A U.S. Open breaks out at Olympia Fields

Writing from Olympia Fields, Illinois

Friday, August 28, 2020

Balls skidding off greens like they were car hoods. Rough you could lose a cat in. Approach shots failing to approach.

Welcome to the U.S. Open, er, Western Open, er, BMW Championship on Olympia Fields Country Club’s stern North Course.

Two days in, it’s evident the PGA Tour, which controls the setup for everything under its umbrella, is allowing Olympia to show itself off as a stiff test of golf. That’s something that was expected to be on display but was not for the majority of the 2003 U.S. Open on the Willie Park Jr.-designed layout.

Only four players broke par in that Open, which was won by Jim Furyk, but thanks to a pile of low scores the first two days, the reputation of Olympia’s championship layout suffered.

No longer. Not after 36 holes of carnage this time.

The last time 1-under-par – in this case, 139 strokes – led a PGA Tour tournament? Persimmon and balata were still ham-and-egging it on the circuit when 1-under led the 1990 Memorial, and only two players were under par.

A lot changes in 30 years. That was when course setups were generally challenging. Today, the Tour prefers birdies, bundles of which make for fun television broadcasts, but not this week. This week, with a course primed for difficulty and the weather – 94 degrees and the fan on from the southwest – is a beast.

One needed only to look at the color of the greens in the mid-afternoon. Some were beginning to show a purple tinge, which means the grass is gasping for water. The Stimpmeter speed was supposed to be 12.5, which is very fast, but some appeared faster. That means approach shots have to be precise to stay on the green, and in some cases, such as the par-3 16th, that tremendous downhiller that runs due west, it was next to impossible for the last groups of the day.

As a result, only Rory McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay enjoyed a red number next to their name as the sun set across the IC tracks. McIlroy’s 1-under 69 and Cantlay’s 2-under 68 put them at the top at 139, ahead of overnight leader Hideki Matsuyama and Dustin Johnson (even-par 140), and two ahead of Adam Scott, Billy Horschel, Tony Finau, Louis Oosthuizen and Brendon Todd.

The connection between most of the above-named is their status as major champions. They’re owners of Green Jackets, Claret Jugs and the like, excepting Cantlay and Todd. That experience in the cauldron has served them well so far, and should continue to.

“Every single hole out here is difficult,” Johnson said after his 69. “It’s hard to get it on the green, and then when you’re on the green you’ve got a difficult putt. This golf course demands very good play, and you’ve got to put the ball in the right position, then from there you’ve got to his quality golf shots into the greens.

“It’s firm and fast, and it’s a lot of fun to play this kind of golf. I like it.”

The course isn’t impossible. Johnson proved that at the last, when he ran down a 32-foot putt to complete a brace of birdies. That made up for his bogey on the par-3 16th, where he said “I made three really good shots” en route to a 4.

Saturday is traditionally “moving day,” as Ken Venturi named it decades ago, but the third round may see people moving backward. Horschel is sure of it.

“I would say over par is going to win, 1- or 2-over par,” Horschel said, pondering the weather and an expected wind shift. “If you gave me even par right now I’ll go sit in the clubhouse for the next 48 hours and see how everything goes.

“You can compare it to the USGA, and guys would bash the USGA over this, and it’s different. Our tournament staff does a really good job of putting pins in the right spot, putting tees in the right spot, and it’s very fair. You’ve just got to execute the golf shots perfectly every time.”

Cantlay has won twice on the circuit and holds the distinction of being runner-up in both the Western Amateur (at North Shore) and the U.S. Amateur. He’s climbed up to 12th in the world rankings, and, after a Friday that included unaccountable bogeys and surprise chip-ins, can’t be counted out. For him, like most fine players, it’s all in the head.

“You’ve got to realize you’re going to make mistakes,” Cantlay said. “You’re going to make some bogeys because of how hard the golf course is, and always having a forward mindset as opposed to thinking about what’s happened or what the mistakes you’ve made it really important.

“I think it’s a fantastic setup.”

McIlroy, who said recently it’s difficult to play inspired golf without spectators, has managed quite well on a course he said was playing six shots harder than TPC Boston last week.

“I think the test is what’s helped me focus and concentrate, because if you lose focus out there for one second – one lapse in concentration can really cost you around here,” McIlroy said.

He blamed himself for his bogey on the classic par-4 14th, but also had five birdies, including the sinking of a 40-foot putt from the fringe on the 16th. He also had advice for the USGA when it comes to setting up a U.S. Open.

“I think what they could do is hire the Western Golf Association to set their courses up,” McIlroy said, smiling. “Yeah, this would be a wonderful test for a U.S. Open.”

Around Olympia

A handful of fans who couldn’t get in watched the action on the third hole from by the fence on Vollmer Road, the north boundary of the club, for the second time in as many days. There might have been a dozen at mid-afternoon. … The scoring average of 72.725, marginally lower than the first round, brought the two-day average to 72.775. There have been only 302 birdies through two rounds, and only four on the par-3 eighth hole, which plays into the teeth of the southwest breeze. ... Bryson DeChambeau, who won the 2015 U.S. Amateur on the North Course, was awarded an honorary membership by the club.

– Tim Cronin