US Open Tips & Preview

The US Open is organised by the United States Golf Association (USGA). Traditionally it is played in mid-June and scheduled so that the final round is played on the third Sunday, which is Father’s Day.

The US Open is an official tournament of both the PGA and European Tours. From a course difficulty perspective, the US Open Championship is traditionally the hardest of the four Majors to win.

The tournament is staged at a variety of courses and set up in such a way that scoring is difficult. US Open courses are typically characterised by low scoring, are long, have a high cut of primary rough, undulating greens and tight fairways.

US Open Past Champions (2000 – 2021)

Course Overview

The Country Club was founded in 1882 and is located in Brookline, Massachusetts. It is one of the oldest country clubs in the United States and one of the five charter clubs that founded the United States Golf Association.

Golf was not part of The Country Club until 1893, when Scotsman Willie Campbell, the club’s first professional, designed a 6-hole layout. It was expanded to nine holes a year later and by the early 1900’s it grew to 18-holes.

The two nines hole courses making up The Country Club are known as the Clyde and Squirrel Courses.

In 1927, William Flynn built a third 9-hole layout at The Country Club called the Primrose. The original Clyde and Squirrel nines comprise what is known as the Main Course.

Rees Jones made some alterations to the course ahead of the 1988 US Open which was won by Curtis Strange (-6 / 278) in an eighteen hole playoff with Sir Nick Faldo.

More recently, Gil Hanse has carried out a historically informed renovation of The Country Club using images taken when the course hosted the 1934 US Amateur. The renovation primarily involved the removal of many trees and expanding some greens for more flexibility on hole positions.

“It’s a golf course that plays over the terrain. There are so many golf courses that are designed to play through the terrain, but The Country Club takes it head on and goes right over the top of whatever was put in its way.”

Gil Hanse

Holes from all three nines are used for major tournaments. This is usually achieved by adding three holes from the Primrose nine to the Championship routing. This year’s US Open Championship will see holes 9, 13 & 14 comprising holes from the Primrose.

A constant for all majors at The Country Club is the stretch from 15 through 18 which is as tough a finish as any on the US Open rota.

The Country Club Scorecard

The Country Club will play as a 7,264 yard Par 70 for this week’s US Open.

The course will be setup like traditional US Opens which means a stern test of golf awaits. Course management will be key with scoring opportunities hard to come by.

As part of the renovation, the tree clearing brought newly exposed native ground into play. The more wayward the shot, the more penal the result. One of the key components for success this week is for players to put themselves into position from the tee.

Many fairways are contoured which can result in tricky lies. This will amplify the challenge of finding the right portion of the tricky contoured greens with approach shots.

The greens at The Country Club are small, averaging just shy of 4,400 square feet. They have plenty undulation with varying degrees of left or right break. If the weather is dry and the greens are firm, they will be by far the layout’s most challenging defense. Distance control will be critical due to the shape and small size of the greens.

2020 US Open Championship | Bryson DeChambeau

Venue Winged Foot Golf Club

Winning Score -6 (274)

Over 80% of DeChambeau’s strokes gained came tee-to-green which equated to a gain of nearly 18 strokes on the field average. He won by 6 strokes from Matthew Wolff and was the only player to finish under par for the week. He was also the only player to break par in the final round in what was a power-house performance. He finished in the Top 5 in each of the strokes gained categories of off-the-tee, approach and around-the-green. Other stats for the week include T55 for Driving Accuracy, 19^th for Driving Distance, T8 in GIR and 28^th in Putts per GIR.

2019 US Open Championship | Gary Woodland

Venue Pebble Beach Golf Links

Winning Score -13 (271)

The key to Woodlands victory was in his approach play and putting. He finished 3^rd in the Strokes Gained Approach-The-Green category which resulted in a gain of 8.358 strokes. His excellent approach play carried over to his play on the green finishing 4^th in Strokes Gained Putting. The putter delivered just over 40% of his overall strokes gained. He finished T9 for Birdies racking up a total of 17 for the tournament. Other stats for the week include T44 for Driving Accuracy, 10^th for Driving Distance and 46^th for Strokes Gained Putting.

2018 US Open Championship | Brooks Koepka

Venue Shinnecock Hills

Winning Score +1 (281)

In successfully defending his US Open title, Koepka delivered a ball-striking master-class around Shinnecock Hills. He topped the pile in Strokes Gained Approach-The-Green which delivered over 50% of his overall strokes gained. This translated to a gain of 8.877 strokes. His putter was also on fire finishing 3^rd in Strokes Gained Putting. He finished 4^th for Birdies racking up a total of 14 for the week. Other stats for the tournament include T55 for Driving Accuracy, 2nd for Driving Distance, 4^th for GIR and 5^th in Putts per GIR.

2017 US Open Championship | Brooks Koepka

Venue Erin Hills

Winning Score -16 (272)

Koepka’s all-round game was outstanding for the week. He finished inside the Top 3 for four of the five strokes gained categories for the tournament. In particular his approach play was on point finishing top of the pile for Strokes Gained Approach-The-Green. This yielded a gain of 8.466 strokes or just over 40% of his overall strokes gained. He finished T2 for Birdies racking up a total of 20. Other stats for the week include T4 for Driving Accuracy, 7^th for Driving Distance, 1^st for GIR and 20^th in Putts per GIR.

US Open Championship Winning Formula

The following table shows a breakdown of the Average Strokes Gained for the 2017 – 2020 champions of the US Open.

Graphing the above Average Strokes Gained gives a visual check on the likely key areas required for success at this week’s US Open.

US Open Tips

Shane Lowry 28/1 (E/W) – despite being a regular at the US Open, he has no form of note in the event. However, his form this season is the polar opposite. In thirteen starts he has 4 X Top 10’s among 8 X Top 25’s including a T10 in last week’s RBC Canadian Open. Statistically balanced, the 35-year places just outside the Top 10 in this week’s Stats Analysis. Currently 24^th on Tour for Strokes Gained Putting and 5^th for Scoring Average. A noted short-game specialist, his prospect improves with course difficulty. Fits the archetype for success this week and no doubting he has the potential and skill-set to make some noise come Sunday.

Tony Finau 30/1 (E/W) – rolling the dice again this week with the big hitter from Utah. Has 2 X Top 10 finishes in the US Open since 2018 so knows what to expect at the year’s hardest major. His recent impressive form continues to trend nicely with a solo 2^nd in last week’s RBC Canadian Open. Around St George’s he was 4^th in Strokes Gained Tee-To-Green and an eye-catching 5^th in Strokes Gained Putting. Features inside the Top 20 in this week’s Stats Analysis, he is also 15^th on Tour for Strokes Gained Tee-To-Green. Looked very comfortable coming down the home straight in Canada in the lofty company of Rory and JT. All things considered, he is hard to ignore.

Corey Conners 50/1 (E/W) – this will be his fourth time teeing it up at the US Open having failed to make the cut in each of his previous visits. Enjoying a stellar season with three Top 10’s among ten Top 25’s, including a solo 6^th in last week’s RBC Canadian Open. His final round at St George’s was a blemish free -8 (62). The ball-striking-machine places just inside the Top 30 in this week’s Stats Analysis, he is also 4^th on Tour for GIR and 13^th for Scoring Average. Willing to overlook tournament shortcomings based on form and skill-set. Good each way value.