5 days ago
PGA Tour Champ Predicts +5 US Open Winner amid Insane Conditions
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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Ben Griffin is one of the hottest players on the PGA Tour right now, having won two tournaments and finishing in the top 10 in two others over the past six weeks. He certainly deserves to be on cloud nine these days.
However, Griffin is absolutely grounded, as he's just one week away from making his US Open debut. In fact, he already had a practice round at the venue and was so impressed that he predicted a very bold winning score.
"It's extremely hard right now," he said during an interview with the popular Smylie Show podcast.
"This is actually going to be my first US Open, but I have played US Open practice rounds because I've been a first alternate a couple of times. So I've been on site at a few and this one's by far the hardest that I have played."
"I don't know what the definition of too hard is, but if five over par being a winning score is too hard, then that's probably Oakmont right now."
The native of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, claimed to have made three birdies and nine pars during his practice round, while making bogey or double bogey on the remaining holes. He described how easy it is to hit the rough, adding that even shots that appear to be going into the fairway often end up in the thickest part of the turf.
Griffin is so concerned about the challenges Oakmont will present to players, that he changed his travel plans for the weekend.
"I was planning on playing it Monday and then showing up on Sunday night and doing Monday through Wednesday. I'm flying in Saturday afternoon to get out there again Sunday, just because the green complexes are crazy."
There's no doubt that Oakmont will present a challenging golf course during the US Open. For several days, videos have circulated on social media showing the venue's setup, particularly the rough, leaving no doubt about its difficulty.
A ball lays in thick rough prior to the start of the Barclays Singapore Open at at the Sentosa Golf Club on November 6, 2012 in Singapore.
A ball lays in thick rough prior to the start of the Barclays Singapore Open at at the Sentosa Golf Club on November 6, 2012 in such as Adam Scott, Rory McIlroy, and reigning US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau have played practice rounds there, and their results confirmed their expectations.
Scott and McIlroy told Eamon Lynch of Golfweek that they both had difficulty scoring well during their practice rounds.
DeChambeau, for his part, posted a video on his YouTube channel, which has over 2 million subscribers, showing his practice round. The video clearly illustrates the challenging conditions they will face next week.
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