The first round of the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills was defined by the USGA’s “benevolence,” as the organization “followed through on its promise to be conservative rather than aggressive with a course that, on its softest day, can be a beast” according to Ron Green Jr. of GLOBAL GOLF POST. With holes cut into “more accessible locations to account for the wind and its potential to suck the moisture out of the putting surfaces, it felt more like a high-wire act with a net rather than no net.” Golfer Tommy Fleetwood: “They did an amazing job of making it as fair as you could possibly make a test of golf with the conditions they had today” (GLOBAL GOLF POST, 6/18). GOLF CHANNEL’s Rex Hoggard wrote the USGA scored a “much-needed ‘W’ under cloudy skies and blustery winds.” Players “rarely have any interest in the benefit of doubt when it comes to either the USGA or golf course set up.” However, as the “wind-burned field finished their rounds there was a collective appreciation.” There had been some fear that the USGA’s “cautious setup could backfire if the winds didn’t rage and the forecast fell short.” But there was “still plenty of bite in Shinnecock Hills without the unsavory carnage that had defined the U.S. Open’s most recent trips” (GOLF CHANNEL, 6/18).
TOUGHEN UP A BIT: SI’s Nesbitt & Dierberger wrote the loser of Round One of the U.S. Open was the “golf course itself.” Shinnecock “wasn’t so scary, after all.” Through Thursday’s action (first-round play concluded Friday morning), 28 players were at even par or better. That number was five after one round at the 2018 U.S. Open (SI, 6/18).
