There’ll be a huge par 3 test for players competing in the US Open at Los Angeles Country Club with the monster 11th measuring in at 290 yards – the second-longest par 3 in tournament history.
It’s an unusual challenge for the 123rd US Open as the par 70 layout consists of five par 3s and just three par 5s – and there’s a couple of “short” holes that rank among the longest ever played.
The seventh hole is down as a 284-yard par 3 while the signature hole at LACC is the 11th, which is the monster 290-yard par 3 that has everyone talking.
Martin Kaymer’s caddie Craig Connelly got plenty of responses when posting a picture of the hole on Twitter, although it’s not quite as unbelievably tough as it sounds as the hole does play downhill at least.
You can also land the ball short and run it up to the green thanks to a gathering area just ahead of the putting surface, so there are ways to tackle this goliath for those wanting to lift the US Open come Sunday.
It’s not actually the longest hole the US Open has ever had though, with the infamous eighth at Oakmont being stretched out and playing a full 300 yards in the final round of the 2007 US Open, before dropping it by just a yard at 299 when the tournament returned in 2016.
The eighth at Oakmont currently dominates with all five top spots in the longest par 3s ever played at the US Open, but that monopoly is about to be broken up by both the seventh and signature 11th at Los Angeles CC.
If both are played at their full distance, the 290-yard 11th will come in at third on the all-time list of long par 3s played at the US Open, with the seventh hole slotting in behind in fourth.
As far as individual holes go, they’ll come in as the second and third-longest holes in US Open history behind Oakmont’s eighth.
The 266-yard third at Merion caused plenty of problems in 2013 when Justin Rose won his only Major to date, while the second at Shinnecock Hills at 264 yards and the third at Olympic Club in San Francisco at 256 yards complete the current top 10.
It looks like being a tough week on the par 3s at the US Open this week – we shouldn’t really even be calling them short holes anymore.
LONGEST PAR 3s IN US OPEN HISTORY
- 300 yards, 8th, fourth round, Oakmont (Pa.) C.C., 2007
- 299 yards, 8th, fourth round, Oakmont (Pa.) C.C., 2016
- 281 yards, 8th, second round, Oakmont (Pa.) C.C., 2007
- 281 yards, 8th, second round, Oakmont (Pa.) C.C., 2016
- 279 yards, 8th, third round, Oakmont (Pa.) C.C., 2007
- 266 yards, 3rd,…
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