The 2024 US Open Golf tournament is in the weekend phase with Ludvig Aberg, Sweden’s newest star, in the lead after two outstanding rounds at Pinehurst #2 in North Carolina. His 5 under par is one stroke better than USA’s Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Cantlay and Germany’s Thomas Detry, each at -4. Ireland’s Rory McIlroy sits at two behind Aberg.
Let’s have some fun and look at the stats and other noteworthy stories emanating from the notorious Donald Ross designed course.
The Course for the US Open
You want a birdie? Good luck! Every hole is playing over par right except #’s 5, 10 and 13. The most difficult have been 8, 2 and 6. If you can withstand the front side, you can shave off half a stroke on the back. The front is averaging 36.8, while the back is at a paltry 36.3. The par 70 course is seeing a 73 average so far.
Thursday saw a 73.25 average while Friday’s numbers were a tad better at 72.9.
Golfers have been complaining that the course is too tough. There are holes like #8 where a great shot will often find itself off the front or back of the green! Heck, the course has caused Scottie Scheffler to rip himself in the third person, ala George Costanza!
Scheffler: “Maybe the worst golf shot I’ve ever seen you hit.” 💀 @SchefflerFans | @ForePlayPod 🫡
pic.twitter.com/B3QKFURZXc— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) June 14, 2024
But ask any fan. They mostly will shout a three word sentence at you when asked about the US Open! Those three? “WE WANT CARNAGE!”
Shut up, Peter. Best players in the world deserve to play the hardest conditions in the world. It’s the US Open. We want carnage. https://t.co/RSrTx1Bqkf
— B•Chill (@brady_childers) June 11, 2024
And more….
Boooooo WE WANT CARNAGE https://t.co/08MBTPTswj
— Jimmer (@kingjimmer_) June 14, 2024
The Good
How about this? Fransicso Molinari was looking at heading home as he stood on the tee at #9, his last hole of the day since he started off the back nine. He was seven over par, and the cut line was looking to be +5. He’d need a hole-in-one to continue playing Saturday. No way that can happen! Right? Welp, just watch!
Francesco Molinari needed a hole-in-one on 18 to make the cut at the US Open.
Bang.
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) June 14, 2024
Sam Bairstow is a 25 year old left-handed golfer from Sheffield, England, who had a crazy two day swing. He opened his Thursday round with a field-worst 84. Then Friday he had an epiphany! Bairstow carded a 67, the second best round of the day. That 17 shot swing was the biggest in the last 40 years.
The Bad
Here is a list of notables that missed the cut. It reads like a “Who’s Who in golf the past 20 years!”
Phil Mickelson (+15, who never has won this event and probably never will).
Tiger Woods (+7, and later in an interview hinted this might or might not be his last US Open).
Tiger Woods says “it may or may not be” his last U.S. Open. 😢 pic.twitter.com/YDHwYvHXQp
— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) June 14, 2024
Victor Hovland, Max Homa, Justin Rose, Dustin Johnson, and Justin Thomas. Wow!
The Ugly
Just throw Sepp Straka’s picture up for the ugly. His shot into #3 green heads towards the flagstick. Good right? Welp, it then finds the center…of the flagstick and rebounds into the front bunker. Then, check out this picture. From the sand he air-mails it over the green then chunks it short. He finally sinks his putt for a three over par 7!
Straka’s 7 via X, courtesy of Brentley Romine, @BrentleyGC
But we should also add him to the Good section. The Golf God’s clearly felt bad for him, so they decided to help Sepp pull the same shot Molinari did on #9.
The golf gods owed Sepp Straka this hole-in-one.
It’s the first Ace of Straka’s PGA Tour career. pic.twitter.com/idAUxhbmYs
— Underdog Golf (@Underdog__Golf) June 14, 2024
The Fun As Hell at the US Open
Bryson at PGA Valhalla CC, photo courtesy of Dominic Petrello
And we close with Bryson DeChambeau. Here’s his YouTube page. He sits in second place at this US Open. At the PGA Championship, Bryson finished 2nd to Xander Schauffele in an incredible battle between the two and Viktor Hovland. It was one of the best Sunday TV for PGA golf’s majors. But Bryson is turning heads this week for what he says, his powerful swing, and his antics on his channel. First, check out his names for his clubs!
Screenshot from NBCSports
Bryson is one of the tour regulars that followed the LIV tour, the rival golf organization run by financial backers from Saudi Arabia with former golfing great, Greg Norman, as the face of the tour. Bryson sits 15th in money winnings on the LIV tour to date. He seems to take the majors more seriously than he does the LIV events.
But make no mistake, he wants to be a Grand Slam champion, winning all four of the major events for professional golf.
“After 20 more years of hopefully playing golf, God-willing, I’m hopefully going to complete that Career Grand Slam. That’s my ultimate goal for myself.”
“I’m excited for the game that I have right now,” DeChambeau said. “I feel pretty confident and ready to get after it this weekend. I feel good about where I’m at.”
If Bryson can pull off another US Open win, it will be on the course where his boyhood hero, Payne Stewart, won. And we fans will be even more blessed with amazing, crazy stories at another major.
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