Over the top by Meraj Shah: Proving ground

There’s a reason a national championship is called an Open. By dint of its nature, a national championship is deemed to be open to anyone who wants to compete and is good enough to make it to the field. To that end, a few slots are allocated for outliers – players who make it through gruelling multi-round qualifiers to make the grade and get into the main event. 

 This year, the United States Golf Association (USGA) accepted over 10,000 entries for the US Open qualifiers, of which 687 made it to the final round – a 36-hole marathon – for the 44 spots up for grabs. The final round, dubbed the longest day in golf, sets the stage for the toughest test in golf – the US Open. All these epithets sound very dramatic, which makes me wonder what we should call the eight-day Q-School the IGU conducts in India…’The toughest week in Golf,’ or at least ‘Golf in Asia,’ but I digress.

Coming back to the US Open, given the depth of field it’s no surprise that the event often throws up outliers in the field; and once in a while, the event’s reputation as a test of golf notwithstanding, one of them goes on to win, pipping higher ranked and more fancied golfers in the field. Francis Ouimet’s exceptional victory in 1913 continues to top that list. Ouimet, a 20-year-old amateur, defeated Harry Vardon and Ted Ray in a playoff.

In the modern era, there’ve been quite a few underdogs and longshots, who have risen to the occasion. In 2009, Lucas Glover beat a strong field that included Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. Glover, who was ranked 71st in the world at the time served a reminder that the US Open’s demanding conditions can level the playing field, giving anyone a chance to shine. 

The other notable outlier who comes to mind is Michael Campbell, who won the 2005 US Open. Pertinently, he won at Pinehurst No. 2 in 2005, the venue that will host the 124th US Open later this week. With its notoriously difficult greens and demanding layout, Pinehurst has a reputation for testing even the most accomplished golfers. It’s a long list of potential winners this year: Rory McIlroy is chasing another Major title (a story that refuses to die), Viktor Hovland has re-discovered his form after taking some time out, Xander Schaffeule is the man in form after having broken through at the PGA Championship, World number one, Scottie Scheffler, who seems to be able to win at will, and the list goes on. 

In today’s scenario, given the depth of talent and field on top-tier tours like the PGA Tour, it is, literally anyone’s game, and picking potential winners can be a moot exercise. What is entirely possible, and somewhat more interesting, is to consider the outliers in the field who might be able to break through. Among these, the most fun to watch is Sahith Theegala. The Indian-origin American has shown flashes of brilliance coupled with a fearless approach and impressive ball-striking. Theegala is an incredibly talented and creative player and the man to watch at Pinehurst this week. Tom Kim, the incredibly popular youngster, is another player with the tenacity and grit required to navigate Pinehurst’s challenges. Unlike Theegala, Kim isn’t about brilliance but consistency. Kim hasn’t had a great year but has shown recent signs of regaining form. 

f you follow golf on social media, then you couldn’t have missed the popular swing sequence of Min Woo Lee. The Australian’s power and accuracy off the tee have made him quite popular with the galleries. Lee is already a winner on the PGA Tour but hasn’t done too well at the Majors. Could this be his week? Then there’s Seamus Power. The Irishman’s strong iron play and steady demeanour look tailor-made for Major Championships. Power birdied three of the last five holes in the US Open qualifier to force his way into the event that he couldn’t play last year on account of injuries.

Powers finished 12h in his US Open debut in 2022: if he can avoid the big numbers, then the Irishman could be the dark horse to watch. Webb Simpson, the 2012 US Open Champion, is another player who’s used the qualifier route to make his way into the field. Simpson has been on the fringes of the Majors lately but definitely has the game to make a run for the title. 

The US Open is a dramatic event. The course set ups are exceptionally brutal, and the currency on length has never been greater than at the venues that host the event – Pinehurst No. 2, stretching over 7,000 yards is no exception. And yet, it’s the extreme nature of the challenge that appears to catalyse once-in-a-lifetime performances. In 2005, Campbell’s inspired run denied victory to Tiger Woods. It was the second time unlucky for Woods, who had finished third in 1999 – the previous time the US Open had been played at Pinehurst. On that occasion, Woods was undone by Payne Stewart’s birdie on the 71st and a clutch par on the last. Stewart’s win was his last: the legendary player was tragically killed in a plane crash before he could defend his title. Woods, who’s played three events this year and made the cut only once, has accepted a special invitation to play at Pinehurst this year. That makes Tiger Woods the ultimate outlier to win the 124th US Open.