Two forces will clash this week at the Winged Foot for the 120th US Open.
The new school will try to defeat the old school when the biggest golf ball bombers attempt to get past the rough and tight fairways of Winged Foot, starting Thursday.
Which one will win?
The likes of world number 1 Dustin Johnson and his booming length or Bryson DeChambeau and his newly found bulk will lift the goblet at the end of the day on Sunday?
Or will treacherous conditions nullify the super powers of the big boppers?
Recent history says that – to hell with tall, narrow fairways – the big hitters will prevail. Gary Woodland, one of the game’s big hitters, is the defending champion. Brooks Koepka, who injured his knee and does not play this week, has won the previous two US Open.
Johnson is arguably the best player in the game, closely followed by Spaniard Jon Rahm, the number 2 player in the world who is also a big hitter.
DeChambeau went for a workout during the COVID-19 shelter break and came out on the other side looking almost like a “Popeye” cartoon character who is so bloated.
“I think overall the game is going in that direction,” Woodland said of the big hits. “Look what DJ did … I don’t think Boston [the Northern Trust] really too prepared for a long, long hitter, and the DJ just overwhelmed it [winning at 30-under par]. What he did was impressive.
“And then go to Chicago [the BMW], which was a golf course I would say was good preparation for this week there at Olympia Fields, big golf course, often rough, you saw what DJ and Jon Rahm did that week. And then DJ goes to Atlanta [the Tour Championship], and this is the same thing, drive the golf ball into the fairway at that point [and win]. The game went like this. ”
DeChambeau, for example, said he’ll do it with the driver all week, despite the tight fairways and heavy rough.
“I’m hitting as far up there as possible,” DeChambeau said, almost defiantly. “Even though it’s rough, I can still take it to the leading edge or center of pitching wedge or 9-irons greens. This is the beauty of my length and that edge. Even if I really hit it, I still feel like I can make little birds out here. I still feel like I can run across the green and do a 20 foot. Not guaranteed if you stay in the fairway, right? ”
DeChambeau’s approach is similar to the strategy Phil Mickelson used at the Winged Foot in 2006, a bomb and gouge philosophy. Mickelson, who was struggling with his driver, particularly in the final round, hit him as far as possible and tried to hack short irons from the blank.
“Luckily, I’m usually a good golf ball driver, so it should be fine,” Rahm said. “Clearly, hitting the fairway will be an advantage. Now, what you choose to hit it with is up to you, whatever you are comfortable with. ”
Asked whether Winged Foot’s fairway and rough might be a hindrance to his aggressive approach, DeChambeau said: “I think, if anything, it improves what I do off the tee with length. Hope it works for me. You never know. . I could be in the rough and get bad lies and not be able to run from the rough, or I could hit it in the fairway all day and not make big iron shots and then do nothing. That’s the beauty of golf … you never know. ”
Johnson has recently left little doubt about his ability to play well in any conditions. In the last four starts, he has achieved two wins and two runners-up. He won in Boston and lost in Chicago in the playoffs to Rahm at an Olympia Fields court that was staged as a US Open.
“I’m playing well; I have a lot of faith in the game, ” Johnson said. “The game is in good shape right now [and] hopefully he’ll stay in good shape for the rest of the week, but it’s one of those golf courses where it’s very difficult and you have to be perfect if you want to play well. ”
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