Tag: Winged Foot Golf Club

U.S. Open: Players thrown into the fire early as Winged Foot’s opening holes prove punishing

The first two holes at Winged Foot wound up being among the hardest on the course in the second round of the U.S. Open.

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MAMARONECK, N.Y. – Donald Ross, the famous golf course architect who designed Pinehurst No. 2, Seminole and Oakland Hills, believed that the first hole of a course should let a player ease into the round and get an idea of what is to come.

But Ross did not design Winged Foot Golf Club’s West Course, site of this year’s U.S. Open. The man responsible for this gem was A.W. Tillinghast, another Golden Age master, and on Friday, the first two holes at Winged Foot wound up being among the hardest on the course.

The first hole at Winged Foot features the trickiest green on the course. It has so many severe slopes and undulations that the USGA has kept the putting surface slightly slower than the greens around the rest of the course. However, it typically plays downwind. On Thursday, when 21 golfers shot under-par rounds at the U.S. Open, causing eyebrows around Westchester County to furrow in disapproval, 37 birdies were made on the first hole because the wind was virtually nonexistent and the green was soft.

U.S. Open: Leaderboard | Tee times, TV | Best photos

On Friday, the wind arrived, but instead of coming from the prevailing direction, southwest off Long Island Sound, it was coming from the north. As the hole dried under the sun and the wind continued to blow, the dogleg-left hole became a beast.

“The wind was not only out of a different direction, but it was also blowing about three times as hard as yesterday,” said Matthew Wolff, who will head into the weekend of his first U.S. Open at even-par 140.

“Number one, my gosh, everybody was hitting little sand wedges in there (Thursday), but today I think I had a 7-iron in there just because of the cold and the wind,” said Bubba Watson, who shot 69 in the morning.

Consider this: On Thursday, Watson’s tee shot on the first hole went 335 yards into the middle of the fairway and left the two-time Masters champion just 117 yards from the hole. Playing into the breeze on Friday, Watson’s tee shot went just 283 yards and left him 172 yards from the hole.

On Thursday, the opening hole played to a stroke average of 3.97, making it the 14th toughest out of the 18 holes. On Friday, that average rose to 4.5, making No. 1 the fourth-hardest hole. It yielded 21 fewer birdies and forced 16 double bogeys, including one from Justin Thomas, the overnight leader.

Golfers who were looking to catch their breath found no respite on the second hole. The 489-yard, par-4 also played into the wind on Friday and was the toughest hole on the course.

The second hole gave up 22 birdies on Thursday and played as the 12th hardest on the course, but just six players were able to circle a three on their scorecards after playing the hole on Friday. Its stroke average rose by 0.53 shots to 4.61. Bryson DeChambeau, Rory McIlroy, Jason Kokrak and Viktor Hovland all made five on the par 4 Friday.

The wind is forecasted to stick around through the weekend and continue to blow in from the north, which means the first and second holes will remain especially tricky. U.S. Opens are never easy, but this year at Winged Foot, getting off to a strong start is going to be even tougher.

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Tiger Woods collapses on Friday, misses U.S. Open cut at Winged Foot

Tiger Woods had a week to forget at the 120th U.S. Open as he returned to Winged Foot, site of his first missed major cut as a professional.

Winged Foot let the boys play during Thursday’s opening round of the 120th U.S. Open. On Friday, Winged Foot became the bully of the playground.

Tiger Woods lost his lunch money on the front nine and by the time he signed for a 7-over 77, his Nike shoes were hanging on the telephone wire. At 10-over for the tournament following Thursday’s 73, Woods missed the cut once again at Winged Foot in Mamaroneck, New York, the site of his first missed cut as a professional after the 2006 U.S. Open (also his first major following his father’s death).

Finding the fairway is mandatory for success at Winged Foot and Woods socially distanced from the short grass for the second consecutive round. Beginning his day on the back nine, Woods got off to a strong start with four straight pars. The final five holes of his opening nine were played to the tune of 5 over in E flat thanks to double bogeys on both Nos. 16 and 18.

U.S. Open: Leaderboard | Best photos

More misfortune awaited on the front nine with bogeys on Nos. 2, 3, 5 and 6. It wasn’t until the par-3 7th, his 16th hole of the day, that Woods was able to make his first birdie of the round after stuffing his tee shot to just four feet. He followed suit with another birdie on his final hole of the week, the par-5 9th.

Woods has yet to announce his schedule for the rest of 2020 but will be the defending champion Oct. 22-25 at the Zozo Championship, held this year at Sherwood Country Club north of Los Angeles due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Don’t forget about his title defense at Augusta National in November’s Masters, either.

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Legacy of Winged Foot cannot be undone in a day at U.S. Open

MAMARONECK, N.Y. – A day after the USGA watered down the U.S. Open and momentarily rankled the host club, Winged Foot was back in character. Amen. There was all kinds of anxiety here following the opening round, especially among the members lining …

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MAMARONECK, N.Y. — A day after the USGA watered down the U.S. Open and momentarily rankled the host club, Winged Foot was back in character.

Amen.

There was all kinds of anxiety here following the opening round, especially among the members lining the fairways in volunteer garb. After talking up the degree of difficulty for three days, 32 players came in at par or better. The average score of 72.5 was the lowest ever here in U.S. Open play.

What happened to the mystique of Winged Foot?

Justin Thomas played a memorable round and carded a 5-under par 65, a record low in here U.S. Open play.

The greens were incredibly receptive. The pins were readily accessible.

“It’s still Winged Foot,” said Thomas, who labeled his round among the best tee to green he’s played in a while. “You’ve still got to hit the shots.”

Many of the folks inside the gates here felt like the USGA was going back on a promise to let Winged Foot be Winged Foot.

“It was one of those rounds I felt like could have been a little lower than it was, but at the same time 67 is a good start,” McIlroy said on Thursday.

There is no question the USGA was in a difficult position. It’s tricky setting up a historical U.S. Open venue in a way that pleases the members and the players. There are logistical issues to deal with, like pace of play.

U.S. Open: Leaderboard | Tee times, TV | Best photos

Getting all 144 players around before sunset was a concern.

Even so, Winged Foot was not in a completely natural state after the greens were meticulously hand-watered.

The dew was already thick without any wind.

It was ultimately the decision that raised the most questions. The USGA got flamed after going too firm, too fast at Oakmont and Shinnecock Hills in years gone by.

Gradually dialing up the carnage is typically easier and less controversial.

“The U.S. Open is played out over four days,” said John Bodenhamer, the USGA’s senior director of championships. “Champions are not crowned on Thursday, Friday or Saturday. They hoist the trophy on Sunday afternoon after the last putt drops. We have a strategy in place in partnership with our Winged Foot colleagues and we have been jointly executing against it. We are happy with where things stand and look forward to watching how things unfold over the next few days.”

2020 U.S. Open
John Pak plays his shot from the fourth tee during the second round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Winged Foot Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports

Xander Schauffele wasn’t complaining about the first-round setup.

“Too easy is not really it, honestly,” he said. “I think relative to this place, you know, some would say, and I’m sure the super and the staff here felt that, but I don’t know how many guys shot under par. I felt like I played my ass off yesterday and I barely shot under par, and today really felt like a U.S. Open. I can tell you that.”

Schauffele is right in contention with an even-par total of 140 heading into the weekend.

Majors are supposed to get harder as the week unfolds and that’s exactly what happened on Friday as Winged Foot came to life with all the menace of Jack Nicholson leering through a splintered door.

“Here’s Johnny!”

The legacy of Winged Foot cannot be undone in a single day. A memorable round by Thomas will soon be a footnote in history.

Mother Nature also came to the defense of the A.W. Tillinghast masterpiece. The wind came up right on cue Friday, adding credibility to any red figures on the leaderboard. A cool weekend forecast has the world’s best golfers bracing for drama.

“When I play well in these conditions, it’s a lot more enjoyable,” said Bryson DeChambeau, who surged with a second-round 68 and is sitting at 3-under for the championship. “It is comforting (on a day like) yesterday when you feel like you can go after it and wind isn’t affecting it that much. … If I had to truly look back on it, I would say that this today is a more enjoyable test after I’m done because it shows who executed the shots the best for sure.”

Settle in. There will be blood.

“It’s relatable,” DeChambeau added. “I think it’s relatable to a lot of players out there. They struggle with their game and they don’t hit the greatest shots, and they like seeing carnage. I’m going to look this afternoon and do the same thing, like, ‘Wow, that’s really difficult’, because I experienced it and I appreciate it.”

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Bryson DeChambeau: My ‘confidence is at an all-time high’ at Winged Foot

Bryson DeChambeau eagled his final hole Friday at the U.S. Open at Winged Foot where who many golfers are struggling putting.

Up. Down. Up. Down.

Bryson DeChambeau spent his day descending and ascending the leaderboard at the U.S. Open, but thankfully, there was one more up than down Friday at Winged Foot.

The six-time PGA Tour winner battled bogeys throughout his second round, but was fortunate enough to match each bogey with its own birdie and ended his round on a high-note, carding an eagle on the par-5 ninth.

The 27-year-old finished Friday 2-under 68 to sit 3 under for the tournament, one of a handful of fortunate players to sit in the red through 36 holes.

“Yeah, it’s definitely ebbs and flows, but I’ve been working hard on that recently and trying to keep myself level-headed no matter what, and I feel like I did a great job of that today,” DeChambeau said. “Even on 5, made a dumb bogey, just didn’t play the right distance and consequently hurt myself there. And then on 6, I just focused up and I was able to stay patient and execute a great drive and make two great putts there.”

U.S. Open: Leaderboard | Tee times, TV | Best photos

Starting on No. 10, DeChambeau began his round bogey-birdie-bogey. He made par on 13 and then continued the rollercoaster for birdie-bogey-birdie on Nos. 14-16.

After reaching the turn at even par, DeChambeau bogeyed No. 3, but corrected it immediately with a birdie on No. 2. He went bogey-birdie again on Nos. 5 and 6, followed by his eagle on No. 9.

“(Bouncing back) keeps your momentum going, I’ll tell you that,” he said when asked about matching each of his five bogeys with birdies. “I don’t really have too much more to say on that other than the fact that you need momentum to keep playing well in a U.S. Open, and that’s what I was able to do today.”

Coming off a first-round 69, DeChambeau walked off the course T-3, two shots behind first-round leader Justin Thomas.

Bryson DeChambeau on the 14th green during the second round of the U.S. Open at Winged Foot Golf Club. (Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports)

The U.S. Open is DeChambeau’s first event of the 2020-21 season. After finishing T-4 at the PGA Championship, he stumbled during the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Ahead of the playoffs, he had nine top-10s in 15 events and just a pair of missed cuts. The reigning Rocket Mortgage Classic winner missed the cut at the Northern Trust, finished in 50th at the BMW Championship at 10 over and 22nd at the Tour Championship at 3 under.

At Winged Foot, of all places, DeChambeau has put his lackluster performance in the playoffs behind him. That’s largely due to his mental edge.

“I feel great,” DeChambeau said Friday. “Confidence is at an all-time high right now, driving it well, iron play is fantastic, wedging is getting better each and every day, and I’m putting it like I know I can. So very happy.”

Part of the reason DeChambeau was able to battle the bogeys Winged Foot threw at him Friday was that he’s working on being more patient with himself. A large part of that is a lot of “deep, long breaths” to re-center himself during rounds, but the other element is focusing on what doesn’t feel right and correcting it immediately like his wedges in the opening round.

DeChambeau said he spent Thursday evening after his first round making the adjustment to his wedges to avoid transferring the discomfort he experienced with them in the opening round to Round 2.

Thanks to Thursday evening’s adjustment, he didn’t.

“We didn’t practice (wedge shots) as well as I should have leading up to this tournament, but we made that adjustment and it worked out beautifully for me today. … I was flying everything 10 yards long consequently with my wedges and we recalibrated all of them today, and I felt like they worked out really well today,” he said.

DeChambeau, who last won on Tour in July, is looking for his second win of 2020 and first major championship.

If he keeps battling Winged Foot like he did Friday, he has a pretty good shot.

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Watch: Some of the wildest putts from the U.S. Open at Winged Foot

The rough at U.S. Opens always gets all the attention, and rightfully so. But the greens at Winged Foot? They are so tough.

The rough at U.S. Opens always gets all the attention, and rightfully so.

But the greens at this year’s Open at Winged Foot? They are so tough.

There are undulating hills, sometimes multiple ones on one hole. The ground is hard as a rock, punishing a miss by sending a ball far away. Extreme creativity ends up being rewarded, but it’s enough to make your mind melt.

Let’s start with a shot from Friday that punished Bubba Watson (who actually ended up having a pretty good second round with a 1-under).  Some serious creativity … but down it went backwards. Yikes.

And then there’s that epic Zach Johnson putt from Thursday:

This putt from Cole Hammer was impressive — right into a hill:

Look at where Dustin Johnson had to put this ball out of the sand:

There was this miss from Abraham Ancer. Welp.

Good luck the rest of the way.

U.S. Open: Bubba Watson lurking with thoughts on hometown ravaged by Hurricane Sally

Bubba Watson grew up in the Florida Panhandle that was ravaged by Hurricane Sally, which made landfall in his hometown on Wednesday.

Bubba Watson had a phone call to make after the second round of the U.S. Open to cancel a flight.

Watson, 41, strung together three consecutive birdies on the front nine and signed for a 1-under 69 at Winged Foot Golf Club’s West Course in Mamaroneck, New York, to improve to 1-over 145 and lurking at a major where he’s experienced limited success. Watson, a two-time Masters champion, had missed the 36-hole cut at the U.S. Open in five of the last six years.

“I had my plane ready to go home today just in case,” Watson said. “But now I’ll have to cancel the flight. So that’s a good problem to have, I guess, cancel the flight and be home late Sunday night hopefully.”

Watson also was anxious to get home to check on his family and community back home in the Florida Panhandle, where Hurricane Sally made landfall on Sept. 16, with ravaging winds and submerged some parts with more than 2 feet of rain.

U.S. Open: Leaderboard | Tee times, TV | Best photos

“My friends and family are all OK. My house, my mom’s house, our friends’ houses are all OK,” Watson said. “I know there’s a lot of boats that got messed up. I haven’t heard about my businesses yet.”

Watson grew up in Bagdad, Florida, (population 3,761) in that northwest sliver of the state that is part of the greater Pensacola area, on the Gulf of Mexico, and about 13 miles from the Alabama border. He lived in Scottsdale, Arizona, and Orlando earlier in his career but returned to his roots in 2016.

Ever since, Watson has made a large impact in his local community. For starters, he donated $2.1 million to Studer Family Children’s Hospital at Sacred Heart in Pensacola for an expansion of the facility where he was born and where there’s now a street known as Bubba Watson Drive. Watson also opened Bubba’s Sweet Spot, a candy and ice cream shop in downtown Pensacola, a car dealership, Sandy and Bubba’s Milton Chevrolet, a driving range, and is co-owner of the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, a Class Double-A minor league baseball team. Watson said he’ll assess the storm’s damage next week.

“When it hit on Wednesday, the first text I sent my wife is, ‘Should I come home?’ Because again, golf is golf and life is more important than that,” Watson said. “Just trying to focus on this right now, but when I get home, obviously me and my wife, my family will do something. We can help Pensacola. We’d love to do something like (Houston Texans defenseman) J.J. Watt did a few years ago for Houston. Something like that would be tremendous. Just anything like that in that direction, just to help the community, lift the spirits of the community because I know there’s some people hurting for sure.”

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Watson and his family experienced a previous natural disaster in 2016. They own a second house and 11 acres in the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia, part of the Greenbrier Resort’s sporting club. Watson was there the night a 100-year flood dumped 11 inches of rain in just 5 ½ hours. He donated $250,000 to the relief effort and got his hands dirty as part of a local cleanup team.

“Sometimes in the midst of tragedy, in the midst of bad things, that’s what pulls it out of us the most, that good spirit and we a definitely witnessed it tremendously through the few weeks we were here helping and volunteering,” wife Angie Watson said ahead of the 2017 Greenbrier Classic, a former PGA Tour event there.

Watson said his family’s generator has made his Florida house a popular spot and friends have been staying at his guest house.

“People have been coming over for ice and different things to our house, just trying to keep the kids safe and everything,” he said. “Right now I’m trying to stay focused on a very difficult golf course instead of the very difficult situation at home, but my wife is holding the fort down pretty nicely, and again, we’ve been so lucky that we have a bunch of different families. We have a guest house and different things where we can bless people and help them as much as we can so far.”

It makes finishing his round with a double bogey on Friday easier to accept. Watson has been mired in a slump, recording only one top-10 finish in his last 14 starts and remains winless since notching his 12th PGA Tour title at the 2018 Travelers Championship. He was pleased with his ball striking, including ranking second in the field in Strokes Gained: Off-the-tee and fifth in SG: Approach.

“Even though I made a double bogey on the last hole, I still played good golf at a U.S. Open,” Watson said. “There’s so many bigger things out there right now, but I’m going to keep battling as much as I can.”

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Which hole locations to look for at the second round of the U.S. Open

Golfweek’s David Dusek discusses the key hole locations for the second round of the U.S. Open at Winged Foot Golf Club.

Golfweek’s David Dusek discusses the key hole locations for the second round of the U.S. Open at Winged Foot Golf Club.

U.S. Open: Winged Foot plays role of gracious host for Justin Thomas, others in Round 1

Golfweek’s David Dusek discusses the first round of play at the U.S. Open from Winged Foot Golf Club.

Golfweek’s David Dusek discusses the first round of play at the U.S. Open from Winged Foot Golf Club.

Zach Johnson drained the most outrageous putt at the U.S. Open

Zach Johnson had an amazing shot with his putter on the par-3 1st hole.

Winged Foot Golf Club was primed for the U.S. Open to provide the toughest challenge in golf, and while there’s only around 20 players in the field under par late in Day 1, we’ve already seen a few remarkable highlight-reel shots.

Patrick Reed and Will Zalatoris both made aces at the par-3 7th hole, become just the sixth and seventh players to hit a hole-in-one at a U.S. Open this decade.

One of the other players on that list, Zach Johnson (who carded an ace at the 2014 U.S. Open), arguably had an even more impressive shot with his putter on the par-3 1st hole.

With seemingly zero chance to navigate the undulations of the green and putt his ball directly toward the hole, Johnson hit an adventurous shot well past the hole and allowed it to break back down a slope toward the cup – and then watched as it tracked directly into the cup. Johnson couldn’t believe it.

The ground-level camera angle from behind Johnson will give you a better idea of just how absurd this putt was.

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Tiger Tracker: Colorful scorecard depicts up and down start for Tiger Woods at the U.S. Open

Golfweek’s Adam Woodard discusses Tiger’s first round of play at the U.S. Open from Winged Foot Golf Club.

Golfweek’s Adam Woodard discusses Tiger’s first round of play at the U.S. Open from Winged Foot Golf Club.