Canadians hanging tough at demanding U.S. Open

In golf, nowhere is the margin between good and great, success and failure, or making the cut or missing it greater than at a U.S. Open.

This year, that’s extremely so. Punishing rough, slick greens and more sand than most beaches, have made Oakmont Country Club a brutal test that is humbling some of the best golfers in the world. The hunt for a major championship has become more a test of survival than a birdie-fest.

“It’s really challenging,” said Corey Conners, who hit just six fairways and seven greens. “I definitely found it tough.”

The pride of Listowel, Ont., signed for a four-over 74 which could have been higher had it not been for a hot putter. He was five over on the front side but tried to keep the negative thoughts from his head. He managed two birdies on the back, rolling in a 14-footer on the 11th and an eight-foot putt on the short 14th hole.

“The putter was the saviour,” he said. “I made a lot of par-saving putts, bogey-saving putts, a nice double-saving putt."

That latter stroke came on the seventh hole where he needed to make a seven-footer for a six.

Putting on the Oakmont greens has been challenge, even for the shortest of putts. The greens measured 15 on the Stimpmeter, a speed that makes it feel as if the golfers are rolling their balls on ice rather than grass.

That coupled with the rough that is close to six inches in length means any misses with any club can be huge.

“I don’t think you can really be aggressive,” stated Conners. “I think you just have to be smart with your shots. Have to get them in the fairway, you have to be solid into the greens. The course is certainly playable, but you just can’t miss any shots.”

That was the path followed by Nick Taylor, who recovered from a bumpy start going four over in his first three holes, before signing for a one-over 71.

“Four over through three isn’t exactly what you’re looking for, but I tried to stay patient,” admitted Taylor. “I didn’t hit that many bad shots to be four over through three so got a birdie quickly to kind of settle it down and played solid from there.”

The Abbotsford, B.C., product made birdies on three of his last six holes to finish up his day. He drained a 17-footer on the 13th hole and then one from 27 feet on 15. On the 305-yard, par-4 17, he managed to drive the green and two-putt for another birdie.

Taylor stated that the margin for error is thin, and a bad result can often come more out of the extreme conditions than a poor shot. On the second hole, he expected his wedge shot to stop about 15 yards from the cup. Instead, it stopped 50 yards away.

Frustration can build but that doesn’t usually help.

“It’s easy to lose it mentally,” Taylor said, “but I’m proud of how I hung in there because it easily could have gone south pretty fast.”

That sentiment was shared by Mackenzie Hughes, who was two over on the day, leaving him five over for the tournament. Normally one of the PGA Tour best putters, he hasn’t found his groove on the greens yet.

“I’ve done a nice job of managing my game out there,” said Hughes. “I feel like I’ve hit tons of really nice shots. The putter’s been a little bit cold. I think I’ve had three or four three-putts.”

All three players were penalized in severe ways as is the norm around the U.S. Open set-up. Conners, for instance, hit his ball in the right rough on the 18th hole and, almost without hesitation, simply hacked it out of the rough and into the fairway some 25 yards away.

Similarly, Hughes found himself in the famous Church Pew bunker on the third hole and was also handcuffed enough that he simply popped the ball back into play some 35 yards away.

“There’s no easy hole out there,” Hughes said. “Trouble looming on both sides of every hole and lots of difficult spots around the greens. You’ve got to be committed and trust it.”

That’s easier said than done. These players are used to making birdies, not doubles. They are used to overpowering a course rather than getting kicked in the teeth by it.

“Any margin that you’re off out there,” stated Taylor, “you pay the price and it doesn’t let up from the first hole until the end.”

All three were expected to advance to the weekend while Taylor Pendrith had an afternoon tee time and was facing the same challenges the other three had. If the four survive the cut, it will mark the first time since 2008 that four Canadians played the weekend at the U.S. Open.