US Open week is here and with it comes a reminder that even the best players in the world can struggle if the golf course is difficult enough. Torrey Pines GC is undoubtedly one of the best layouts in the world and one which the USGA can make extremely tough. At over 7,800 yards and with thick kikuyu rough marginal shots are penalized severely.
With some lies in the rough that even the best players in the world cannot recover from with a shot to green, the all but forgotten statistic of driving accuracy will be more important this week. Kikuyu rough is simply thicker than most other grasses and will not allow for energy transfer from the clubhead to the ball. That being said, Bryson DeChambeau is not changing his strategy of hitting the ball as far as he can and trying to take advantage when he is in the fairway.Â
Most likely the players at the top of the leaderboard on Sunday will have had a great week driving the golf ball, hitting it long and in the fairway. This will be reflected in the strokes gained off the tee statistic. To this point in the season DeChambeau is ranked at the top of the list in terms of strokes gained off the tee with Sergio in second and Jon Rahm in third place. As of the writing of this article Jon Rahm is t-5th pace at 2 under par playing steady golf. Also, he won his first PGA Tour event at Torrey Pines so I’ll take him as my pick to win.
It should be a fun weekend. Enjoy!
