The quietness proved to be one of the most unexpected aspects about the US Open – in its 123rd staging – on its first appearance at Los Angeles Country Club, with crowds limited to 22,000 daily but fewer than that there with, whisper it, many of those tickets apparently purchased by wealthy members to ensure a smaller attendance.
In the bigger scheme of things, the USGA, who run the championship, had decided this was not about huge crowds – as would be found at venues like Pinehurst or Oakmont, for instance – but rather about bringing the Major to a historic golf course.
As the USGA’s chief executive Mike Whan put it in advance of the championship, “We think about US Opens over a five-year period. If you only thought about the US Open every year, like how much revenue you make, what’s the biggest bank, we probably wouldn’t go to smaller footprints.”
Yet the lack of galleries and the quiet noise took many by surprise, with defending champion Matt Fitzpatrick observing of how his hole-in-one in the first round was greeted by little reaction. “I wish it would have been louder. I’m surprised there’s not been as many people out as I thought this week,” said Fitzpatrick, who didn’t find himself a fan of the actual course either.
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He remarked: “I think the golf course is interesting, to be polite. There’s too many holes for me where you’ve got blind tee shots and then you’ve got fairways that don’t hold the ball. There’s too much slope.”
Fitzpatrick wasn’t alone in voicing polite observations about the course. “It’s just diabolical, it’s a completely different test of golf than a normal US Open,” voiced Bryson DeChambeau.
On the eve of the championship, the USGA’s John Bodenhamer, the chief championship officer, had remarked on the “mystery and allure” to be found at LACC. “There’s almost a curiosity around this place that is really going to make it more special ... it’s this natural, gnarly oasis in this urban metropolis, the entertainment capital of the world. All the glitz and glamour that is Beverly Hills and Hollywood, and this wonderful playing field sits right in the middle of it.”
Whatever about the course – which was restored in an extensive project under Gil Hanse working with his design partner Jim Wagner and golf historian and writer Geoff Shackleton to retain the original design philosophy of George C Thomas – and its quirkiness, the lack of atmosphere, which is usually a hallmark of the US Open, proved striking through the championship.
The USGA, it seemed were prepared to take the hit on the lack of noise and the size of galleries in order to have the LACC added, however belatedly, to its rota of championship venues.
In a statement, the USGA said of the lack of atmosphere, especially around the starting and finishing points of the course layout, “Give that 1, 9 and 18 all come together in front of the clubhouse with little space between holes, combined with the slope and barranca [dry river gorge], it was very difficult to accommodate a large grandstand.”
If anyone had wondered if the US Open would be returning, that question has already been answered. In a case of remarkable forward planning, the US Open is already pencilled in for LACC 2039.
More immediately, it will returned to the tried and very trusted: the 2024 US Open is at Pinehurst, the 2025 event at Oakmont and the 2026 championship is at Shinnecock Hills and at Pebble Beach in 2027.
