US Open: Brutal pins revealed for second round

The United States Golf Association was never going to sit back and watch a US Open venue get dismantled for a second straight day.

Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele both defied the odds at the Los Angeles Country Club on Thursday, breaking the record for the lowest round in the game’s traditionally toughest major.

The stunning pair of eight-under 62s were not aberrations either, with six players shooting 65 or better and 36 in total under par.

Thursday’s scoring average was 71.38, said to be the lowest for the tournament’s opening round in 90 years.

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And the birdie blitz will have made for awkward viewing for tournament officials, with players taking full advantage of relatively benign US Open conditions to obliterate the preconceptions that this course would be an absolute brute.

Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy were among those to thrive from the wide fairways and receptive greens on the North Course below the hills of Hollywood.

It is no surprise then, that the USGA have tightened things up for Friday’s second round.

Can you say “tucked”? 😳 pic.twitter.com/qGYiG86d8t

— Michael McEwan (@MMcEwanGolf) June 16, 2023

The pin positions have been released for the second day’s place and, at first glance, they look brutal.

In what will be perceived by some as a greenskeeper’s revenge, almost all the pins are completely tucked away for round two.

The short par-4 6th yielded plenty of birdies in round one but expect a tougher challenge with a more difficult pin placement on Friday.

The monstrous par-3 11th, meanwhile, looks even more difficult with the pin six on from right at the back right of the green.

And watch out for the 15th, the entertaining short par-3, where Friday’s hole location is on the narrowest slither of the putting surface.

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There is also hope that the course will dry out and firm up significantly for the weekend, with the sun expected to break through the clouds in LA and bake out the greens in the final two rounds.

That could make the course play entirely different, with the potential for drives to bound beyond the fairways and approach shots not holding the greens, leaving players in the clutches of the thick Bermuda rough.

The USGA’s motto for their course layouts is “tough but fair”, but the priority is to make the LA setup more challenging over the final few days to avoid tainting the US Open’s reputation as golf’s most testing major.

Ben Parsons joined bunkered as a Content Producer in 2023 and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.