The USGA invariably ensures that anyone teeing it up at the US Open has to work for their success, with tight scoring, thick rough, narrow fairways, punitive bunkers and challenging greens usually the order of the day.
If the pre-tournament quotes from some of the biggest names in the field before the 2024 tournament are anything to go by, Pinehurst No.2 is going to continue that tradition and is being set up to punish even the smallest mistakes.
Here are eight quotes that suggest the 2024 US Open is going to be particularly treacherous.
Wyndham Clark
Wyndham Clark has called the greens “extremely fast”
(Image credit: Getty Images)
The 2023 champion set the alarm bells ringing early over the potentially hazardous nature of the challenges to come, particularly in reference to Pinehurst No.2’s famous domed greens.
On the Monday before the event he said: “The greens are extremely fast and penal. You hit it on the green, the hole is not done. I was just amazed how fast the greens are. Yeah, I mean, they are extremely fast. If they get any firmer and faster, the greens, I mean, they’d be borderline. They already are borderline.“
Bryson DeChambeau
Bryson DeChambeau says Pinehurst No.2 is “no joke”
(Image credit: Getty Images)
If anyone has a right to feel confident heading into the tournament it’s the 2020 US Open champion, particularly after his T6 at The Masters was followed by runner-up at the PGA Championship.
However, DeChambeau is preparing for an altogether different test this week, and is well aware that tackling Pinehurst No.2 will be far from easy.
“Looking forward to a tough test of golf out here,” the LIV golfer began. “Pinehurst is no joke. This is a ball striker’s paradise. You have to hit it in the middle of the greens.”
He’s also aware of what parts of his game need to be at their peak to compete: “I’d say that for the most part, you have to focus on your wedge game around the greens,” he said, before warning: “You’re not going to hit every green. Your putting and wedging has to be pristine in order to compete at this Major championship and at this venue.”
Viktor Hovland
Viktor Hovland is wary of the slope and speed of the greens
(Image credit: Getty Images)
The Norwegian is still looking for his maiden Major title, but if he is to achieve that here,…
..
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Golf Monthly…