U.S. Open 2019: Scoring stalemate due to tough, but fair, setup

PEBBLE BEACH, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 15: Tiger Woods of the United States (R) and Daniel Parratt, caddie of Byeong Hun An of South Korea, watch a ball on the 18th green during the third round of the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links on June 15, 2019 in Pebble Beach, California. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
PEBBLE BEACH, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 15: Tiger Woods of the United States (R) and Daniel Parratt, caddie of Byeong Hun An of South Korea, watch a ball on the 18th green during the third round of the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links on June 15, 2019 in Pebble Beach, California. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images) /
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It was a scoring stalemate at the U.S. Open. The course set up was so hard that no one was able to create separation from the field, and no one was able to advance very far.

The causes of the standoff were mainly pin placements that were close to the front of greens or close to small curves along the side of greens. That resisted low scoring.

Because of the location of the pins, golfers had a hard time keeping their approach shots below the hole, which, according to Tiger Woods, is what is necessary at Pebble Beach.

"“The trick to putting on poa (annua) is to make sure they’re (golf balls are) always below the hole,” he said to media earlier in the week. “If you’re putting downhill, it’s like a Plinko effect, you’re going to go every which way. The key is to be below the hole where you can take low lines and try and take the bumpiness out of play.”"

It was hard to get below the hole on 10 of the greens because the distance from the green’s edge to the hole was impossibly small. As a result, first putts on those greens were downhill or sidehill. Plinko. Or shots came up short of the putting surface. Putting from the fringe is not ideal, either.

Woods offered thoughts on the greens at the U.S. Open on Saturday.

"“If I had an uphill putt, I seemed to make them. You’re able to take out the bounciness of this poa,” he said. “Putting downhill it’s moving all over the place. So, if you’re able to hit the ball in the correct spots or leave the chips — you’d much rather have a 10-footer coming back up the hill than a four or five-footer coming back down the hill.”"

The deepest pin position was on the 14th green, which was 22 paces.  But the 14th green has very few pin placements period.  It’s the green where announcer and former European Tour player Ken Brown of Fox demonstrated the difficulty of holding it with five or six golf balls, dropping them on various parts of the front of the green only to have them all roll back to the same place, 10 or 15 yards in front of the green. On the 14th, just getting a ball to stay on the green is an achievement.

PEBBLE BEACH, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 15: Gary Woodland of the United States hits out of the rough on the 12th hole during the third round of the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links on June 15, 2019 in Pebble Beach, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
PEBBLE BEACH, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 15: Gary Woodland of the United States hits out of the rough on the 12th hole during the third round of the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links on June 15, 2019 in Pebble Beach, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

Gary Woodland, though, had his own “Fred Couples at Augusta, ball-stays-on-the-bank” moment when he hit a shot to the 14th green close to the spot where Brown did his experiment, but Woodland’s ball stayed put. He then he made a 42-foot putt for par, having previously hacked out of the rough twice on the hole. Maybe it was a sign. We’ll see tomorrow.

In addition, some of the putting surfaces were so firm that it was hard to get balls to stop. Jordan Spieth gave an opinion, saying it varied from hole to hole. His problem came at the 16th.

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"“I landed it perfectly on 16. It went up against the collar, and I had to stab a putter, and it breaks 16 feet anyways. That three-putt was really frustrating,” he said to media after his round. “I hit a really good shot in there, and it lands right where it’s supposed to. Some greens are a little firmer than others right now, which they kind of have to be. You can’t have them all really firm or else it’s unplayable on some holes.”"

Exciting shots, therefore, were mostly chip-ins and long putts for par, not for birdie or eagle.

According to the USGA, all the greens were double cut and rolled before play. They were running in the mid to upper 12s on the Stimpmeter and the USGA expected them to slow to low 12s by the end of the day. The greens were watered before play. In addition, several times during the morning, a light mist fell in several locations on the Monterey peninsula.

Vocal critic of past U.S. Open setups, Phil Mickelson, was disappointed in his play but not with the way the golf course was presented.

"“I’m really happy that I had this chance, this opportunity this week,” he said to media when he completed his round.  “I’ve got to give it to — hand it to the USGA for doing a great setup. It’s the best I’ve ever seen. And it’s identifying the best players. It’s making the players the story.”"

Now, as well as Gary Woodland is playing, he is just one shot ahead of Justin Rose, a former U.S Open champ.  Major-winning-machine Brooks Koepka is four back, tied with former British Open winner Louis Oosthuizen.  Multiple major winner Rory McIlroy is five behind.

That means there are so many good players bunched near the top of the leaderboard at the U.S. Open that your need to be an expert at crystal ball reading to determine who the winner will be.

Next. Gary Woodland out for redemption at U.S. Open. dark

The outcome will likely depend on the course setup, pin positions and the wind as well as the nerves of the golfers who have a chance. One way or another, we’re certain to have a deserving champion emerge on Sunday evening.