Major champ slams ‘unfair’ US Open setup

It’s fair to say Oakmont, this year’s US Open venue, isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.

While several players have kept their feelings to themselves, others, well, haven’t.

Ahead of the championship, PGA Tour winner Jhonattan Vegas took aim at the rough at the Pennsylvania layout.

He labelled it “unplayable,” while Michael Kim attacked the “Mickey Mouse” greens.

Now, Matt Fitzpatrick, currently nine-over-par and in a tie for 50th, has described the layout for the third men’s major of the year as ‘unfair’.

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Speaking to Riath Al-Samarrai of The Daily Mail, the Englishman said: “I personally don’t think it’s fair.

“I think there’s hard that’s fair and there’s just straight unfair. And I just think that this falls into that category, really.

“I just don’t think it necessarily rewards good shots, and I think it penalises bad shots too harshly.”

Fitzpatrick continued: “I have spoken a lot over the last few years about rough graduation, and you can be more penalised for hitting a shot one yard off the fairway, six inches off the fairway, than you can 40 yards off the fairway.

“When you’ve got the greens as extreme as these, it amplifies any miss.

“I get that it’s the same for everyone and you have got hit good shots and obviously it always sounds like sour grapes when a player complains.

“[But] I just feel like there’s a line, you know, that could be very dangerous.

“I’m all for an over par winning score, but I think when you do have three guys under par after two rounds, I think that kind of tells you a lot about what the golf course is doing.”

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The 30-year-old won his maiden major title at the US Open in 2022 and is no stranger to the difficulty of the USGA’s setups.

However, he’s staunch in his belief that a combination of brutal rough and rapid greens has gone too far.

“I am a huge fan of the US Golf Association, I’ve played 11 US Opens now, and I feel like I’ve experienced what is hard and fair and what is hard and unfair over the course of my career now,” he said.

“I just feel like this falls into that category of unfair. I think Xander [Schauffele] said something great earlier this week.

“People watch the US Open to see us shoot eight over par and that’s a good score – I completely agree with that. I love that.

“I think that’s what makes it interesting from a normal week of shooting 25 under. It is a tough golf course, but I think I don’t necessarily feel like it needed to be made more extreme than it is.”

John Turnbull A graduate of the University of Stirling, John joined the bunkered team in 2023 as a Content Producer, with a responsibility for covering all breaking news, tour news, grassroots content and much more besides. A keen golfer, he plays the majority of his golf at Falkirk Tryst Golf Club. Top of his 'bucket list' is a round of Pebble Beach... ideally in the company of Gareth Bale.