SOUTHAMPTON, NY – Emiliano Grillo was the first person to conquer Shinnecock Hills monster on Saturday, so naturally everyone was wondering HOW he did it. It was as if he had slain a dragon with a dull sword when no one thought the beast could bleed.
What Grillo talked about next, however, was more fear. Before heading out on Saturday, Grillo watched in horror as the broadcast showed the early action. He saw off Dylan Wu by five shots and made an 8 on the first hole. He saw the wind blow Chris Gotterup’s ball off the green. He saw the US Open test everyone expected had finally arrived.
So a few hours later, after Grillo somehow went 6-9 and sat at 10 four under for his third round, he had just one thought: I need to get him home quickly.
On Saturday at the US Open, Shinnecock Hills finally became Shinnecock Hills. Grillo’s three-under 67 was the low round of the day. Only Scottie Scheffler, who shot a 69, had the next round under par. This came after 36 players were red-figured in the first two rounds.
Wyndham Clarke READY shot under par. He missed a 5-footer on 18 and had to settle for a 70, and at seven under he takes a commanding lead into Sunday. Four chasers – including Scheffler – are six back with one down. Twenty-one players have held major 54-hole leads of six or more, and only one did not win (Greg Norman at the 1996 Masters).
“Scottie is the best player in the world and he’s going to play probably very well,” Clark said. “He always does, but it’s nice to have a six-shot lead against him. But really I’m going to continue to approach it the same way. If I go out and execute and go through my process and hit shots, I know I can hit, I like my chances.”
But conditions on Sunday are likely to be tough again.
The USGA played well on Thursday and Friday (you don’t want the course to get away from you on Day 1 or 2). In 2004, a Sunday disaster on the 7th green cast a dark shadow over the tournament. In 2018, Phil Mickelson played hockey on the 13th – his unique way of protesting the conditions – and Zach Johnson famously described, “They have lost the golf course.” The USGA and, perhaps, the host club, would not want that to be a repeat story this time around.
This, coupled with a strong wind forecast, led to a better set-up on Thursday, and Friday was similar. Fifteen players shot under par on Thursday. Twenty one Friday. But enough, the USGA thought.
Ben Griffin warned everyone on Friday night. He tweeted a text message received from USGA players: “The course will be prepared to play progressively harder and the target green speed will be 11.0 on the USGA stimpometer.”
Boy, did he deliver.
Wu, after opening with an 8, turned in a 44. He shot an 82. Jon Rahm played a hacky sack with his driver. Justin Thomas started bogey, bogey, bogey. Matt Fitzpatrick started bogey, bogey, bogey. Scheffler: bogey, bogey. We could go on.
James Nicholas missed the green on the 10th and made 8. Eleven had a spot that would make you want to give up.
The sun and the wind – they can do wonders for the US Open arrangements – said the greens quickly. Players shot balls on and off them. It was like trying to stop something in an upside down bowl of cereal. So many shots were thrown off the back 10th and 11th greens that an uneducated golf fan might have thought that was the goal.
“The fairways started to firm up yesterday,” Scheffler said. “Then the greens today started to firm up. You could see on the green, you’d see some nice green grass and then some very brown grass, so there was a little bit of mystery as to how the ball was going to react when it hit the green. But again, that’s just part of the challenge of a US Open is judging the conditions and putting yourself in the right position.”
It was windy but concrete impetuousand it was supposed to calm down later, but it only calmed down a little. Clark hit one off the fescue on the 3rd and had to cover his eyes as the wind blew the dirt back into his face. On 8, he missed the green and called it the worst shot of his life.
Sahith Theegala said the short shots were so delicate that with the speed and the wind blowing, you’d rather they hit 10 feet than 5. Keith Mitchell tried to stick his tee on the green to fix a ball mark on 18 and it wouldn’t budge.
“There are some spots out there that are extremely strong already,” Mitchell said. “It’s been changing all day. Depending on what they do tonight, tomorrow is going to be wild.”
Ah, tomorrow. Eighteen holes remain. In the four previous US Opens held at Shinnecock in the last century, only three players in total have finished the week at even par. After Saturday — where the golf course finally fought back — that number will likely remain low.
But let’s go back to where we started, with our man Grillo. He was asked about winning majors and winning US Opens – the most grueling of all major tests. His response was long and thoughtful and smart and worth reading in its entirety, but his first sentence does most of the work.
“I mean, it is difficultman.”
