What did PGA Tour pros learn about this year’s U.S. Open venue? We asked six of them including reigning champ Matt Fitzpatrick
LOS ANGELES — It’s a mere seven-mile drive — which could stretch a good hour in the city’s gridlock — to get from famed Riviera Country Club, circa 1926, in Pacific Palisades to venerable Los Angeles Country Club, which is even older, dating to 1896, and occupies nearly a mile of frontage on both sides of Wilshire Boulevard between Beverly Hills to the east, Century City to the south, Westwood to the west, and Bel Air to the north.
It was a popular choice this week among competitors at the Genesis Invitational to sneak over to LACC (North), where the 123rd U.S. Open will be staged from June 15-18, and do an advance reconnaissance mission. Even Tiger Woods popped over on Monday to ride around in a cart and begin strategizing on how to navigate his way around the layout where he’ll make a bid for a fourth U.S. Open title.
Here’s what defending champion Matt Fitzpatrick, Adam Scott, Rory McIlroy, Max Homa, Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry had to say about the venue for the third major of the year in June.
Adam Scott
Adam Scott plays his tee shot on the 2nd hole during Day 4 of the 2022 ISPS HANDA Australian Open at Victoria Golf Club in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
Scott played the course on Monday from the regular tees, focusing on the greens, and said he was most interested in seeing what slopes could be helpful. It wasn’t his first time playing there either. He recalled playing LACC the Monday after he won the Genesis Invitational in 2020, and to borrow a Cali term, he’s stoked for the Open in June.
“I thought the greens were phenomenal. I know they are growing some fairways in for the U.S. Open but the greens are really the defense for the golf course. As long as they don’t grow the rough up around the greens, the ball will run away and it could be a long way.
“I like the golf course but it will depend on the setup. We’ve seen so many Opens get a bit contrived. I hope there won’t be anything contrived out there and they leave the fairways fairly generous. It should be firm and fiery and then it will be plenty challenging.
“When I look at a course with a set of greens like that, iron control is going to be at a premium. The guy who has his irons under control is going to have a big advantage because it is easy to get it away from the hole if you miss.”
Will LA CC surrender a record score? “My gut says no. I can see why people would say that. With a firm set of greens and where we can live on the edge with pin placements these days, I don’t see it.”
Rory McIlroy
Rory McIlroy during the filming of Full Swing. (Photo: Netflix)
McIlroy opted not to play LACC this week and explained why:
“I thought in these conditions and in the way the golf course is, I didn’t think there was much point. It’s playing way longer than it’s going to during the week, the ball’s not running the way it’s going to during that week. So I just, I just didn’t think it would be a worthwhile trip to go there on Monday and see the place when I could get there the week of and get a better idea of really put a lot of work into those three days and get a better idea of how the golf course is actually going to play,” he said. “You know, maybe nice to go and see it and say that I’ve played LACC, which I never have, but I just think I’ll get a better idea the week of.”
Matt Fitzpatrick
Matt Fitzpatrick as seen playing at The Los Angeles Country Club in the Los Angeles, Calif. on Monday, Feb. 13, 2023. (Copyright USGA/Robert Beck)
Matt Fitzpatrick spent Monday afternoon at LACC for a USGA media shoot and got a first-hand look at the course where he attempt to defend his title.
“I like the look of it. It’s very rugged,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s only February and it’s already firm and fast, so come June it’ll be even firmer, even faster which will be exciting.
“The big thing at LACC is around the greens. It looks like you can’t miss them. I think it’s going to be really difficult to make up and downs. It definitely strikes me as a U.S. Open style course. You’ve got to be really strong tee to green.”
“To defend any title is great,” he continued. “To defend a U.S. Open is 10 million times better. There’s still a long way to go, but I’m looking forward to being back here in June.”
Max Homa
Max Homa poses with the winner’s trophy following his playoff victory in the 2021 Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club. (Photo: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)
During his pre-tournament press conference, Max Homa, who established a course-record 61 at LA CC when the 2013 Pac-12 Championships were held there, was asked to compare Riviera and LACC, both George Thomas designs. Were there any commonalities about the courses that he liked and thought led to success at both?
“The first holes are like Mr. Thomas’ takes where he gives you the first and you hang on for 17,” Homa said. “Kind of a bummer to see that 1 at LACC is going to be a par-4 [Editor’s Note: Homa is incorrect; No. 1 officially will measure 578 yards and play as a par 5] because I feel that’s a pretty cool architectural nuance, I look at 18 holes at times on these beautiful greatly designed courses like a story and a movie and I think it’s the first act of a movie. I thought that was a cool thing that he did. Other than that, not a ton.
“LACC is a second shot golf course similar to this so I would give it that, but the value on the tee shot out here is a lot higher than out there,” Homa continued. “Length is not nearly as big of a deal out here as it is out there. The par 3 structure is a lot different out there than it is here, so I don’t see a ton of similarities other than where we are.
“They play very different, the grass types are not even close, so the ball — you could play the ball along the ground a lot at LACC if you wanted to, so I don’t see a ton of similarities other than I like the cool aspect of the first hole.”
Tommy Fleetwood
Tommy Fleetwood of England looks on during Day Three of the DP World Tour Championship on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates on November 19, 2022 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
Tommy Fleetwood played LACC from the tips with Shane Lowry on Sunday.
“Shane and his partner beat me,” Fleetwood groaned. “When we played, it was cold and played like an absolute brute.”
But he lit up when he began discussing a layout that he thinks should suit his game quite well.
“I think it will be an amazing venue. It’s very much a U.S. Open course, with a lot of greens where short sided is a no-go,” he said. “You’re going to have to use every asset of your game, particularly drive it well and be very patient. There’s a lot of variety in the par 3s, with 15 potentially playing 85 yards. I think everyone will love it.”
What did he gain by teeing it up at LACC ahead of the Open in June? “You have a picture for the holes and a respect for how it’s playing and when you get there you feel ahead of the game when it comes to preparing,” he said.
Shane Lowry
Shane Lowry of Ireland poses with the Claret Jug after winning the 148th Open Championship held on the Dunluce Links at Royal Portrush Golf Club on July 21, 2019 in Portrush, United Kingdom. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
Shane Lowry, winner of the 2019 British Open, admitted that had he not missed the cut in Phoenix, he wasn’t planning to visit LACC. But he had an extra day to kill so it made sense and he expects the course will feel a bit more familiar when he arrives in June.
“It was good. It was long,” he said. “The greens are bent, not poa, which is good. They are very nice to putt on, but very slopey, back to front on a lot of the greens and if you’re over the greens you’re in trouble.
“A lot of blind tee shots. You’re going to need to hit it straight because the fairways are wide but they camber off and there will be Bermuda rough, where the ball sits down. But a short hitter that hits every fairway isn’t necessarily going to do better than a long hitter in the rough. I don’t know if it suits anybody other than you’re going to need your A-game. First impressions, I don’t think the scoring will be very good there. But when we get back in June, it will probably be fast and firm.
“You get to a U.S. Open you need to drive it well, your irons need to be precise, short game has to be tidy, you need all of that and a really good thinking between your ears.”
