Full US Open leaderboard from the Los Angeles Country Club
07:02 PM
So much for sunny Californian skies
It’s overcast in La La Land today…
Of the big names out on the course Scottie Scheffler (who if he gets his putter working will be hard to beat) is level through nine, Jon Rahm is also level (through eight) and Justin Rose five-over, yep five-over, (through nine).
There are five on three-under and they include Rickie Fowler.
06:33 PM
Another major and yet more power play
By Greg Wilcox
Can anyone remember the last major when all the talk was dominated about events outside the rope rather than the shots inside it? Well? Nor me…
Once again we head into one of the big four tournaments with the power plays between the PGA Tour and LIV/Saudi Arabia’s PIF seemingly the focus of everyone’s attention. As far as soap operas go, the latest bombshell — that the PGA Tour and PIF will merge and that, as it stands, no one seems overly sure what this arrangement will look like — was certainly a pretty good one. It had all the elements of surprise that would grace any daytime drama, but has once again illustrated that the game of golf could well do with getting its house in order sooner rather than later.
Anyway, as I type play is under way at the ultra-exclusive Los Angeles Country Club (so exclusive it makes Augusta look like your local municipal, nine-hole pitch and putt…) and, hopefully, focus can, for four days at least, be on birdies, bogeys and title charges.
As ever there will be the usual PGA-LIV subplots — once again Brooks Koepka seems to be the rebels’ best bet of reminding everyone their Saudi-funded league is more than an extremely well-paid exhibition hits-and-giggles affair — but taking place on a largely unknown course and with the usual USGA set up of penal rough and lightning-fast greens the action will hopefully take center stage.
Four weeks ago Koepka’s win at the US PGA Championship felt timely, even if it wasn’t the trigger for the unexpected rapprochement, and he’s more than happy for the current upheaval to continue.
“The more chaotic things get, the easier it gets for me,” Koepka said as he, like all the other big-name players, was slammed with questions about the uncertain future of golf. “Everything starts to slow down and I am able to focus on whatever I need to focus on while everybody else is dealing with distractions, worried about other things.”
In many ways, this year’s US Open feels a lot like last year. When the tournament came a mere week after LIV’s first tournament and with rumors swirling about who might defect next.
Anyway, whatever the machinations and jibes off the fairways we can but hope for entertainment on them. Stay here for all the action from LA.
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