Was the U.S. Open crowd and atmosphere a disappointment?
The worst U.S. Open ever! A joke! The crowd stinks!
Prior to the conclusion of the 123rd U.S. Open at the Los Angeles Country Club, some in social media had decided that the first championship in L.A. since 1948 was a dud.
Whether or not Wyndham Clark’s one-stroke victory changed minds about the legitimacy of LACC as a championship venue, the social media theme was that the event reportedly catered to an exclusive membership at the expense of the general public. The United States Golf Association brushed off those concerns on Sunday.
“It’s really easy to read negativity on social media and think they’re the only people who are paying attention and that the entire world feels this way,” said Beth Major, USGA’s managing director of communications. “That’s fine. That’s everyone’s right and they can interpret things the way they wish to. For every one of those we know there are way more people who have watched and really enjoyed it.”
Reports of smaller crowds at the behest of LACC, or chatter about tickets being purchased by the country club only to be ripped up in order to diminish attendance at the ultra-exclusive location were “completely inaccurate,” Majors said.
“We’re not sure where that notion came that the members bought up tons of tickets,” she added, “but even more confusing is the fact that they did so so people couldn’t be here on site.”
Thin crowds shots on television, especially along the first and final holes near the clubhouse, contributed to the perception that L.A. no-showed the first U.S. Open here in 75 years.
In reality, Majors said, a variety of factors — site size, venue layout, and spectator experience being the core concerns — prompted the USGA to cap daily ticket sales to general spectators at 22,000 (9,000 for the public and 13,000 for corporate hospitality locations dotting the north course).
A utilization rate of close to 90% — a high figure, per the USGA — plus event staff, volunteers, media and country club members brought the average daily attendance on the weekend close to 30,000, beating the 2022 Open at The Country Club, another older, smaller course, in Brookline, Mass., a suburb of Boston.
“For a smaller venue [LACC] is among the best we’ve ever had” in terms of attendance, Majors said.
CALIFORNIANS MAKE AN IMPACT
Despite falling down the scoreboard in the final round, Californian Rickie Fowler understandably dominated storylines starting on Thursday with a U.S. Open record 62 and the lead through 54 holes.
Others from the Golden State hoped to be in conversation but never quite got there.
After tying Fowler’s 62 on Thurs., 29-year-old San Diegan Xander Schauffele gave most of it back the next three days with scores of 70, 73 and 72 for a three-under 277 to share an 11th place finish.
The 26-year-old 2020 PGA Champion Collin Morikawa, of La Canada, carded a trio of 69s following an opening round 71 to finish -2, tying for 14th.
Long Beach-born Patrick Cantlay, 31, a familiar face at LACC during his days with the UCLA golf team when he was ranked the world’s No. 1 amateur for 54 weeks from 2011 to 2012, equaled Morikawa’s total of 278 thanks to a strong 4-under performance on the weekend.
Clovis bomber Bryson DeChambeau, the 29-year-old 2020 U.S. Open champion, never got going Sunday, shooting four-over on the day to close +1 and tied for 20th.
San Jose native Justin Suh, 26, the Pac-12 Player of the Year for USC in 2018, carded back-to-back 72s over the weekend to tie for 27th at 282.
Sahith Theegala, 25, a three-time NCAA All-American at Pepperdine University, joined Suh at +2 with a rollercoaster tournament (74, 66, 73, 69).
Veteran Charley Hoffman, 46, qualified on golf’s longest day, advancing through a 3-for-2 playoff at Hillcrest Country Club in west L.A. The four-time PGA Tour winner struggled on the weekend coming in eight over par to close his eighth U.S. Open tied for 49th (+6).
BY THE NUMBERS
4 – Clark is the fourth U.S. Open winner in the last 100 years to do so after making his first cut in the championship
6 – Gordon Sargent became the sixth amateur with a pair of U.S. Open rounds in the 60s, leading to his low amateur honors at +4, 284.
63 – The lowest final round score for a U.S. Open was equaled by Tommy Fleetwood, the second time for the Englishman and the seventh overall
71.76 – The lowest scoring average in U.S. Open history