The US Open tees off on Thursday at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass. Here’s what you need to know about the third major on the men’s golf schedule, which will miss out on three-time winner Tiger Woods:
When is the US Open?
The U.S. open begins Thursday morning and ends Sunday evening.
Where is the US Open being played?
Built in the late 1800s, The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., is one of the oldest golf courses in the United States. This will be the fourth time it has hosted the US Open, the last being in 1988 when Curtis Strange won in a play-off over Nick Faldo. The Country Club also hosted the 1999 Ryder Cup, when the United States surged past Europe on Sunday to win, and the 2013 US Amateur, which was won by Matthew Fitzpatrick (who’s in this year’s US Open field) and featured a number of other players you’ll see this week, including Corey Conners, Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Bryson DeChambeau.
A par 70 measuring 7,254 yards, The Country Club will have an air of mystery, considering the renovations that have been done since it last was in the global spotlight. Additionally, the course that will be used this week is a composite of two courses at The Country Club.
Here’s what we do know: The Country Club features some of the smallest greens these players will ever see, measuring 4,388 square feet on average (the average PGA Tour green size is around 6,000 square feet). Blind approaches into those greens, which often are elevated and well guarded by bunkers, will make for a stern test, as will the usual US Open pitfalls: fast, sloping putting surfaces and gnarly rough. And if it’s at all windy, things could get truly diabolical.
Who won the US Open last year?
Jon Rahm played bogey-free golf over his final nine holes last year, holding steady while others faltered in winning his first career major at Torrey Pines.
Rahm is among the favourites to win this year’s tournament, as well, at 12-to-1 odds as of Monday morning. Rory McIlroy, who won last weekend’s Canadian Open, is the favorite at 10 to 1.
How big is the field at the US Open?
There are 156 players in the US Open field, which features recent US Open winners, top 10 finishers from last year’s tournament, recent major winners and winners of top senior and amateur events, recent winners of the more important PGA Tour events from recent months, golfers who performed the best at recent U.S. Open qualifying events, players from the top of the Official World Golf Ranking and the top players from tours in Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia.
The US Golf Association, which runs the US Open, said last week that anyone who had qualified for the tournament can play. The following LIV golfers are in the field this week: past champions Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson, Louis Oosthuizen, James Piot, Sergio Garcia, Kevin Na, Sam Horsfield, Shaun Norris, Richard Bland and Talor Gooch.
What is the cut at the US Open?
The top 60 and ties after Friday’s play advance to the weekend at the US Open, which makes the tournament the toughest of golf’s four majors in terms of percentage of golfers who make the cut. Last year, for instance, only 45.5% of the field made the cut, compared with 49.3% at that year’s British Open, 51.9% at the PGA Championship and 61.4% at the Masters.
What does the US Open winner receive?
The US Open winner receives $2.25 million, plus automatic entry into the tournament for the next 10 years. He also will be invited to play at the other three majors and the Players Championship for the next five years.
Golfers who finish in the top 10 receive an automatic berth in the next year’s US Open. Golfers who finish in the top four receive an invitation to play in the next year’s Masters.
What is the US Open weather forecast?
It could be at least a little breezy on all four days, with winds forecast to gust between 10 and 20 mph. The players could be dodging raindrops and perhaps some storms on Friday and Saturday before a nice Sunday, with temperatures only climbing to around 70.
Is Tiger Woods playing in the US Open?
Tiger Woods will not play in the US Open after he announced last week that his “body needs more time to get stronger for major championship golf.” Woods has played in only two tournaments since suffering severe injuries in a 2021 car crash. The most recent was last month’s PGA Championship, from which he withdrew after labouring to a third-round 79, his worst round at a tournament he has won four times.
Woods said he hopes to play in next month’s British Open.
- Washington Post
