercials compared to last year.

“This is one of the unfortunate outcomes of your CEO being on Twitter. I’m sure most of my staff would like me to give up on my social media presence. I am sure my wife would like me to give up, she always says, ‘Why do you have to read it in the morning that you’re an idiot and then go to work?’ I don’t know, somehow it grounds you,” said Whan, the USGA’s CEO.

The social media backlash from viewers who found NBC’s broadcast across multiple networks bordering on unwatchable due to the endless ad breaks reached a crescendo on Saturday last year, but didn’t fall on deaf ears. Whan heard and acted swiftly.

2023 U.S. Open
Fans watch the big screen during a practice round of the 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club. (Photo: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports)

“To me last year when you’re here all day and you’re in meetings all day and everything else, sometimes you don’t really understand the fan experience until midnight and reading social media,” he explained. “I shouldn’t admit that because I can only imagine the amount of crazies that will come out this week. But I was reading in Boston last year and I thought there was an overwhelming amount of comments about commercial interruptions. First off, I probably shouldn’t engage because engaging in social media is like sticking your face first into the fan. That’s exactly what I did.”

Whan tweeted from his personal account, “I’m on it! We have the best sports production team in the world here with our partner NBC Sports (Olympics, Super Bowl, etc.) and if the amount of interruptions are problematic, we will work with our partner to do better.”

The next day, Whan and NBC agreed to cut the commercial interruptions on Sunday.

“I think if you run a major like we do, we have a responsibility to make everything feel better. I don’t think that’s going to stop the Twitter conversation, but I’m really proud of what’s happened not just this year but what happened in 24 hours last year,” Whan said.

When asked if USGA is taking a reduced rights fee to offset the lost commercial time, Whan said, “No. Sorry to NBC.”

This year, NBC Sports will present the most expansive TV coverage in USGA history, with more than 200 hours across its network. It may offset the lost commercial time with new inventory such as Deloitte’s sponsorship of Bunker Cam and charging a premium for prime-time ads at a West Coast venue that wasn’t available last year when the championship was held in Boston. A NBC spokesperson noted that 40 percent of all breaks are “Playing Thru,” where coverage can still be seen on part of the screen, which was first implemented in 2016.

Whan also touted a new supplemental broadcast called All Access.

“I’m not sure if this is how NBC would describe it, but I’d describe it as Manningcast meets Red Zone,” Whan said. “We are going to have five hours a day on Peacock if you want to check it out with really limited commercial interruptions.”

Whan and NBC responded to the backlash in what should be a positive outcome for viewers at home, and also noted that the final hour of Sunday’s coverage is commercial-free thanks to the USGA’s partnership with Rolex.

“By that point nobody remembers,” Whan said. “But I think it’ll matter.”

USGA CEO Mike Whan wishes PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan ‘a speedy recovery’ at 2023 U.S. Open

“We’re full steam ahead as a business,” said PGA Tour COO Tyler Dennis.

LOS ANGELES — United States Golf Association CEO Mike Whan began the governing body’s annual new conference ahead of the 2023 U.S. Open by wishing PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan well.

“Hope you’re watching this, hope you’re feeling better, and everyone at the USGA wishes you a speedy recovery,” said Whan.

On Tuesday night the PGA Tour announced that Monahan, 53, is “recuperating from a medical situation” and that in his absence, Chief Operating Officer Ron Price and Executive Vice President Tyler Dennis would lead the day-to-day operations. The Tour also held a brief meeting Wednesday morning to address the staff amid a great time of uncertainty.

Appearing on Golf Channel’s “Live from the U.S. Open,” Dennis said there was no further update on Monahan’s situation.

“We’re full steam ahead as a business,” Dennis said. “All of our priorities remain unchanged. We had a big announcement last week and nothing is changing in that regard. We’re working very hard toward the definitive agreements. There’ll be a lot of news on that subject in the coming weeks and months.

“It’s full steam ahead, day to day as a business, and we’re stronger than we’ve ever been and we’re focused on the future.”

Last week the bombshell news broke that the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund had partnered to create a new global golf entity. Monahan, 53, was thrust back into the spotlight because of his previous comments about LIV Golf, which was fully financed by the PIF, and the commissioner was heavily criticized, especially by the 9/11 families group.

Monahan joined the PGA Tour in 2008 and was named the Tour’s fourth commissioner on Jan. 1, 2017, when he succeeded Tim Finchem. The Massachusetts native graduated from Trinity College in 1993 and was a four-year member of the golf team. He then earned a masters degree in sport management from UMass in 1995.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with PGA Tour commissioner and friend to many, Jay Monahan, his wife Susan and their entire family,” said PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh via a statement. “He has given so much of himself to our beautiful sport and we wish him a very quick recovery back to health and the game we all love.”

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Watch: USGA constructs bridge for fans overnight at 2023 U.S. Open

It’s only temporary, but there’s an easy new way for fans to get across busy Wilshire Boulevard.

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LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Country Club has a North and a South Course, and the two private layouts are bisected by Wilshire Boulevard.

The North is the host venue for the 2023 U.S. Open, and much of the South this week is being used for parking and logistics.

For the 22,000 fans coming on the property for each day of competition, there’s now an easy – though temporary – and safe way to get on site.

The USGA contracted with Southern California-based, Kilowatt Events, Inc., to build a bridge over Wilshire. Measuring 112 feet in length and 24 feet wide, the bridge gives fans access from the main admission gate in Fan Central to the North course.

The bridge went up over Memorial weekend. The 123rd U.S. Open will conclude Sunday and the three-day project of removing the bridge will start six days later.

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Preston Summerhays is the first of two siblings to play in a U.S. Open this summer

Talk about a proud papa.

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LOS ANGELES — Talk about a proud papa.

Boyd Summerhays has not one but two of his golfing offspring competing in a U.S. Open this summer.

First up is son Preston, who just finished his sophomore season at Arizona State. Then in July, Boyd’s daughter Grace will play in the U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach.

Preston will tackle Los Angeles Country Club, having made the field a little more than a week ago after surviving a 3-for-2 playoff at nearby Hillcrest Country Club. He’s one of 19 amateurs (16 of them college players) to make the field. A few days later, Grace punched her ticket to Pebble at a final qualifying stage of her own.

This week marks a first for Preston, as dad Boyd will not be his caddie for the first big event of his young golf career.

“I feel like my game has gotten to a spot where you know my dad will actually be able to help me more if he’s, if he can focus more on me in the practice rounds and in the warmups,” Preston said after his Tuesday practice round with Jon Rahm and Tony Finau. ASU assistant coach Thomas Sutton will be on the bag this week instead. “It’s what’s best for my game. My dad gets spread too thin between being a coach, a father and a caddie.”

2020 U.S. Open
Preston Summerhays and his dad/caddie Boyd during the first round of the 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York. (Photo: Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Preston has played countless times with Finau, a longtime Summerhays family friend, but he has also logged nearly 20 rounds with the former Sun Devil Rahm.

On the 18th hole Tuesday, Preston’s approach was just off the back of the green. He attempted a flop shot but instead hit the ball right at Rahm, who calmly caught it out of the air and then tossed it back.

Rahm left ASU in 2016 to turn pro, graduating after four years in Tempe, but the Arizona State bond is there. Summerhays is on a similar path, as he intends to play all four years of college golf while working towards his degree.

“I missed him by a decent amount of years [at ASU], but there’s always that connection. He’s come out to our facility a couple of times. Just kind of being, him being an alum, I feel just a little bit more comfortable going up to him, asking him questions,” Preston said. “He’s been great with me, and I know even if I wasn’t at ASU, he’d be great to me.”

Can the 20-year-old Preston, who gained previous U.S. Open experience in 2020, contend in this major championship?

Well, his dad knows anything’s possible in golf.

“People say it, and it’s cliche, but the golf ball doesn’t know who’s hitting it, right?”

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2023 U.S. Open: A tight and tiny 15th hole leads our look at LACC’s spectrum of par 3s

An 80-yard par 3 in the U.S. Open at LACC? Count on it.

USGA officials always say they want to test every part of a player’s game at the U.S. Open. John Bodenhamer, the ruling body’s chief championships officer, said he wants to see players have to hit it high, low, left to right and right to left – get every club in the bag dirty. Players better have every shot in the bag, as the old cliché goes.

But a lob wedge off a tee? That’s a new one. And that option likely will come into play at least once this week at Los Angeles Country Club’s North Course, as the USGA might set up the par-3 15th around 80 yards long – the shortest par 3 in modern U.S. Open history.

The 15th is officially listed as 124 yards long, but the USGA utilized a forward tee and set it up at 78 yards for the Saturday singles matches in the 2017 Walker Cup, the biennial competition between a team of amateurs from the U.S. and another from Great Britain and Ireland. The USGA hasn’t confirmed it will set the 15th at a similar length this week, but it’s a safe bet – keep an eye on Saturday’s hole locations sheet.

In that Walker Cup, players recorded four birdies, nine pars and one bogey on the shortened 15th hole. Some players aimed left of the flag to take advantage of a mound in the green that can help stop a ball, while others took direct aim at the cup. American Will Zalatoris missed the green but made par from one of two large bunkers guarding that sliver of putting surface.

The StrackaLine heat map for the 15th green at Los Angeles Country Club’s North Course (courtesy of StrackaLine)

Some facts: The green features a long tongue that sticks out toward the front right. That area is only eight paces across, and the firm and bouncy putting surface is tilted as much as 3 degrees from left to right. It’s a tiny target, forcing players to control spin as well as distance.

Which brings us back to hitting lob wedge off a tee. It’s not a shot the pros practice much, if ever. Sounds easy – every shot is supposed to be simpler off a tee, right? That’s kind of the point of a tee. But the extremely lofted face of a lob or sand wedge can easily slide under a ball on a tee, sometimes making precise contact more difficult. Instead of smashing down on a lofted wedge, as pros typically do so well, there’s a chance of catching the ball one or two grooves too high on the face and watching it flutter off without much control.

Count on some players just hitting the tee shot from the ground, as they normally would with a lofted wedge. Others might try the tee to gain clean contact to produce the most spin.

“I remember like you almost had to practice teeing up with a 60-degree lob wedge like an inch off the ground, which you never do, and just trying to hit it perfect, because you had to with height, with spin,” two-time major champion Collin Morikawa, who played in that 2017 Walker Cup, said Tuesday at LACC. “It’s only going to be that much more important this week if they do move it up. I’m sure they will.

“So, yeah, you have like a yard and a half to land it if you want to hit a good shot. If not, you’ve got to play left and hopefully hit a good putt. Yeah, it’s frustrating because you can hit an okay shot and not get rewarded at all. Especially out here, you can’t land it in the rough. It’s not going to bounce out. You’ve got to land it in the right spot. I just remember it was a very tough shot. I pulled it off, and I think I still had like 20 feet for birdie.”

It’s a very different shot on a different kind of U.S. Open course. LACC is wider than typical U.S. Open setups, and balls will be bouncing everywhere. That’s particularly true on the par 3s, two of which make up for any length the 15th doesn’t need – the seventh is listed on the card as being 284 yards and can play even longer, and the 11th is on the card at 290 yards.

Check out the details on each of the five par 3s in play this week below. (The official yardage for the U.S. Open is listed in the header for each hole. The StrackaLine maps show different yardages for several holes, referring to the normal setup for member’s play.)

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2023 U.S. Open: Scottie Scheffler mulling putter change to end slump with short stick

“I think it’s strange that I’ve been struggling the past few weeks with my putter.”

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LOS ANGELES — Scottie Scheffler never takes decisions on switching his equipment lightly. But his recent form on the green has been so putrid that he’s considering doing just that the week of a major. Scheffler practiced with a Scotty Cameron Newport 2 Plus on Tuesday and said he may bench his gamer for the 123rd U.S. Open at LA Country Club.

“You guys can find out Thursday,” he said with a laugh.

Scheffler, the world No. 1 player, won the Players Championship in March and hasn’t finish outside the top 12 in 13 starts this year. He put on ballstriking clinics at the Charles Schwab Challenge and Memorial, his two most recent starts, only to finish one stroke out of playoffs in each due to a balky putter.

“I think it’s strange that I’ve been struggling the past few weeks with my putter,” Scheffler said. “Putting is such a weird thing. Sometimes when you’re on the green and you feel good you feel like you’re never going to miss and then sometimes when you feel terrible you feel like you’re never going to make.”

Despite his recent frustrations on the greens, Scheffler has been proud of the way he hasn’t let bad putts ruin a round but his patience is wearing thin. He made a short-term putter change to a mallet head at the CJ Cup in October and finished T-45, and returned to his his Scotty Cameron Newport. Count NBC’s lead analyst Paul Azinger among those who think Scheffler’s putting will be fine.

“It’s a psychological battle. His technique is very repeatable,” said Azinger during a conference call with media last week ahead of NBC’s coverage of the U.S. Open. “Look, putting is the ghost. If you’re a player and you talk about your putting, it’s going to haunt you. That’s what I believe. If you talk about your putting when you’re putting great, it’s going to haunt you. It’s going to ruin you. If you talk about it when you’re putting bad, it’s going to ruin you. My advice to everyone who ever plays golf: First things first, never talk about your putting. How come? It’s the ghost, bud; you don’t want to do it. That’s what I would say.

“Same with Scheffler. It’s just like, let it go, you had a bad week, you should have won by five, but it didn’t happen. But sometimes those greens and the way your eye is, it’s just you’re just off, and you want to make it mechanical, but it’s just a little psychological battle or it’s just something just minuscule.”

“And you know it all quickly turns around if he gets out there and makes a 12-footer on 1 and a 15-footer on 2, all that is forgotten, all that is gone out of his head, I’m making putts this week,” added NBC roving reporter John Wood on the same call. “Zinger, I think you’re exactly right. It’s a ghost.”

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Scheffler’s tee to green game has been otherworldly, bordering on peak Tiger Woods. He is on pace for the second-best strokes gained: tee-to-green season (2.78) since tracking began in 2004, behind only Woods (2.98) in 2006. One school of thought says Scheffler can’t putt much worse, while another suggests if he just putts decently, the rest of the field will be shouting, Katie, bar the doors.

That’s why Scheffler was practicing his putting with a wedge as a training aid and considering the putter switch. Of using the wedge he said it was a drill he did occasionally “as a feel thing just to feel the release.” Of swapping putters he said, “sometimes you just got to bring another putter around there to make the original one scared.”

If Scheffler combines his boffo ball-striking and his deadly short game with an improved putting performance, the results could be scary.

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‘If you miss, it’s very penal’: Rory McIlroy discusses challenge of Los Angles Country Club and some strategy for U.S. Open

McIlroy discussed his wedge game, some of his strategy and how penal LACC can be.

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Rory McIlroy has been in the mix two weekends in a row but has failed to close. He was in the final group at Jack’s Place, but a final-round 3-over 75 pushed him down the leaderboard, settling for T-7. Then, on Sunday, in pursuit of his third straight RBC Canadian Open title, McIlroy couldn’t get jumpstarted. He posted a final-round 72 and tied for ninth.

Now he arrives at Los Angeles Country Club, nearly 10 years removed from his last major championship win, for the U.S. Open.

McIlroy took himself off the pre-tournament press conference schedule — he was set to speak Tuesday morning — to prioritize his focus on golf instead of everything happening off the course. (To his credit, McIlroy was one of the first players to speak with the media following the PGA Tour-PIF agreement.)

U.S. Open: Photos | Merch | Picks to win

He has played well at the U.S. Open for the last four years, tying for fifth at The Country Club, for seventh at Torrey Pines, for eighth at Winged Foot and for ninth at Pebble Beach.

Now McIlroy steps onto a golf course he has never seen — except for a few videos on YouTube — hoping to rekindle his 2014 major magic.

But does LACC fit his game?

It should, especially with his power off the tee. On several holes where most of the field will have to hit driver to get into position, McIlroy plans to utilize his 5-wood.

“With the way the fairways are running, my 5-wood down that eighth hole (a par 5) is going 300 yards, then you leave yourself a 4-iron into that green. You’re taking some of the trouble out of play with your tee shot by doing that,” McIlroy told Johnson Wagner during a walk-and-talk for Golf Central.

The fairways are generous at LACC, but if your ball lands in the wrong spot, you’ll be playing from the rough thanks to severe angulation.

Still, McIlroy will have a decent amount of wedges into greens, an area of his game he has struggled with in the past.

He has made a few changes to improve in that area, including adding another wedge to the bag.

“I feel like I’ve got three shots with each wedge. I put an extra wedge in the bag at the Memorial just to get used to it because I felt like going four wedges was going to be good for me. So, the fact that I have 12 yardages with those four wedges, I think I have all my bases covered,” he told Johnson.

“With those three numbers for each wedge, the longer one’s gonna spin more, the shorter one’s gonna spin less, you know, there’s a bit of overlap there too, so if I need to take spin off or put spin on, I’m sort of able to do it.”

McIlroy will game wedges of 60, 54, 50 and 46 degrees at LACC.

McIlroy admitted the golf course “gives you room” on every shot, but when you’re out of position it’s “very, very penal.”

“You got the fescue around the bunkers, you’ve got this Bermuda rough off the side of the faiways that is very clumpy and you can get some really, really bad lies in it,” he said.

Watch McIlroy’s full walk-and-talk with Johnson below:

Lynch: As PGA Tour stars ask ‘Why?’, Brooks Koepka just says ‘Whatever!’

Through it all the controversies in pro golf, Koepka has maintained his customary aloof detachment.

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LOS ANGELES — To the extent that Brooks Koepka chose a side in golf’s soon-to-be-settled civil war, it was limited to cashing a check. It was one year ago, a couple days after the U.S. Open, that he bolted to LIV Golf. The 12 months since have been fraught with litigation, suspensions, fines, public bickering and bruised feelings — much of it involving his fellow LIVers who took up cudgels for the cause on social media. Through it all, Koepka has maintained his customary aloof detachment.

That 122nd U.S. Open at Brookline was contested under the LIV shadow, coming one week after the Saudi-funded league’s inaugural event near London. The 123rd national championship arrives under a similar June gloom that provides no greater clarity on the future of the elite professional game. Arguably, things are even more uncertain after the June 6 announcement of a deal between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund, which owns and bankrolls LIV.

The haziness at Los Angeles Country Club owes in part to the secrecy with which the PGA Tour-PIF negotiations were conducted and the shock revelation of the agreement, but also to the dearth of details about what has actually been agreed.

“I don’t know anything. So I’ll talk about my FORE Youth project that we’re doing,” Collin Morikawa said Tuesday, a tart pivot to his personal charitable endeavor that signaled his frustration with the situation.

“For a lot of different parties, there’s a lot of different reasons of why it’s happening. So we all want to know the why. We’re so interested in the why,” he eventually added. “I don’t think we’ll ever really get an answer. But we don’t even know what’s going to happen.”

World No. 2 Jon Rahm made it sound like a Norma Rae-style unionization drive is underway against the man. “I think it gets to a point where you want to have faith in management, and I want to have faith that this is the best thing for all of us, but it’s clear that that’s not the consensus,” he said. “I think the general feeling is that a lot of people feel a bit of betrayal from management.”

The alliance was just as much of a surprise to LIV golfers as it was to their once (and likely future) colleagues on the PGA Tour. Koepka learned of it watching the news while eating breakfast at Grove XXIII, Michael Jordan’s club near Jupiter, Florida. Soon thereafter, he met Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler on the range. They too were just hearing the news, if not the details. “I haven’t paid too much attention to it, honestly,” Koepka said when asked his reaction. “I’ve been trying to prep for this week. So I wasn’t going to waste any time on news that happened last week.”

Pushed on whether he felt vindicated by the Tour’s volte-face, which saw somber talk of 9/11 give way to boilerplate banalities about commercial co-operation, Koepka held fast: “It didn’t matter to me. Like I said, I’m trying to focus on this week.”

What scant details that have emerged in the last week suggest that a pathway will be created to recycle LIV players back into the PGA Tour, a process likely to involve sanctions and penalties. Would Koepka be willing to spend some of his Saudi riyal to return to the Tour? “Like I said, it’s a lot of what-if games. I’m not going to play the what-if game,” he said with a shrug. “If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen.”

If it happens, would he want to bring LIV’s oft-mocked team concept to the big league? “Like I said,” he repeated, “I’m not going to go into the future. I don’t have a crystal ball with me. I’m just worried about the U.S. Open. If I can get to number six pretty quick, that would be nice.”

The assembled media turned his attempt at a flex into another piece of chum in the water. Major No. 5 came at last month’s PGA Championship in New York, but even when served up a softball opportunity to tout his employer – Does LIV’s schedule make it easier to rest and prepare correctly for majors? – Koepka passed. “I have my own routine. That’s it. It’s plain and simple,” he said. “I’m pretty sure I know what it takes to compete in majors.”

So LIV’s schedule makes no difference for majors, a reporter gamely continued. Another shrug. “Just golf, man.”

As he rose from the podium, Koepka cracked a funny. “See you guys at Travelers next week,” he said, referencing next week’s PGA Tour stop in Cromwell, Connecticut. A year ago, he was on site at TPC River Highlands when he finally withdrew, announced his move to LIV and left the property. We didn’t see him last year and we won’t see him this year either. So, next year? No one seems to know.

Johnnie-O celebrates the major in its backyard with the 2023 U.S. Open Collection

Johnnie-O celebrates the U.S. Open in its backyard with the 2023 U.S. Open Collection.

Johnnie-O and the U.S. Open have teamed up to welcome the third men’s major of the year to Los Angeles.

Golf fans can celebrate the 123rd U.S. Open in style with johnnie-O’s curated collection of custom embroidered pieces. The collection features styles with johnnie-O’s signature PREP-FORMANCE technology and a breathable four-way stretch that will keep you feeling fresh on the course, regardless of whether you are the one teeing off or if you’re watching the pros.

As an LA-based company, johnnie-O takes east coast prep apparel and adapts it for west coast lifestyle, making a perfect marriage of sleek, cool golf apparel.

Johnnie-O isn’t the only apparel collaborator with the 2023 U.S. Open. FootJoy and Peter Millar both dropped collections to celebrate the 123rd playing of golf’s toughest test.

2023 U.S. Open: Collin Morikawa says growing up in Los Angeles he ‘only cared about Tiger’

Morikawa called times getting paired with Tiger Woods “the coolest thing you can dream of.”

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LOS ANGELES — Collin Morikawa, a California native, is fired up for the 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club.

The two-time major champ went to Berkeley for his college golf at Cal, but he’s an L.A. guy, saying Tuesday the house he grew up in is about a 45-minute drive from LACC, though he did say say that was on a Sunday with not a lot of traffic.

“Stayed at my parents’ house on Saturday night,” he said. “Every time I come back to L.A., it’s my favorite spot in the world. It’s always going to be home for me no matter where I live, no matter where I move to.

“There’s just that extra added touch, specialness when you’re playing at home, when you’re playing in the state of California for me.”

He talked about a variety of topics during his media session, and he was eventually asked about So-Cal golf legend Tiger Woods.

“For me growing up that’s all I cared about,” Morikawa said as he talked about Tiger’s impact on the game. “It’s been amazing to get to know guys like Rory [McIlroy] and Jordan [Spieth] and JT [Justin Thomas] and all these guys, but I didn’t care about them when I was growing up,” he quipped. “I really didn’t. People ask me about the history of Rory winning this or Rory. … certain guys winning this. I didn’t really care. I only cared about Tiger.”

Hey, you gotta love his honesty.

“It was amazing at least my first couple years getting to play with him a few times, getting some pairings with him. That’s the coolest thing you can dream of.”