US Open: Five key stats and storylines to look out for at Winged Foot
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By Justin Ray, 15th Club - @JustinRayGolf
Last Updated: 16/09/20 4:07pm
For the first time in 107 years, the United States Open is being held in September as the tournament returns to the historic Winged Foot Golf Club in New York.
The last time it was held this late on the calendar was 1913, a US Open upset fit for Hollywood as amateur Francis Ouimet defeated top professionals Ted Ray and Harry Vardon.
Almost a century later, the story would become the plot for the 2005 film "The Greatest Game Ever Played". Ouimet's victory remains the last time a player won the US Open on his tournament debut.
Will the world's best players generate more legendary drama this week at Winged Foot? Here are five key numbers to know entering the second men's major championship of the year:
+4.99
The last time Winged Foot hosted the US Open was in 2006, when Geoff Ogilvy held off Phil Mickelson, Colin Montgomerie and a host of others with a winning score of five over. The field averaged 4.99 over par per round for the tournament, a number surpassed only once in the major championships contested since.
There have been two majors since 1970 won by a player who did not shoot under par in any of the four rounds that week. Ogilvy in 2006 and Hale Irwin at the 1974 US Open, and both of those championships were held at Winged Foot.
Of the US Open courses to host multiple championships since 1970, Winged Foot has yielded the highest scoring average, at 75.45. This week should be an extremely thorough test of golf.
+16
If Rory McIlroy is to win his first major championship in more than six years, he will need to get off to a better start.
In his last eight major championships played, Rory has a scoring average of 72.6 in the opening round, averaged 3.0 birdies per round, and assembled a score to par of +16. In rounds two through four, he's been a different player, with a 68.5 scoring average, 4.2 birdies per round and a score of 23 under par.
McIlroy's iron play has been uncharacteristically mediocre in recent months, as well. When the PGA Tour season was halted in March, Rory ranked third on the PGA Tour in strokes gained approach. Since play resumed, though, he's ranked 58th in that statistic. Can McIlroy find the magic that pushed him to victory in 2011 at Congressional?
-33
No player from Spain has ever won the US Open, a drought Jon Rahm would love to end this week in New York. Rahm is a combined 33 under par in his last six major championship starts - a stark contrast from the first nine majors of his career, where he was 43 over par. Rahm has finished in the top 15 in five of his last six major championships.
Since the beginning of 2018, only Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson have more rounds in the 60s in majors than Rahm does (17). Rahm ranked in the top 60 last season in all six primary strokes gained categories on the PGA Tour, indicating there's no glaring weakness in his skill set.
He will need every facet of those skills to win his first major championship this week.
One
The world's No 1 player, Dustin Johnson, was unequivocally the best performer in the recently-completed FedExCup Play-Offs. Johnson led the stats in score to par, birdies, greens in regulation, strokes gained tee-to-green and strokes gained approach. He's also led or co-led after 54 holes in each of his last four starts, something not done since Tiger Woods in 1999.
Johnson has a trove of memories - good (2016) and bad (2010, 2015) - at the US Open over the years. He has the third-best scoring average and second-most rounds in the 60s at the US Open since 2010, and is third in strokes gained tee to green in the championship the last three years.
Johnson will be grouped with Tony Finau and Bryson DeChambeau in rounds one and two this week.
68.93
Still the reigning Masters champion, Tiger Woods (age 44) will try to become the oldest major champion in men's golf since Hale Irwin at the 1990 US Open. In what is regarded as the modern era - since the first Masters was held in 1934 - less than two per cent of majors have been won by players age 44 or older.
It's a tall ask even for the great Woods - his scoring average in the US Open since 2012 is 73.0.
But here's a glimmer of hope: if Tiger gets to the weekend with a chance, look out. Since 2015, Woods has a weekend scoring average of 68.93 in major championships. Of players with 12 or more rounds played in that span, that ranks first.