Was The US Open Setup Too Easy?

Thursday at the Los Angeles Country Club was an historic day for golf as two men posted eight-under-par scores to become the first golfers in history to shoot 62 at the US Open.

There's now three men to have carded 62s in Major championships - Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele at the 2023 US Open and Branden Grace at the 2017 Open.

This is the 123rd playing of America's national open, with the first taking place in 1895. In those 122 previous championships there had never been a 62 scored, yet in the space of 20 minutes on Thursday there had been two.

Golf stats guru Justin Ray put it even better. There had been over 47,000 US Open rounds recorded with no 62s until Rickie Fowler tapped in for par on the 9th on Thursday afternoon.

Justin Ray had another gem: "6 scores of 65 or lower today are the most in a single round in U.S. Open history." He also pointed out that there have been two PGA Tour events with multiple 62s shot in one round this season, the Butterfield Bermuda Championship and now the US Open.

And one more, this was the first ever opening or second round of the US Open where every single player broke 80.

So, was the setup too easy? The US Open is known as golf's toughest test but *some* of the world's best players were eating up Los Angeles Country Club. Three par 5s is a major benefit to the unique layout that also includes five short holes.

The fairways are fairly generous, they're very wide but are sloping so balls can easily run off into the rough that is thick, but not as brutal as we saw at Oak Hill last month in the PGA Championship.

The greens hadn't been watered on Thursday morning due to moisture in the air from a misty start to the day, and they and the fairways were fairly soft for a US Open. Benign conditions meant that the course was very scoreable for the world's best, and score they did.

"I'd say the sun didn't come out and it was misting this morning, so I'd say the greens held a little bit more moisture than anticipated for myself at least," Xander Schauffele said after his 62.

"I think it made the greens sort of that more holeable speed almost, and then coming into greens you're able to pull some wedges back. And then the fairways are a little bit softer, too, because of that sort of overcast, and without the sun out it's not drying out much.

"I think fairways are easier to hit and greens are a little bit softer. I'm anticipating the sun to come out just as much as every West Coast person out here. I'm thinking the course is going to firm up a little bit."

After round one there are 37 players under par and the winning score could certainly be lower than 10-under-par for the first time since 2019 and only the second time since 2011.

Was it too easy on day one at LACC? Probably, yes, judging by the two historic rounds of 62. Ask plenty of players, the dozens that shot over par, though and they will definitely tell you 'no'. The USGA didn't get the best of weathers with the misty start but they would have likely seen that coming in the forecast.

Tougher conditions are certainly on their way over the next three days and a mild start to the championship may give LACC the upper hand as players being to get comfortable. This weekend will surely be an uncomfortable one.

Either way, a day featuring two 62s isn't the best of looks for the US Open.

Is an easier US Open test a problem? That's for fans to decide. 

Mike Whan is still new in his post as USGA CEO and he took over at a time where the organization and leader Mike Davis had received plenty of criticism from players over the US Open setups and the 'tricked up' nature of them. Who can forget Zach Johnson's infamous "They've lost the golf course" line at Shinnecock in 2018 and at the same venue in 2004 when greens had to be watered in between groups and the scoring average on the final day was 78.7.

There was also Chambers Bay and its 'broccoli' greens in 2015, so it's no surprise to see the US Open setups slightly less harsh to keep the test fair and the course not taking all the headlines for the wrong reasons.

One thing is for sure, though, and that is that the USGA and LACC grounds crews will make the next three days significantly more challenging for the players.

They'll do that by putting some tees back, not cutting the rough, putting as little water on the course as they can to firm up the fairways and greens, and use some tougher pin positions.

It's almost certainly going to get tougher and we're set for a brilliant weekend of viewing. Even with lower-than-expected scores on Thursday it was still brilliant viewing.

Is it going to be a Shinnecock Hills in 2004 and 2018 type of difficulty? Surely not, and hopefully not. Los Angeles Country Club is a sensational venue and it looks like it will be a testing, but not silly, weekend. It's going to be great.