Shinnecock Hills is a totally different test from most American major championship venues.
It’s a links course, with undulations everywhere, ensnaring fescue rough, and howling wind blowing through the hills. It’s a battle against the conditions at a place where only three players have finished under par in a US Open in the last 100 years.
It feels more like an Open Championship venue than a US Open venue, especially given the gale-force winds expected during the tournament. The British players will be licking their lips at the prospect of playing in familiar conditions.
Because of this, Scottie Scheffler was asked if he thinks the British players, who have won the first two majors of the year, have an advantage at Shinnecock over the Americans.
Scottie Scheffler asked if British players have an advantage over Americans at Shinnecock
After Rory McIlroy won The Masters and Aaron Rai won the PGA Championship, two British golfers won the first two majors of the year for the first time in the sport’s history.
World number one Scheffler was surprised to hear that, as he heaped praise on British golf prior to the US Open. The four-time major winner said, “That’s a bit surprising with the amount of talent that’s come out of the UK.
“I think golf is becoming increasingly a global game. I look at these young guys coming out of college these days here in the States, and they’re from all over the globe, and they have a ton of talent, and they’re ready to compete out here from a very young age.
“I think the sport has continued to evolve and continuing to develop. Those younger guys, they have all the tools they could possibly need in order to become professional golfers, and I think they’re doing a good job of using those tools to continue to improve. Yeah, I think there’s just a lot of talent in the game of golf right now.”
And with the amount of British talent in the field at Shinnecock, like Tommy Fleetwood, who shot a 63 there in 2018, and Rory McIlroy, who is eyeing his seventh major championship, does Scheffler think they have the edge?
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He said, “It’s a tough question for me to answer. I don’t have a ton of experience playing golf in the UK outside of The Open and the Scottish Open. It also depends on where you grew up. If you grew up on a links course out towards the coast, yeah, I think there would be some value there.
“Just based on, like I said, this type of wind. You know, the temperatures are a little bit cooler here than they are, and that wind is coming off the water, which makes it a bit heavier. That might have something to do with it.
“But if you grew up inland in the UK, which I almost have no experience playing golf, but just from what I’ve seen, I’m not sure how much it would help with this type of golf course.
“I think the great thing about this course, specifically from what I’ve noticed, is if you’re executing and you’re hitting the ball in the right spots, you can play this golf course. I think the minute you start hitting the ball offline, you are like, man, how do I even finish this hole, I think is sometimes what it feels like.”
Matt Fitzpatrick feels confident about playing in the wind at Shinnecock
One Brit who is among the favorites to win this year’s US Open is Matt Fitzpatrick. He’s won more than anyone else on the PGA Tour this year, and he’s licking his lips at the prospect of playing this windy links course for his second US Open title.
He said, “I don’t particularly like playing birdie-fests.
“I don’t think it’s as enjoyable as having to – take today on the 11th hole, for example, the wind is pumping in off the left, and I’ve chipped a 5-iron in there. If there’s no wind there, you might be hitting 9-iron or whatever.
“To me, I feel like it’s more of a test of controlling your ball if it is windy, if it is firm. If it’s firm — I said it here last time. Obviously, there was a big — what’s the right word — meltdown of, oh, they’ve lost the golf course, they’ve lost the golf course.
“I never believed they lost it. I don’t think they lost the golf course at all here. I think, for me, it was difficult, and the strength of this golf course is greens and the difficulty of the greens.
“But I do believe, aside from maybe 10 and 11, if you miss the greens in the right spots and do your homework, that you have opportunities to get up-and-down still. I feel like that is a patience thing. That is a skill in course managing, in hitting good shots that are on the green in those tough times.
“I think that for me — this golf course, I think when it is really tough like that, I enjoy that challenge because you have to do your homework, and you have to hit good shots, and that’s what I think any good golf tournament should require.”
Fitzpatrick’s most impressive win of the year came at the RBC Heritage, where he won in a playoff against Scheffler. The wind was howling in his face on the exposed 18th hole, and he stuffed a 4-iron to win his second tournament of the year.
If that’s not enough to convince you that Fitzpatrick can win this week, then nothing can.
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