MAMARONECK, N.Y. — Saturdays at the U.S. Open are golf’s equivalent of a show trial in that competitors are presented an opportunity to mount a defense, but even casual onlookers know only a fortunate few will escape the gallows.
So it was appropriate that the final pairing in the third round featured the two most polarizing and oft-accused men in the game, ensuring that the most luckless person at Winged Foot would not be among the 62 players but rather in the ranks of the rules officials, one of whom would be summoned in the event of an issue.
Patrick Reed and Bryson DeChambeau could scarcely be more opposite in how they approach the game. DeChambeau surrounds himself with a retinue on the range, while Reed is shadowed only by his caddie.
DeChambeau boasts more sponsors than a NASCAR driver, while branding on the man who won the Masters in 2018 is as sparse as on a catholic priest.
DeChambeau revels in his new-found distance, launching missiles that cleared the fence at the back of the driving range, while Reed averaged 47 yards shorter in Friday’s second round.
DeChambeau swings with a scientific expectation that a predictable outcome should result from his carefully calibrated input, while Reed is all about scrambling and avoiding the consequences of his missteps.
One guy who demands precision, another with a gift for escaping prison. Neither archetype typically thrives in a U.S. Open environment. But then this is not a typical U.S. Open.
The absence of spectators means that what would otherwise have been a coliseum of New York hecklers was instead about as noisy as a group of meditating librarians.
“It just makes it a touch easier for the guys at the top,” Rory McIlroy noted. “You’ve got Bryson and P-Reed out in the final group, and any other U.S. Open final grouping you’ve got those two guys, things are going to be said and tempers are going to flare. Even if those guys don’t have to deal with that today, it just makes it a little different and maybe a touch easier if you’re in those final few groups.”
And it’s not just easier for the lightning rods.
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In the PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park last month, Collin Morikawa had the luxury of playing for his first major victory without the huge crowd that amplifies every charge and pratfall on the Sundays that matter. He might well have won anyway even in that fan crucible, but their absence clearly didn’t hurt. Twenty-one-year-old Matt Wolff is a kid who—like Morikawa—enjoys crowds, but—like Morikawa—he will have the same hushed environment Sunday as he bids—like Morikawa—to capture major No. 1 in only start No. 2.
“It’s one variable you just don’t have to deal with,” McIlroy said.
Wolff leads by two shots with 18 gauntlets to be run.
Saturday night leaderboards at majors are often reminiscent of the shadiest street in a college town, where some wide-eyed youngster is having so much fun that he doesn’t even notice he’s surrounded by wily vultures who figure he’ll get mugged before reaching home safely.
Forty-six years ago at Winged Foot that kid was Tom Watson, who led entering the final round but ballooned to a 79 as one of the guys lurking in the shadows, Hale Irwin, eventually won. In ’06, Kenneth Ferrie played the role. He too stumbled, but Geoff Ogilvy (an old head on young shoulders) snatched the valuables before veterans Phil Mickelson and Colin Montgomerie.
As the sun sets on Winged Foot this Saturday night, there are men in the shadows who ought to concern young Master Wolff. Like McIlroy, the 2011 champion, who shot 68 in the third round. Or Louis Oosthuizen, who owns one major but who, with a little luck here and there, could have five. Or Hideki Matsuyama, who carries the hopes of a continent on his shoulders. Or Xander Schauffele, the pick of many this week. And of course, DeChambeau and P-Reed.
They’re all chasing, but they’re chasing a neophyte who hasn’t been here before. The hunters know it. So does the hunted. But this prey has one thing that will stand him in good stead: perspective. After his round, Wolff talked about a friend’s struggle with cancer, and how even on the cusp of achieving a lifelong dream of winning the U.S. Open, golf is far from the most important thing in his world. He may be the youngest man on that leaderboard, but he is far from being the least mature
So much of the professional golf calendar has been lost or juggled in 2020, and even the events that were salvaged have been conducted amid a disquieting vibe that is two parts gratitude, one part fear. The first real sense of normalcy has been provided by this Open as the USGA tightens the thumbscrews daily with all the tenderness of a medieval jailor. Sunday will be no different.
And even if there are no boisterous spectators to remind Wolff that he’s in a dogfight for a major, Winged Foot and the caliber of his pursuers certainly will.
