At 81 yards, the par-3 15th hole at Los Angeles Country Club on Saturday was the shortest hole in US Open history.
Only a golfer can understand the mental anguish such a bite-sized challenge entails, but here’s one way to understand the situation: No one likes a hole where it’s easier to throw the ball onto the green than to get it there. hit with a golf club.
On the third round, add a steeply sloped 15th green; three huge, menacing bunkers around the goal area; and gnarled, knee-high grass everywhere. And – oh, yes – the approach shot is uphill and there’s a gust of wind at the players’ backs.
Step straight up, who wants to be first? And you, Brooks Koepka, five-time main champion?
Didn’t Koepka suggest earlier this week that LA Country Club might be too easy? He said he was worried about a “birdiefest.” Perhaps he had in mind a gap of less than 100 yards. (The old record for the shortest US Open hole was 92 yards, set at the 2010 event.)
Koepka was three under par for his Saturday round and was firmly inside the top 10 as he moved to 15th. But his tee shot didn’t have the required touch and shot to the back of the green. His first putt was way too short. His next putt was way too long. The third putt just missed the hole. Koepka tapped in for a double bogey and is now extremely unlikely to win a sixth major at the Open this year.
Who’s next? Do not be shy.
Next, Tom Kim, the hottest golfer in Saturday’s early wave of players, came to the 15th tee. Kim made seven birdies as he tamed 5,637 yards of LACC terrain in his first 14 holes. He had just made par on the terrifying 627-yard, par-5 14th hole.
So, really, how hard can an 81-yard hole be?
Trying to play with finesse, Kim deftly flipped a neat little wedge. One problem: He was about six feet from the green and was rolling backwards into a gaping bunker. His blast from the sand bounced to the back of the green, 22 feet from the hole. Two putts and a bogey later, Kim walked away shaking his head as he stared over his shoulder at the 15th green.
After his round, Kim summed up the diabolical little test presented by the historic 15th hole on Saturday.
“If you’re tall, you’re dead,” he said. “When you’re little, you’re dead. You don’t want to jump to the left because then you have to go 40 feet down the hill. A bogey from 80 yards is not great statistically, but you know, a double bogey is definitely in play there.”
Kim finished the day three under par for the tournament and is still in contention.
Bryson DeChambeau, golf’s mad scientist, looked very determined during his time on the 15th tee. He didn’t even flinch when he was nearly hit by a foul shot off the 14th fairway from fellow player Keith Mitchell. DeChambeau threw a wedge to 10 feet and made par.
“I’m the luckiest man in the world to have hit that green,” he said. “Super happy.”
DeChambeau said he chose a 60-degree wedge and teed his golf ball extra high to create more spin and loft.
“Very difficult, demanding shot,” he added. “Par is a great score.”
Even if it’s only 81 meters?
“I’d rather it be longer tomorrow,” said DeChambeau, who finished three under par.
The 15th hole did not play as one of the most difficult holes on the golf course on Saturday. But it comes as a surprise that the average score on the hole was 2.92 with 11 birdies, four bogeys and one striking double bogey in the field of 65.
Forty-nine of the best golfers in the world made par, and no better, on an 81-yard hole. On the other hand, as is often said, golf is a game of opposites. For example, you have to hit the ball to make it go up. So in that way, the 15th hole in the third round of the 2023 National Golf Championship might have been perfect.
Shane Lowry, the 2019 British Open champion, may have put it best.
“It was different, and that’s interesting,” he said with a smile. “Other is okay. But I had a plan. The plan worked.”