Difficult fairways have led to strange winners in the past The U.S. Open has a reputation for rewarding point-to-point automatons who favor accuracy over length, grinding over artistry, prudence over guile.
As much as any course in the U.S. Open rotation, the Olympic Club in San Francisco has demonstrated such a bias, producing an uninspired group of winners — Jack Fleck (1955), Billy Casper (1966), Scott Simpson (1987) and Lee Janzen (1998). All were straight-hitting, good-putting, patient players who made the most of their skills.
When the 112th U.S. Open tees off Thursday at Olympic, many eyes will be on defending champion Rory McIlroy, as well as the made-for-television threesome of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson. But don’t be surprised if a bit player emerges.
On this oddly situated course on which holes run up, down and across a single hill, guys like Ben Crane, Mark Wilson, Charlie Wi or Tim Clark might have as good a chance as anyone.
“Hold a U.S. Open at Olympic and the wrong guy will win it every time,” famed golf writer Dan Jenkins once wrote.
In all four Opens at Olympic, popular stars were in position to prevail but fell to the lesser lights. Fleck won for the first time on the PGA Tour, shocking national icon Ben Hogan in a playoff. The grumpy and overweight Casper stunned telegenic superstar Arnold Palmer in a playoff after coming from seven strokes down on the back nine in the final round. Simpson edged Tom Watson by a stroke. Janzen rallied to beat Payne Stewart, also from seven shots back.
Introducing randomness to the results at Olympic have been the reverse-cambered fairways, which slope in the opposite direction from which they turn. The layout is best suited to players such as Masters champion Watson, who can shape tee shots in both directions.
The canted fairways produced some embarrassing moments the last time Olympic hosted. Well-struck drives that landed in the middle often bounded into the rough. Others that stayed in the fairways settled into sand divots.
Keeping the ball in the fairway won’t be at such a premium as in 1998. Mike Davis, who is in charge of setting up U.S. Open courses, has since introduced “graduated rough.” Balls that run off the fairways will stop in bordering shorter rough, not nearly as penal as the thick stuff that resided on the edges of the fairways in 1998. In recent years, graduated rough has allowed long-hitting, less-accurate players such as Angel Cabrera (2007) and Lucas Glover (2009) to win Opens at other sites.
In other ways as well, this will be a different course than in 1998. More than 600 trees have been removed, giving Olympic more air and less of a clammy, claustrophobic feel. The greens have been redone with truer bent grass replacing slick poa annua. The course has been stretched to 7,170 yards after playing to 6,797 in 1998.
It all adds up to a longer but perhaps gentler Olympic. It’s still the U.S. Open, however, the toughest test in golf.
“I really am excited to be here,” qualifier Casey Martin told reporters. “But there’s also this — in the back of your mind — the little fear factor of I have to play this golf course.”
