Golf is a sport that helps to remind us of the paradox of time: ten years is both a short, and a long, period.
To confirm as much, take a look at the leaderboards from majors, PGA and DP World Tour events from a decade ago. You’ll notice the best in the business even today rubbing shoulders with players that you’d forgotten even existed.
The 2024 US Open will return to the Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina – home to the infamous Course No. 2. The last time it hosted the event in 2014, one of the forgotten men of world golf, Martin Kaymer, prevailed at the top of a leaderboard that also included the likes of Rickie Fowler, Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson in the top five.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that, so what can the players expect from Pinehurst in 2024?
Hard Yards
As you know, the USGA prides itself on making the US Open the toughest of the majors to win.
The difficulty of the conditions can create unexpected results, with Wyndham Clark, Matt Fitzpatrick and Gary Woodland all raising an eyebrow or two when winning this tournament in recent times.
The sportsbook betting odds for the 2024 US Open are as you would expect, with Scottie Scheffler (8/1), Jon Rahm (8/1) and Rory McIlroy (8/1) leading the way, but as the history books confirm it’s well worth expecting the unexpected.
That was certainly the case at Pinehurst back in 2014, when Kaymer romped to victory by a mammoth eight shots from Fowler and another forgotten man in golf, Erik Compton.
It wasn’t the fact that Kaymer won that was a shock – he was a prolific champion already and had triumphed at the Players Championship just a month or so before, but more the margin of his victory at a track that is not known for being particularly forgiving.
Indeed, Kaymer, Fowler and Compton were the only players to finish under par all week long – this Course No. 2 is very much a fitting layout for this most challenging of tournaments. In 2005, Michael Campbell won the US Open with a score of level par, so the field should expect an almighty test ahead in 2024’s third major.
Designed to Deceive
The masterworks of renowned golf course architect Donald Ross require little in the way of introduction.
East Lake, home to the PGA’s Tour Championship, and Oakland Hills in Michigan – a six-time US Open host itself – are just two of Ross’ most vaunted designs, although Pinehurst’s Course No. 2 is also high up on the list.
One of the course’s primary defences is its extraordinary length – it measures a whopping 7,560 yards for its Par 70, with just two Par 5 holes and at least four Par 4 holes, depending on the tee boxes used, measuring in excess of 500 yards.
Curiously, the rough is kept to a minimum – instead, sand traps have been used to flank the fairways, which limits the redemptive powers of the players should they err in line off the tee.
But it’s the greens which are the most famous challenge on Course No. 2, with their upturned saucer – or ‘turtleback’ shape – meaning that accuracy on approach with wood, iron or wedge is of paramount importance; anything off-line rolls away to leave a harrowing chip from short-sided waste areas.
North Carolina is a hotspot when it comes to quality golf courses, but Pinehurst’s No. 2? Ross must have been in a diabolical mood when he came up with the blueprints for this beast, which is why the 2024 US Open will make for such an absorbing watch.