Shinnecock Has a History of Chaos at the US Open. Here Is Why This Year Should Be Different.

Shinnecock Has a History of Chaos at the US Open. Here Is Why This Year Looks Different. Head to cozyearth.com and use code WINGO for an exclusive 20% off. Shinnecock Hills hosts the US Open for the first time since 2018, and its history with this championship has not always gone smoothly. In 2004, conditions got so severe the USGA had to water a green between groupings — something that had never happened before. In 2018, Phil Mickelson putted a moving ball on the 13th green in one of the most controversial moments in major championship history, and the USGA had to soften the course before the final round, allowing Tommy Fleetwood to shoot a 63 that tied the lowest round ever played at a US Open. Justin Ray is on the ground this week, and his read is encouraging. After years of hard lessons, the setup discussions he's witnessed give him real confidence that this championship gets remembered for the golf, not for controversy. The Numbers That Define Shinnecock The statistics from 2018 explain exactly why this course is considered the purest test in the sport. Players hitting approach shots from the rough averaged 67 feet of proximity to the hole — 22 feet worse than the tour average. Scrambling from the greenside rough that year happened at just a 23 percent clip. Miss the green here, and you are very likely walking away with a bogey. And yet the fairways themselves were actually generous — a 71 percent hit rate in 2018, an astronomically high number for a US Open. The fairways have reportedly been widened even further this year. The message from the USGA seems clear — given how far players hit it now, give them room to find the fairway, but make the penalty for missing genuinely severe. Since 1980, only two US Open winners across any major have shot 75 or higher in the first round and still won — and both happened at Shinnecock. Brooks Koepka in 2018, and Raymond Floyd in 1986, when the field's first-round scoring average was a staggering 78. The Weather Factor After a wet, cold spring across the Northeast, conditions are drying out and getting quick heading into the week. Some rain is forecasted for Thursday, but given the sand-based soil that defines true links-style turf, it likely will not be enough to soften the speed out of these greens — especially if the wind picks up. The Bottom Line This is a course built specifically for this tournament. Justin's assessment, after walking the grounds for several days, is that the USGA has earned every lesson from past Shinnecock US Opens and is putting that experience to use. Expect a true, complete, and very long examination — one that reveals the best player in the field by Sunday. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.