When it comes to the four majors in golf, the US Open is rarely spoken about in the same light as The Masters or The Open. In saying that, it is quite often the one that the pros find the most difficult to play in.
That is largely down to the United States Golf Association (USGA), the tournament organisers who pride themselves on their ability to make the course as difficult as possible. It has been said in the past that their ideal tournament ends with only the winning golfer finishing under-par, a good indication as to how they approach these events.
This year's edition at The Los Angeles Country Club is likely to be one of the toughest in recent years.
Much has already been made about how difficult the layout of the course will be for players, including the incredibly long rough at the course.
The lie from the greenside rough and the pin you're going at from the Los Angeles Country Club for this weeks U.S. Open... How many shots is it taking you to get out? 😅 pic.twitter.com/ljJZ6eXinW
— Scottsdale Golf (@scottsdalegolf) June 13, 2023
Unforgiving to say the least.
Even if players managed to land it on the fairway, there is no guarantee that they will get a favourable lie.
Just how demanding is LACC ? Here’s what happens when you land it just right of the center of the fairway on the par-4 13th. 😳 #TeamTaylorMade pic.twitter.com/MlqF7zjOgO
— TaylorMade Golf (@TaylorMadeGolf) June 12, 2023
With all of this in mind, golf fans have been warned that they can expect a unique viewing experience this week.
Padraig Harrington sends viewers US Open warning
Padraig Harrington will be in the field for this week's US Open, qualifying on the back of his win at the US Senior Open in 2022.
Speaking ahead of the tournament, he expected golf fans to expect some very slow play as a result of the course layout at The Los Angeles Country Club, with rounds lasting up to six hours (h/t Irish Independent):
They have a pretty brutally tough golf course, so they can afford to be somewhat lenient. It's better to have a tough golf course that they set up easy than an easy golf course that they trick up.
At this stage, we've got a tough golf course. So by the time we get in the tournament, you know, golf courses generally get easier. I don't know if this one will. It's a typical US Open. It's going to be a battle of attrition...
I think there'll be more frustrations this week than most… It's definitely a severe mental challenge...
I need to manage myself. This is going to be an extraordinarily long week. These are probably going to be the slowest rounds of golf ever in tournament golf. I'd be surprised if they're under six hours.
There's just a lot of crisscrossing (of holes). There's just a lot of holes where people … and when plays slow and crisscrossing, everybody’s 'Oh, no, you go ahead. No, you go ahead. No, you go.' Because they all know they're going to be waiting for them at the next tee.
When you have the drivable par-4s and reachable par-5s, that all slows play down because they're reachable, but you're still taking fives.
It's not like they're straightforward in any shape or form. So yeah, this is going to be a long day on your feet all week. So the one thing I have to manage is that I'm fresh for the whole week for Sunday.
Six hours is an outrageously long round of golf at this level. It will be interesting to see how this year's US Open plays out.
One thing we know for certain is that the winning player will have to earn their place at the top of the leaderboard the hard way over the coming days.
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