The 2023 U.S. Open was one of the more anticipated national championships in some time. A return of major golf to Southern California, a course at Los Angeles Country Club mostly unseen by the general public and players, and a setup full of unusual “barrancas” and Par 3’s ranging from double digits to 290+ yards made for a widely anticipated event.
But it wasn’t supposed to be this easy. And with Southern California natives Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele blitzing the track for a pair of -8 62’s on Thursday to set a record for any major, it appears what looked like a challenge has become almost a regular PGA TOUR stop.
Why are scores so low at the 2023 U.S. Open?
The USGA is always in a difficult spot with course setup, as if they make it a bit too hard to identify the best golfers in the world, the track can start to play downright unfair. But the weather is always a big factor, and conditions at LACC so far have been ideal for scoring, if not the anticipated scoreboard.
Cloudy and overcast with temperatures in the 60’s and low 70’s is ideal when you’re playing, but it also means the course doesn’t harden as the sun beats down in the afternoon. And with the best players on the planet having equipment that’s more advanced than ever, even 7500 yards and rough as thick as a topiary isn’t going to keep the pros from firing at flags.
These greens are just holding plenty of shots, and there simply isn’t enough penalty for a miss as of yet.
Is this the easiest U.S. Open course ever?
It might end up playing that way, but we’ll know by Sunday if the USGA can add a bit more teeth without turning the greens into glass. The first-ever score of double-digits below par at the U.S. Open was Tiger Woods -12 (272) at Pebble Beach in 2000, but he beat the field Ernie Els and Miguel Angel Jimenez at T2 by fifteen shots.
The current record to par is -16, set by Rory McIlroy (268) at Congressional in 2011, and Brooks Koepka (272) at Erin Hills in 2017. The only other U.S. Open with a winning score of -10 or better is Gary Woodland -13 (271) at Pebble Beach in 2019.
Those records appear to be in deep jeopardy this weekend.