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5 Things We Learned: Thursday at the U.S. Open
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I’ve posted on social media that I’m not convinced that the viewing public is ready for three U.S. Open tournaments at Pinehurst #2, over a twelve-year span. I like the course and I love the sandhills, but the deuce is not a visually-stunning course. The topography, with the exception of holes four and five, is flattish. Flattish not in an Old Course way. Flattish in a where’s-the-movement way. I have erred in judgment, and it is possible that the television audiences will take to Donald Ross’ masterpiece in a manner that I did not anticipate.
This much I do know: many players took to the course with great affection on Thursday, aka Day One. Scores got as low as 65, and twenty golfers finished day one under par. This was not an easy day for scoring, either. With the exception of holes nine and ten, no other hole location could be labeled center of green. Competitors were forced to play to safe sides of putting surfaces, and encourage the putter to make a statement. Certainly, the USGA could make the targets even more precise, but chances are, they won’t.
What to expect? Hard to say, but five things that we do know, are elaborated below. Welcome to mid-June, and another US Open championship at Pinehurst. Welcome to five things we learned on day one of the 2024 US Open.
1. Is Patty Ice chillin’ again?
It’s hard to fathom that Patrick Cantlay has not won since August of 2022. In 2023, his performance for Team USA’s Ryder Cup side was decent, but not glowing nor glorious. With the rise of new talents, Captain America 2.0 has been relegated to an afterthought. It used to be When will he win a major and now it’s Will he win again. This week at Pinehurst, Cantlay might answer both questions with vigorous affirmation.
Cantlay was nearly flawless across the gem of Moore county. His 7:40 tee time was a boon, as the course was soft, windless, and untrampled. His only bogey came at the 15th hole, where his tee ball found sand and he was unable to get up and down for the sandy. His six birdies came at the first and last holes of the day, along with the fifth, sixth, eighth, and eleventh holes.
Solid Quote: “I got the ball up and down on 7, made a bunch of putts inside, eight feet. I think around this golf course, you’re going to leave yourself putts inside eight feet. That four- to eight-foot range. It important that you hole out. I did that well today.”
In the greenside bunker? Not a problem for @patrick_cantlay.
He joins a large group at -1. pic.twitter.com/o3gQycfZ0C
— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 13, 2024
2. The Oh-Bear stakes his claim
After we all mispronounced his name for the first six months of his professional career, we go to know the Oh-Bear when he won on tour and then earned statement victories at the 2023 Ryder Cup in Italy. On Thursday at number two, Ludvig Aberg signed for a 66 and reminded us all that he is a strengthening force in the world of golf. Aberg won last September on the DP World Tour, then again in November on the PGA Tour. In April, the Swedish lad posted a brilliant, runner-up finish at Augusta National, in the year’s first major championship.
Thursday saw a sextet of birdies wander onto Ludvig’s symphony. Like Cantlay, he made birdie at the first and the last. Holes five, nine, eleven, and twelve also surrendered stroke-savers. His hiccoughs came on the par-three sixth and the par-four fourteenth, where he made bogey. Aberg never appears to lose control nor confidence, and that system will serve him well over the next three days. Like Cantlay, Aberg will tee off in the afternoon wave on Friday. Both will see different course conditions, and their ability to adapt will serve them quite well.
Solid Quote: “Yeah, I think staying very disciplined is important. There’s a lot of pins where you don’t really think about going for. So me and Joe, my caddie, we have a lot of good conversations about certain areas that you try to hit it on.”
Knocked it stiff.
Ludvig Åberg ?? matches Koepka and Pavon at -3. pic.twitter.com/z4wtzdXhxF
— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 13, 2024
3. Peacock rides two eagles to three-under 67
Matthieu Pavon’s last name might translate as peacock from French, but eagles were his bird of choice on day one at Pinehurst. The first-time winner on the PGA Tour made but one birdie on the day, on the par-four eighth hole. He had twice as many bogeys, but that’s not his story. His day was made on the 5th and 10th holes, the two long holes at Pinehurst number two.
In his words, Pavon made his four best swings on the par five holes. He converted both eagle putts to save four more strokes, and ended his day at three-under par. Pavon transitioned from the courses of Europe to the layouts of the USA this season, and his learning curve has softened with each week. Pinehurst will provide as much challenge as any peacock needs, but this bird is already playing with house money.
Solid Quote: “It’s more about seeing breaks because when it’s slower, when you have less break, the ball doesn’t move as much as here. Here it’s really — it’s steep, it’s fast, it’s grainy, so the ball moves quite a lot. You have a lot of curves on the green.”
Matthieu Pavon takes a two shot lead with his SECOND eagle of the day ? pic.twitter.com/SPIOpKXpJ8
— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) June 13, 2024
4. Rory roars to top
Can you say Clean card? Rory McIlroy went 18 holes at Pinehurst #2 without a bogey. He drove the ball supremely well, and putted with surgical precision. We all know the good news that came out of his personal world this week, so we can put Rory the person on the back burner, and focus entirely on Rory the golfer.
McIlroy was in the featured, afternoon triumvirate, with the two most recent major champions. Do you think he had something to prove? Aye. While the Masters champion managed a 71, and the PGA champion posted 70, Rory was the class of the 1:14 tee time. His birdies at four and five gave him early confidence, and his work on the inward half boosted him into his tie at the top. A birdie at ten restarted the momentum, and the Northern Irishman closed with two more birdies over the final three holes.
Solid Quote: “You’ve got to get lucky. I had a lot of really good numbers today where I could just go ahead and hit full shots. Whenever you’re hitting full shots into these greens, the ball is going to stop a little quicker than if you have to take something off or hit little three-quarter shots.”
Absolutely knew it was good. pic.twitter.com/zRvzBiiYNW
— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 13, 2024
5. Bryson stays the course and stays top five
The 2020 US Open champion, despite a well-publicized defection to a rival league, has been the most successful, non-PGA Tour golfer of late in majors. DeChambeau has done everything but win, finding top-seven finishes in each of this season’s grand slam events.
DeChambeau began his day on the second nine, where five of the top seven golfers opened their round. Birdies at 13 and 18 brought him through the turn at minus-two. Two more stroke-savers at three and five elevated him to within a shot of the lead. Even though he stumbled with bogey five at the seventh, DeChambeau finished the day at minus-three. Bryson will tee off at 7:40 on Friday, and much like Rory, will have a chance to post a number early and position himself for a weekend charge.
Solid Quote: “That putt on 6 today was crucial from 80 feet. I could have easily putted off the green as well as No. 9. Really making sure my speed control is good, starting lines are good. I did accomplish for the most part what I was trying to do today besides 7.”
Step 1: Reach the green in 2, even after a wayward drive.
Step 2: Lag putt
Step 3: Tap-in birdie, one stroke off the lead. pic.twitter.com/F3PvRpxdfJ
— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 13, 2024
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 John Deere Classic
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GolfWRX is on site this week at the 2024 John Deere Classic. With the Scottish Open next week and The Open Championship two weeks away, those who have qualified will be looking to shore up their games in Silvis, Illinois, before heading to European shores.
On the equipment front, we spotted some new SuperStroke x Marvel grips and got an in-hand look at impressive custom Scotty Cameron putters. Our WITB galleries already feature a look at Jason Day’s wares, and general complement the spread.
Be sure to check back throughout the week as we add more photos from TPC Deere Run!
General Albums
WITB Albums
- Jason Day – WITB – 2024 John Deere Classic
- Josh Teater – WITB – 2024 John Deere Classic
- Michael Thorbjornsen – WITB – 2024 John Deere Classic
- Austin Smotherman – WITB – 2024 John Deere Classic
- Joseph Bramlett – WITB – 2024 John Deere Classic
Pullout Albums
- Garrick Higgo – 2 Aretera shafts in the bag – 2024 John Deere Classic
- Jhonattan Vegas’ custom Cameron putter – 2024 John Deere Classic
- Bud Cauley’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 John Deere Classic
- 2 new Super Stroke Marvel comics grips – 2024 John Deere Classic
See what GolfWRXers are saying about the photos and join the discussion in the forums.
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News
Protected: Highlights from the Wilson Golf Product Testing and Fitting Experience at Pinehurst
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News
Tour Rundown: #QueenMel and a “Bland” U.S. Senior Open
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A wee bit to the north and east of my hometown is a jaunty little ‘burg called Medina, NY. No one would ever consider it to be a golf mecca, but for this week at least, it is. Why? The 2024 Amateur Champion of the world, Melanie Green, hails from Medina. With a sense of regional pride, I salute #QueenMel, who emerged from 36-hole, medal qualifying and six head-to-head matches, to win 2-up in the 36-hole final at Portmarnock. Miss Mel won the last three holes, two with birdies, to join great USA winners like Babe Zaharias, Louise Suggs, and Kelli Kuehne.
The winning moment for The 121st Women’s Amateur Champion ?
And what a way to do it ? pic.twitter.com/WSyXQQaNLF
— The R&A (@RandA) June 29, 2024
Now, let’s run down all the world’s tours this week. We followed a national championship (Men’s US Senior Open) from storied Newport Country Club, the PGA Tour at Detroit, the DP World in Italy, the LPGA doing the tandem thing around Michigan, and the Korn Ferry down Illinois way. We’re spoiled during these summer months, full stop. Might as well enjoy these riches.
PGA Tour @ Rocket Mortgage
The results that came out of Detroit Golf Club on Sunday caused a few heads to be scratched. Nowhere to be found were the mid-60s numbers that traced across the leaderboards like sunflowers in Carmona. Missing, too, as the sun waned in the sky, were the expected, clutch performances of golfers chasing victory.
We’ve grown accustomed to birdies down the stretch, and numbers like Bhatia’s 72nd-hole bogey, and Young’s closing five-five-five, seemed strange and unfamiliar. Bhatia’s take that he knows how to close tournaments, and that it simply didn’t happen on this day, was equal parts explanation and compensation. Teachers teach well, writers write well, and golfers put the ball in the hole. That’s the measure of victory.
The lifting of the tournament trophy was left to Cam Davis, who did what the others could not. He concluded play with 70 for -18 on the week, hoping for a second RMC in four years. On his heels, all tied for second at -17, were Davis Thompson, Min Woo Lee, Aaron Rai, and Bhatia. Beyond Akshay, none has tasted tournament success on the US PGA Tour. Davis posted birdie at 17, then waited. Thompson made a late rush, with birdies at three of his final five holes. He needed one more. Lee took five shots at the final hole; he needed one fewer. As for the two-gloved Rai, his even-par 72 on the day left him a shot away from playoff.
A classy up-and-down birdie for @CamDavisGolf.
He leads by one @RocketClassic. pic.twitter.com/HSrJuetSzD
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 30, 2024
USGA @ Senior Men’s Open
Any hope that Hiroyuki Fujita held for finishing off the US Senior Open at Newport, went distantly away, courtesy of two unregistered opponents: fog and rain. The golfer that had played so brilliantly over 3.5 days (16-under through 63 holes) was forced to consider the ramifications of his situation. The golfer whose five cuts made in regular-tour majors included zero, top-forty finishes, stood three shots clear of the field, with no tourist guide to bring him home. Sunday’s dawn proved that he was mortal, and the game was afoot.
No worse pursuer than Richard Bland might have appeared. The Englishman had won his last USA start, and it was also a senior major championship. Bland captured the Senior PGA Championship in late May, winning by three shots over Australia’s Richard Green. The SPGA runner-up was also among the chasers at Newport, but a top-five finish would once again be his destiny. As for Bland, he did what experienced winners do. Consecutive birdies at 14 and 15 on Monday served notice that there would be no easy stroll home for Fujita. The Japan Tour stalwart stumbled over the same stretch of holes, posting bogey on three of his first four holes on day five.
Precisely when it appeared that Bland would conclude matters in regulation, he posted bogey at the 18th and dropped back to 13-under par. Fujita found the same number, and the duo went off to the first, two-hole playoff in US Senior Open history, and the first overtime session since 2014 in Oklahoma. After two pars each in the regulation session, they went to single-hole elimination. Each made bogey at the 18th, but the fourth hole gave resolution. Bland was able to earn a sandy from the greenside bunker, while Fujita was unable to secure par. Congratulations to Richard Bland on a second senior major in 2024.
Richard Bland is making a charge ?
He grabs the U.S. Senior Open lead after back-to-back birdies on 14 and 15. pic.twitter.com/5lOxI3EyEA
— USGA (@USGA) July 1, 2024
LPGA @ Dow Championship
Both Atthaya Thitikul (Thailand) and Yin Ruoning (China) will represent their nations in the 2024 Paris Olympic games. Olympic competition is individual-only for golf, which is a missed opportunity. Teaming to win medals for your country is the epitome of Olympic success. It’s a bit odd, then that the two would find success in a team-style, warm-up event on the LPGA circuit.
For most of the week, two golfers from the USA appeared destined for victory at Midland Country Club. Ally Ewing and Jennifer Kupcho finished 36 holes in 128 strokes. They gave one back on Saturday, with 67, but came home on Sunday with a third 64 for the week. Despite an early passel of birdies, they were unable to save a single shot over the closing stretch. They finished at 21-deep for the week.
Paired with them, Thitikul and Ruoning were also finding par after par as they headed for home. At the watery 18th, Thitikul stuffed her tee ball inside fifteen feet, then read the surface flawlessly, and hit her mark. The putt broke slightly right, into the center of the cup. With that closing birdie, a playoff was avoided and a send-off celebration of Olympic calibre was in the works.
Team @jeeno_atthaya and Ruoning Yin fighting for the solo lead ?
Tune in on @CBS to catch the rest of the action! pic.twitter.com/Y4CkPBF7sc
— LPGA (@LPGA) June 30, 2024
DP World Tour @ Italian Open
16 months had passed since Marcel Siem last savored a DP World Tour win. His triumph at the Indian Open, in February of 2023, might have been a bit distant to leave residue of confidence. As he traversed the final arc of the Cervia golf course, his gaskets had unsealed and oil leaked everywhere. An outward 32 was undone by four bogeys from holes 11 to 17. The last one had dropped him from the lead, and only a majestic finish could return a chance at salvation. After he drove the fairway and reached the green at the closing trace, Siem assessed a 22-feet putt for birdie and found cup bottom.
In that moment, the round of 65 that England’s Tom McKibbin had fashioned, was no longer enough. He would need to do a bit more work, to secure a second Tour title. The duo returned to the final tee deck, and Siem once again faced a birdie putt. His approach was played brilliantly to about ten feet, but the putt drifted right. By the grace of gravity, it caught enough of the circle to fall downward, and a sixth career title belonged to the German champion.
The moment @SiemMarcel claimed his SIXTH Tour win ?#ItalianOpen pic.twitter.com/YysmH9FKAh
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) June 30, 2024
Korn Ferry Tour @ MHC by LRS
Max McGreevy has tasted the bitterness of defeat and savored delicious victory on the professional golf tours. He has lost a playoff on the PGA Tour, and now won twice on the Korn Ferry orbit. This week, McGreevey overcame a wee miss on the penultimate hole, to secure victory at green 72, with a xxx birdie putt. He and runner-up Steven Fisk each clinched a PGA Tour card for the 2025 season, based on 2024 peformance.
McGreevy eased a 36-yard pitch within two feet of the hole, at the par-five 16th, on Sunday. He converted the birdie putt and moved a shot lower than Fisk, with two holes to face. At 17, he played safely away from the tucked flag at the watery par three, and eased his 55-feet putt to precisely the same distance (26 inches.) And then, he missed. Gone was the lead, and present were the doubts.
As champions do, McGreevy refocussed and found his spot on the 18th fairway. His approach from 186 yards settled a dozen feet from the flagstick, and his read on the downhill slider was accurate. The putt dropped, and McGreevy avoided overtime.
Back to the winner’s circle ??@MaxMcgreevy brings home his second title @MHChampionship. pic.twitter.com/LIqPI1iXnO
— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) June 30, 2024
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