Three luxury cicerones for him US Open. Miguel Cabrera Bello, caddy of his brother Rafa, Pello Iguarán, caddy of Francesco Molinari and Alberto calvo, caddy of Guido Migliozzi, put their five senses (and their notebooks) at the service of the readers of Ten Golf to show us how it is Torrey Pines. We want to know how the US Open is going to be played. There is no better guide or manual than the one that comes out of their heads, their scores, their conversations with their bosses, with other other players and, of course, with other caddies. If you want to know all about the preparation of Torrey Pines, do not miss what comes next. It is the most complete report of the US Open 2021:
– A golf maxim that becomes a cliché, but that is still true and that will have to be taken into account this week: good play will be rewarded and bad shots will be penalized without exception Or, at the very least, they will put the player in a very difficult situation that predisposes the bogey. It is interesting to review it, because not always in a US Open, when things really get fierce, good play receives its fair prize.
– The rough, in the landing zone of the drive it is long, but an interesting note must be made: it has some areas a little drier, in which the player could ‘escape’ and even advance more than 150 meters. Well, there are some ‘patches’ in the rough that could give some relief, but you depend a bit on chance and it will be normal to pay a toll when you miss the fairway.
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– An idea that players are clear this week in Torrey Pines: in the drop zone of the drive is better to be in the bunkers than in the rough, because the sand traps are generally not very deep and you can practically always shoot to the green from there. Fairways like the 4th, 6th or 17th hole would be a drama with deeper bunkers, but this is not the case.
– The fairways are dry and the ball rolls a lot, especially when compared to Farmers week in winter. This will also affect when designing the second shots to the green, since in some situations, especially shooting short flags, the fairway in front of the green becomes a good area to make the first pot.
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– The USGA has mowed all the rough to four inches this Monday and he will not play it again until Sunday. They have mowed it because it has been very sunny these days and the grass has grown a lot. There were areas that were too extreme.
– It is not confirmed, but they say the USGA meditates passing the roller to the streets, yes to the streets, to make them even tougher …
– The greenes they are hard and fast already in these previous days, although what is heard in the back room of the tournament is that the USGA is not going to tighten the screws in this regard and will keep them ‘playable’.
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– The rough around the greens is devastating. It is specially watered and fed and there are not those ‘patches’ that we talked about before. In fact, it is sometimes difficult to find the ball. In addition, they are very small, so if they turn the screw twice and make them very hard, it will be very difficult to leave the ball on the green.
– The section of holes 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 is the hardest part, without any doubt, although 14 a little less than the others. They are very long, although it also gives the feeling that the tees are not always going to be at the back completely and that they are going to play with them a bit.
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– The par 4s are long, the par 3s are solid and as for the par 5s, speaking of medium hitters, there is only one that can really hit the green and it is almost not worth it if you go a little fair, because it can be an approach twelve meters from the flag that complicates your life quite a bit. Almost better to place and attack with a third stroke of 80-100 meters than to gamble a bit of luck..
– A peculiarity of the South course of Torrey Pines regarding the strategy from the tee, especially this week: obviously the distance helps, as always, but the punchers and those who are not so much will almost always play the same line. There are not many bunkers that the hitters can fly comfortably and, above all, there are not very marked ‘dog legs’ that allow that with a flight of 15 or 20 meters more of drive you can shorten the hole by 60 meters. There is no multiplier effect that occurs more in other fields. The course does not cheat from the tee. Is what you see.
– Conclusions: You have to be very solid from tee to green, falling short of the flag and as they are small and shaky greens, putting will be essential. The one who plays the strongest from tee to green and putst well will have a chance of winning.
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– A prediction: The wind will not be very changeable during the week. Good weather is expected and a wind from the West, from the sea, of about 15-20 kilometers. The result will depend on how hard the greens are. If it’s not too exaggerated, you can still win with eight less, it could be a result.
