The US Open is in the books for another year and as expected, Oakmont Country Club wreaked havoc with the field over the four days.
The Pennsylvania course proved just as tough a test as people expected as only one player, eventual winner J.J. Spaun, managed to shoot under par.
In the end, the long rough, tricky greens and then the wet weather impacted everyone.
Sam Burns was unfortunate with not getting a drop when his ball found a puddle, while Tyrrell Hatton bemoaned the conditions as well.
Of course, it was the same for everyone. But according to Hatton’s LIV Golf teammate Lee Westwood, the Englishman did have a point.
Lee Westwood backs Tyrrell Hatton stance on Oakmont
As we know, Westwood is not involved in the majors these days and now into his 50s, we’re unlikely to see much of him in the future either.
Nevertheless, Westwood has experience of Oakmont and he spoke on TalkSPORT this morning of how Hatton does in fact have a point.
“It is the toughest test of any golf course anywhere in the world that I have experienced. Then obviously when they set it up for the US Open with the thick rough and the greens running at 16 on the stimp meter it becomes borderline unfair at times, I would say,” Westwood said.
“That golf course was not designed for those conditions. But it’s just the way that the modern game has gone now. Because players hit it so far, I don’t want to say it, but you have got to trick the golf course up in certain ways. So to reward the accurate play is to penalise the inaccurate way and the only way to do that is to grow really thick rough.
“Unfortunately they grow thick rough around the greens so you see the guys trudging in there and playing the same gauging shot out on to the green.
“So the only thing with the US Open is, yes, it is a great test but you kind of don’t get the short game skill that you would see at other tournaments come to the fore. Those guys that are great at that, they can’t use that at a US Open. That is taken out of their hands a little bit.”
- READ MORE: What J.J. Spaun was doing at 3am before playing his final round and becoming the US Open champion
Adam Scott also on board with Tyrrell Hatton and Lee Westwood
Given Adam Scott is one of the calmest players on TOUR, for him to have some concerns on the conditions is telling.
Indeed, it was the decision to not give Sam Burns a drop that Scott called out, with the Australian a touch perplexed.
“Yeah, I know. I was thinking of asking as well. It was borderline unplayable. The water was like so close to the surface. Like the shot I hit on 11, it’s bizarre. I just don’t know. It was like an aquaplane on the ground.
He tried to hit a 5-iron, I guess, on the 15th, and it’s tough.
“It’s a tough call, but we played. Everyone had to deal with it,” Scott said.
So, while entertaining for fans, the likes of Hatton and Burns will feel like they’ve been robbed a touch.
Whether anything will ever change with these rulings, remains to be seen.
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