LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA | On a soft Tuesday morning with a lingering chill and the scent from a nearby fireplace in the air, Torrey Pines South looked from a distance like one of the gentlest places on earth.
All green and blue with the sunshine sparkling off of the Pacific Ocean, which sits down the cliffs from the course, the effect was almost hypnotic.
Wait until the middle of June.
That’s when the U.S. Open returns to the South Course where it will have been transformed into a beautiful beast. As long as an Arizona summer. As demanding as boot camp. As unrelenting as a toothache.
It’s the way U.S. Opens are meant to be.
In that sense, this 121st edition will be an old-school U.S. Open.
“It’s a return to some normalcy. It was truly heartbreaking last year to cancel some championships and not have (U.S. Open) qualifying. Qualifying is our DNA.” – John Bodenhamer
After qualifying took a one-year pause due to the pandemic, it will feature 108 sites with 9,069 players chasing spots in the field at Torrey Pines. Among those hoping to punch a ticket to Torrey are a 74-year-old man and a 10-year-old boy.
“It’s a return to some normalcy,” said John Bodenhamer, senior manager for competitions for the USGA. “It was truly heartbreaking last year to cancel some championships and not have (U.S. Open) qualifying. Qualifying is our DNA.”
Last year, the USGA hosted only four of its 14 national championships but it will conduct the full slate this year.
The pandemic’s impact remains, however. Only a limited number of fans will be allowed on-site at Torrey Pines. USGA officials are not specifying how many fans will be in attendance each day, but it will be more than last September when fans were not allowed at Winged Foot.
USGA officials continue to work with San Diego and California officials in determining how many spectators will be on site.
For those not at Torrey Pines, an expansive collection of viewing and interactive sites will be available in the run-up to the championship and throughout the competition.
As for Torrey Pines South, it produced one of the most memorable U.S. Open finishes in history when Tiger Woods holed a birdie putt on the 72nd green to force a playoff with Rocco Mediate in 2008. Woods ultimately won his 14th major championship after a 19-hole playoff.
The golf course will be set up much like it was in 2008 when it was the longest U.S. Open course in history. Bodenhamer said the course can stretch to more than 7,500 yards but he expects it to play closer to 7,300 yards during the championship.
“We just want to make sure that we challenge the guys to hit every shot in our bag, showcase their talents in every way, recovery, mental, physical,” Bodenhamer said.
“Whatever we can do with Torrey to bring that up, we’ll do that and we’ll just let it be.”
Course architect Rees Jones has tweaked the South Course in recent years after overseeing its massive overhaul 20 years ago. A handful of new tees have been built and a couple of fairway lines have changed, particularly pulling the fourth fairway closer to a cliff, but the adjustments have been more subtle than dramatic.
By its very nature, the South Course – which should be rain-free in June – is difficult. How tough the USGA chooses to make it remains to be seen.
Bodenhamer said if the area gets its typical June weather, he expects a few shots under par to be the winning score. If the wind blows, it will be a couple of shots higher. If some rain comes through, it will be a few lower.
“Par is not the goal,” Bodehamer said.
At Winged Foot last fall, Bryson DeChambeau deconstructed the notion that U.S. Open courses can’t be overpowered because of the penalty imposed by high rough. DeChambeau looked at Winged Foot, pulled out his driver and fired away, relying on his wedge game and putting to win his first major championship.
“I don’t think it was a pitch-and-putt for sure,” DeChambeau said. “But I was able to hit pitching wedges into greens where other guys were hitting 6- and 7-irons.
“I still had some 40-footers and some 30-footers that I made. Making the fairways that tight made it easy for me to just hit driver off the tee.”
As far as course setup is concerned, the USGA plans no major changes this year.
“We looked at those stats from Bryson and he was, I’m going to say, the sixth longest off the tee, he wasn’t even the longest,” Bodenhamer said.
“It comes through with us that what he did best was putt. He no question drove the ball prodigiously long, but he put on an exceptional putting display.
“Are we going to do something different because of distance. We are not.”
Top: A paraglider enjoys the view of the South Course’s fourth hole. Photo: John Mummert, USGA
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