Adam Scott thinks USGA should stop protecting par at US Open
The US Open tees off next week at Erin Hills, a very new golf course built just northwest of Milwaukee, and Adam Scott has sent a few stern words towards tournament organisers.
The US Open is widely regarded as the toughest test of golf out of the four majors. The host golf courses are always set up to protect par – meaning the USGA sets out to make sure the winning score is somewhere around even par after four rounds. In other words, it’s designed to be brutal.
Thick rough, lightning fast greens and tight pins can make for some tough viewing as the best golfers in the world hack it around, often racking up big scores in the process.
There are some people who like to see the professionals challenged in this way once a year – but Adam Scott is not one of them.
In an interview with Jeff Babineau at Golfweek, Scott has sent a few harsh words towards the USGA who are most likely preparing Erin Hills to ensure par is protected next week.
“If their major pinnacle event for them requires courses to be the way they are, it doesn’t set a good example for every other bit of golf that they try to promote. Maybe we should get the numbers out of our heads and try a new strategy.”
For clarity, the USGA for years has said it has no target winning score at its premier championship. But remove the 2011 U.S. Open, where Rory McIroy shot 16-under 268 at a rain-soaked Congressional, and in the last 10 other Opens, the average winning score is minus-1.
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“They’ve taken criticism for the last two years, I’m sure they’re not liking it. They’re going to have to try to run a really good event. The ball is in their court; they control it all. Hopefully they get it right this time, just from a playability standpoint. Let’s just have something that’s a challenge and interesting, not just playing brutal (golf).”
Scott will tee it up in the 117th US Open Championship at Erin Hills next week along with four other Australians; Jason Day, Marc Leishman, Nick Flanagan and Wade Ormsby who will be playing in his first ever major after earning his spot in the field by surviving a 7-for-4 playoff in the Surrey, England, sectional at Walton Heath Golf Club last week.
Only two Australian golfers have ever won the US Open; David Graham in 1981 and Geoff Ogilvy in 2006.