2019 U.S. Open (golf)-Cedar Herald Index

The 2019 United States Open Championship was the 119th U.S. Open, played from at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, California. It was the seventh major and sixth U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, which last hosted U.S. Opens in 2000 and 2010, won by Tiger Woods and Graeme McDowell, respectively.

Gary Woodland won his first major title by three strokes over world number one Brooks Koepka. Ranked 25th coming into the tournament, and having never finished in the top 20 in the U.S. Open previously, he was generally seen as a surprise victor. Koepka had won four of the last nine majors, and was attempting to become the first player to win three straight U.S. Opens since 1905.

2019 U.S. Open (golf)

Woodland shot 68 in the first round, and 65 in the second, to lead by two strokes after 36 holes. He shot 69 in the third round, to have a single-stroke lead over Justin Rose going into the final day. After shooting a 69 in the final round, he converted a 54-hole lead into a victory for the first time in eight attempts in stroke-play events. His 72-hole winning score, a 13-under-par 271, was the lowest relative to par since 2011 and included a stretch of 34 holes without a bogey. Woodland led the field in scrambling, having begun the week ranked 169th in that category.

2019 U.S. Open (golf)

The previous winner of the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, Graeme McDowell, finished tied for 16th with a 3-under-par 281. Tiger Woods was tied 58th after the first round, and began his final round by bogeying four of his first six holes, but rallied on the back nine to finish tied for 21st with a 2-under-par 282. Justin Rose entered the final round one shot back of Woodland but made three bogeys on his final seven holes to finish tied for 3rd. On his 49th birthday, six-time U.S. Open runner-up, Phil Mickelson finished with a 4-over-par 288, having won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am earlier in the year at Pebble Beach.

2019 U.S. Open (golf)

79 players made the cut, including four amateurs. The leading amateur was Norwegian Viktor Hovland, who had qualified by winning the 2018 U.S. Amateur, which was also held at Pebble Beach. He finished tied for 12th at 4-under-par, to become first low amateur at the Masters and U.S. Open in the same season since Matt Kuchar in 1998.

The U.S. Open traditionally has a winning score around par, but a joint record 31 players finished under par for the tournament. This was partly attributed by the media to the soft conditions resulting from a marine layer, and relatively low wind speeds for a links-style course.

Venue

Course layout

Pebble Beach hosted the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February of the same year. The changes made to the course since that event include reducing par from 72 to 71, cutting the greens from .125" to .110", and growing the rough from 2" to between 3-5".

Previous course lengths for major championships

- par 71, 2010 U.S. Open

- par 71, 2000 U.S. Open

- par 72, 1992 U.S. Open

- par 72, 1982 U.S. Open

- par 72, 1977 PGA Championship

- par 72, 1972 U.S. Open

Prior to 2000, the 2nd hole was played as a par 5.

2019 yardages by round

Scoring average: 72.352

by round: 72.685, 72.571, 72.430, 71.190

Most difficult holes in relation to par: 10, 8 and 9, 9, 9

Source:

Field

About half the field consisted of players who are exempt from qualifying for the U.S. Open. Each player is classified according to the first category in which he qualified, and other categories are shown in parentheses.

1. Winners of the U.S. Open Championship during the last ten years

Lucas Glover, Dustin Johnson (9,11,12,13,14), Martin Kaymer, Brooks Koepka (7,9,11,12,13,14), Graeme McDowell, Rory McIlroy (6,7,8,9,12,13,14), Justin Rose (11,12,13,14), Webb Simpson (8,11,12,13,14), Jordan Spieth (5,6,13,14)

2. Winners of the 2018 U.S. Amateur, U.S. Junior Amateur, and U.S. Mid-Amateur, and runner-up of the 2018 U.S. Amateur Devon Bling (a), Viktor Hovland (a), Kevin O'Connell (a), Michael Thorbjornsen (a)

3. Winner of the 2018 Amateur Championship

Jovan Rebula (a)

4. Winner of the 2018 Mark H. McCormack Medal (men's World Amateur Golf Ranking) Braden Thornberry forfeited his exemption by turning professional in December 2018.