The leaderboard going into Sunday’s final round was as stacked as I’ve ever seen at a U.S. Open. So many players were within striking distance, any one of them had the capability to go on a run and take control. Jon Rahm just never put himself out of contention and never got overly frustrated with his putting, especially all the near misses on the back nine. Finally, one fell on the second the last hole to tie Louis Oosthuizen and then dagger birdie on 18 to seal the victory. I could not have been happier for my boy Rahm getting his first major victory and on Father’s Day just months after his wife gave birth to their first child. It was a sight to see and I hope all of you got to enjoy the show and Father’s Day weekend.
It almost sounds redundant at this point but it was another spectacular weekend of major championship golf at Torrey Pines. The Masters, PGA Championship, and U.S. Open have all been thrilling, drama filled and left you feeling satisfied with the end result. I’m just not realizing that we’ve only got one more of these weekend’s the rest of the 2021 year and it makes me sad. The Open Championship has a lot to live up to but I know I can’t wait to see what happens.
Enough about the majors, we’ve got work to do this week in Cromwell, Connecticut at TPC River Highlands. This course got a face-lift just a few years ago when it removed 50 bunkers but upgrading the remaining 69. They also removed several trees, narrowed the fairways, the greens were redone and a whole lot more. While all that was done, the course is still a Par 70 and measures out to only 6,841 yards, around 800 yards shorter than last week’s U.S. Open. They have added a lot of risk-reward opportunities for these golfers, which means the better course managers will have an added advantage this week. There is a learning curve on this track but these are the world's best golfers, they'll figure it out quickly.
TPC River Highlands is the second shortest course on the regular PGA Tour schedule. When looking at the history on this course, you see a lot of course managing shorter hitters having success but if you dig deeper you see that the fields at this tournament aren’t usually strong and not a lot of bombers make the trip. We do have a bunch this weekend from Bryson, to DJ, to Koepka and of course Bubba Watson. Bubba has had a ton of success here and he’s one of the biggest hitters on tour. I’m just trying to tell you that no one type of player fits the mold at this course. Look at last year’s final pairing, Dustin Johnson and Brendon Todd, two completely different style players but both had success on this course. The key to victory this weekend will be getting on the green in regulation and giving yourself as many birdie opportunities as possible. I have filled the playbook with strong Strokes Gained: Tee to Green players, these are the best ball strikers in the world. I’ve also targeted my favorite stat on the board, Strokes Gained: Approach as well.
One & Done Pick of the Week: Bryson DeChambeau
Good luck everyone!
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