- Golfscale Newsletter
- Posts
- US Open in LA
US Open in LA
Tournament Previews for US Open, Meijer LPGA Classic, Wichita Open, Korea Women's Open Golf Championship, Hana Bank Invitational, Nichirei Ladies, and German Masters
Jack Middlebrook
June 14, 2023
Top 100 preview
It is a busy week for both the Men’s and Women’s games. On the Men’s side, we have all the top players at the US Open in Los Angeles. The highest-ranked female players are at the Meijer LPGA Classic in Michigan, with other top 100 players spread across Japan, Korea, and the Ladies European Tour.
Purses
US Open
Meijer LPGA Classic
Wichita Open
Korea Women's Open Golf Championship
Hana Bank Invitational
Nichirei Ladies
German Masters
US Open
The third major of the year starts Thursday at the North Course of the Los Angeles Country Club (LACC)
Greetings from LACC 😍
#USOpen week is officially here.
— U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf)
3:55 PM • Jun 12, 2023
We are in for a treat with first-time US Open host LACC. The course has previously hosted a Walker Cup in 2017 and a Pac-12 Championship in 2013.
Unique in its design, the course boasts five par 3's, including the behemoth 11th hole playing at a whopping 290 yards, one of the longest in US Open history. On the flip side, we might witness the shortest par three with the 15th hole potentially playing at a mere 80 yards if the USGA moves the tees forward.
With most USGA setups, the course is expected to play firm and fast. Jon Rahm mentioned in his press conference that the fairways look bigger than they play and that the course design makes you think.
A number of the holes could be considered “half-par” holes. For instance, the first hole is a par five on the scorecard but presents players with a gettable birdie to start the round and likely plays as a par four and a half. In contrast, the seventh hole is a par three at 284 yards, will test the player’s fairway woods, and is more like a par three and a half.
Like another George Thomas-designed course Riviera Country Club, LACC has a short par four that presents players with the option of taking driver at the green or laying up short and trusting their wedge game. The sixth hole plays 330 yards and has a bunker and barranca in front protecting the green but misses long will leave a difficult path to par.
For more on the course, The Fried Egg has a US Open preview where Gil Hanse and Geoff Shackleford, who both worked on the latest renovation of the course, discuss the setup.
Scottie Scheffler is the betting favorite to win this week. With the way he has been hitting the ball, all he has to do is have an average week putting to be in a position to win. His strokes gained tee-to-green numbers have been outrageously good this season, gaining 2.78 strokes on the field, with the next closest at 1.74 strokes gained.
There are a lot of players in the field with ties to Los Angeles / Southern California that look like good picks to contend. Three stand out - Max Homa, Collin Morikawa, and Patrick Cantlay.
Homa holds the course record at LACC from back in 2013 after shooting a 61 in the Pac-12 Championships for Cal.
Morikawa, another LA native, went 4 - 0 at the Walker Cup in 2017 at LACC.
Patrick Cantlay went to UCLA, which is just a mile away from LACC, and held the course record before Homa took it.
Matt Fitzpatrick is the defending champion after winning his first Major at Brookline. The last player to win back-to-back at the US Open is none other than Brooks Koepka.
LACC should be an awesome host for this year’s US Open!
LPGA - Meijer LPGA Classic
This week, the LPGA action is coming to you from the Meijer LPGA Classic, held at the Blythefield Country Club in Belmont, Michigan.
Lydia Ko has had mixed results lately, but she'll be looking to reignite the spark that earned her the win earlier in the year at the Aramco Saudi Ladies. Minjee Lee, on the other hand, is coming off a recent playoff loss at the Cognizant Founders Cup.
Hyo-Joo Kim is coming off a runner-up at the ShopRite LPGA Classic and a tie for third at the Lotte Open on the Korea LPGA, making her a strong contender this week.
The defending champion is Jennifer Kupcho, who won last year in a playoff over Leona Maguire.