It’s hard to believe that we are already entering our third out of four major championships for the 2024 season. Pinehurst #2 (my personal favorite golf course) will play host to the world’s top players as they vie to take home the 124th U.S. Open title.
The week is setting up to be a battle of golf’s stars versus one of the game’s greatest venues. Let’s see who we need to watch out for this weekend.
Scottie vs. The Field
As has been the case all season, we are entering a major championship with OWGR #1 Scottie Scheffler as the betting favorite to win the title. Scheffler will start the week with 7/2 odds, the best odds to win a major since Tiger’s dominance 10+ years ago.
Per usual, Scheffler is coming off a hard-fought win at The Memorial, where he struggled down the stretch. He ultimately held off Collin Morikawa to win for the 5th time this season. His other four wins? The Arnold Palmer Invitational, The Players Championship, The Masters and RBC Heritage. Seemingly the only way to stop Scottie is to have him arrested in the middle of the tournament (he still finished T-8).
This week has the potential to lift Scottie into golf immortality. If he goes on to win, he will join Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Jordan Spieth, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Sam Snead, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson and Nick Price as the only players to win 5+ times including 2+ major championships in one season.
Best of luck to the field this week.
Pinehurst Course No. 2 – the “Home of American Golf”
For the first time since 2014, the U.S. Open returns to Pinehurst #2 and the “home of American golf.” The course has played host to some of the greatest U.S. Opens of all time, including Payne Stewart’s 1999 win over Phil Mickelson, just months before his untimely death in a plane crash.
Despite its long track record of hosting elite golf, Pinehurst #2 will look different than many remember. Since 2014, the course has overhauled its greens, shifting from bent grass to Bermuda. These firm, fast, turtle-back greens will repel almost all mis-hit approach shots.
Players will need pinpoint accuracy to have reasonable birdie chances throughout the week. Expect to see balls landing on greens and slowly rolling off into #2’s famous collection areas. Creativity around the greens will be rewarded as players look to get up and down from tricky lies.
In addition to green changes, the golf course will feature an increase of wiregrass in the waste areas that line the fairways. The wiregrass will create unpredictable lies for players who find their tee shots off the hard-to-hit landing areas. There is a chance that, come Sunday, the tournament is won or lost thanks to a lucky or unlucky lie in the wiregrass.
A True “Open”
One thing that makes the U.S. Open special is the qualification process. Any player with a USGA handicap of .4 or better can enter local qualifying. If they are fortunate enough to make it through local qualifying by finishing in the top ~5, they will make their way to sectional qualifying where they are likely to face off against some of the world’s top players. If they finish in the top ~5 there, they are onto the U.S. Open.
The U.S. Open qualifying process leads to great storylines like high school teacher Colin Prater, who will tee it up alongside the world’s best. It’s hard to imagine other sports employing a similar model. Imagine your high school history teacher playing against LeBron James in the NBA Finals.
Like last week at the U.S. Women’s Open, we’ll see several of our college stars competing in the field this week. In fact, the USGA has grouped current and alumni players of certain colleges together. For example, the University of Virginia’s current player, Ben James, will play with UVA golf team alumni Denny McCarthy and Ben Kohles the first two rounds.
How to Watch the 2024 U.S. Open on TV
All times listed in ET.
Thursday, June 13:
- 6:30am – 5:00pm (USA)
Friday, June 14:
- 1:00pm – 7:00pm (NBC)
Saturday, June 15:
- 10:00am – 12:00pm (USA)
- 12:00pm – 8:00pm (NBC)
Sunday, June 16:
- 9:00am – 12:00pm (USA)
- 12:00pm – 7:00pm (NBC)
