Ewen Murray analyses Erin Hills and looks

ahead to the US Open

Ewen Murray takes a look at this week's Wisconsin venue at Erin Hills and explains why it's so important for the USGA to have an incident-free US Open.

Erin Hills is a new venue for the US Open this week and is not the type of golf course I expected - it's very long and undulating and is going to be a really good test for the players.
I took a look around the course on Wednesday and it's probably the longest walk I've ever had! They started this course with 250 acres and now have a 650-acre property which feels like 6,500!

Erin Hills has previously hosted a US Amateur Championship

A lot will depend on what happens weather-wise over the course of the next four days. If it remains relatively soft then there won't be a problem but if the fairways were to get a little bit fiery then I think it could be extremely difficult.
I can't see a short-hitter doing well here, simply because of the lies that they're going to have for their second shots. The greens have a lot of throw-off areas, so the more loft you have for your approach shot, the easier it will become.

Rory McIlroy is not concerned by the thick rough at Erin Hills

You would expect the USGA to try and keep the greens firm and dry, so it's imperative that you have a second shot on the fairway and an approach with as much loft in your hand as possible.
I admire the governing body for coming to new places like this and I do think they are taking a risk by hosting at such a long golf course. I think it will be okay, which the USGA need after the previous two US Opens.
Chambers Bay took a lot of criticism in 2015, which I thought had some really strong points about it but left the spectators unable to see several of the holes. They would be disappointed with that week, given the amount of money spent there.
Then last year's final round was an embarrassment to our game. Everybody talks about Dustin Johnson but at least he got the trophy, whereas Shane Lowry shot 76 in the final round and has struggled for form ever since.
Those kinds of incidents things simply cannot happen and with the way the game is emerging, you don't necessarily need a US Open on the major schedule.
Should the controversies from Chambers Bay and last year continue, then I do think they may potentially have a problem. I think they'll be well aware of that and they'll make sure they have left no stone unturned.

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2017 U.S. Open tee times, pairings for Thursday

USA Eastern times
Tee No. 1
7:45 a.m. -- Jordan Niebrugge, Talor Gooch, Kevin Dougherty
7:56 a.m. -- Andres Romero, Brice Garnett, TBD
8:07 a.m. -- Yusaku Miyazato, J.T. Poston, Aaron Rai
8:18 a.m. -- David Lingmerth, Paul Dunne, Haotong Li
8:29 a.m. -- Stewart Hagestad, Chez Reavie, Gene Sauers
8:40 a.m. -- Brandt Snedeker, Alex Noren, Tyrrell Hatton
8:51 a.m. -- Rafael Cabrera-Bello, Thomas Pieters, Brooks Koepka
9:02 a.m. -- Gary Woodland, J.B. Holmes, Jason Kokrak
9:13 a.m. -- Russell Knox, Scott Gregory, Martin Laird
9:24 a.m. -- Kevin Kisner, Billy Horschel, Branden Grace
9:35 a.m. -- Webb Simpson, Ernie Els, Lucas Glover
9:46 a.m. -- Tyson Alexander, Christopher Crawford, Max Greyserman
9:57 a.m. -- Matthew Campbell, Garrett Osborn, Walker Lee

1:30 p.m. -- Jack Maguire, Corey Conners, Ben Kohles
1:41 p.m. -- Eddie Pepperell, Chan Kim, TBD
1:52 p.m. -- Jhonattan Vegas, Yuta Ikeda, Sean O'Hair
2:03 p.m. -- Andrew Johnston, Brian Stuard, George Coetzee
2:14 p.m. -- Marc Leishman, Pat Perez, Si Woo Kim
2:25 p.m. -- Russell Henley, Scottie Scheffler, Harris English
2:36 p.m. -- Bubba Watson, Adam Scott, Sergio Garcia
2:47 p.m. -- Henrik Stenson, Charl Schwartzel, Louis Oosthuizen
2:58 p.m. -- Jimmy Walker, Justin Thomas, Paul Casey
3:09 p.m. -- Jason Day, Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy
3:20 p.m. -- Steve Stricker, Stewart Cink, Phil Mickelson
3:31 p.m. -- Ryan Brehm, John Oda, Jonathan Randolph
3:42 p.m. -- Mason Andersen, Derek Barron, Roman Robledo
Tee No. 10
7:45 a.m. -- Ted Potter Jr., Daniel Chopra, TBD
7:56 a.m. -- Shugo Imahira, Matthew Wallace, TBD
8:07 a.m. -- Charley Hoffman, Jason Dufner, Hideto Tanihara
8:18 a.m. -- Jeunghun Wang, Thomas Aiken, Bradley Dredge
8:29 a.m. -- Scott Harvey, Jamie Lovemark, Michael Putnam
8:40 a.m. -- Brian Harman, Tommy Fleetwood, Bud Cauley
8:51 a.m. -- Hideki Matsuyama, Rickie Fowler, Jon Rahm
9:02 a.m. -- Lee Westwood, Ross Fisher, Graeme McDowell
9:13 a.m. -- Danny Willett, Zach Johnson, Angel Cabrera
9:24 a.m. -- Matt Kuchar, Francesco Molinari, Patrick Reed
9:35 a.m. -- Martin Kaymer, Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson
9:46 a.m. -- Joaquin Niemann, Stephan Jaeger, Joel Stalter
9:57 a.m. -- Daniel Miernicki, Sahith Theegala, TBD
1:30 p.m. -- Wade Ormsby, Oliver Bekker, Kyle Thompson
1:41 p.m. -- Brandon Stone, Troy Merritt, TBD
1:52 p.m. -- Satoshi Kodaira, Daniel Summerhays, Alexander Levy
2:03 p.m. -- William McGirt, Keegan Bradley, Kevin Na
2:14 p.m. -- Brad Dalke, Wesley Bryan, Brendan Steele
2:25 p.m. -- Nick Flanagan, Richie Ramsay, Bryson DeChambeau
2:36 p.m. -- Daniel Berger, Roberto Castro, Bill Haas
2:47 p.m. -- Adam Hadwin, Emiliano Grillo, Cheng-Tsung Pan
2:58 p.m. -- Scott Piercy, Shane Lowry, Jim Furyk
3:09 p.m. -- Matthew Fitzpatrick, Peter Uihlein, Ben An
3:20 p.m. -- Kevin Chappell, Maverick McNealy, Bernd Wiesberger
3:31 p.m. -- Xander Schauffele, Trey Mullinax, Cameron Champ
3:42 p.m. -- Sam Ryder, Alex Smalley, Andy Pope

Labels: US OPEN

Thursday, June 15, 2017

Ewen Murray analyses Erin Hills and looks

ahead to the US Open

Live US Open Golf

2017 U.S. Open tee times, pairings for Thursday

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