The score Grant Horvat and Peter Finch shot around Shinnecock Hills a month before the US Open

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Even for the very best players in the world, Shinnecock Hills is a brutally difficult task.

In the last 100 years of US Opens, only three players have finished the week under par at Shinnecock Hills, and Brooks Koepka won the event at one-over when the course last hosted the event in 2018.

So if the very best golfers on the planet can’t conquer Shinnecock, then what about amateurs? A host of YouTube golfers took to the famous links just a month before the US Open, and the results were pretty surprising.

Grant Horvat shoots a 79 around Shinnecock Hills

YouTuber Grant Horvat, who has a handicap of around +3, did exceptionally well on his visit to Shinnecock Hills in May.

He shot a nine-over par 79, which might not look great on the surface, but when you dive into how difficult this golf course can play, that’s a more than respectable score.

In 2018, when the US Open last came to Shinnecock, Rory McIlroy shot an 80 on Thursday. Meanwhile, Tiger Woods, a year before winning The Masters, shot a 79, and so did Jordan Spieth. 

Horvat’s 79 would have placed him 69th in the US Open field in 2018, albeit in much easier conditions. But it’s still a brilliant showing!

Meanwhile, former PGA Tour pro Wesley Bryan, who is currently suspended by the tour for playing in a LIV-sponsored event, shot an impressive 74.

What Peter Finch shot around Shinnecock Hills

Peter Finch attempted to qualify for this year’s US Open at Shinnecock. The +4 handicapper fell short in qualifying, but he was able to play the golf course anyway at the same time as Horvat. 

And Finch put in an incredible showing, matching Bryan at a four-over par 74. He didn’t qualify for the event, but he showed he was more than capable of posting a number if he had made it.

Finch has played a number of iconic golf courses this year, including Pebble Beach, Bay Hill and TPC Sawgrass.

He said that Shinnecock was tied for the toughest, along with Sawgrass, where he posted a score of 10-over earlier in the year.