US Open 2023: Time for merger 'noise' to die down and clubs do talking again in majors

It’s time to put the ‘noise’ to one side and let the world’s top golfers shine again. As was the case when Jon Rahm was crowned as a deserved Masters champion in April. And also when Brooks Koepka emerged as an equally- worthy winner in last month’s PGA Championship

No-one saw a shock twist in golf’s tumultuous tale coming, with last week’s announcement of a commercial merger between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund having led to claims of “betrayal” and a feeling of “confusion” as the sport’s civil war appeared to have been ended.

But, as was the case at Augusta National and Oak Hill in those two previous majors this season, the third one, the 123rd US Open starting at The Los Angeles Country Club on Thursday, will provide an opportunity for the game to be in the spotlight rather than the politics that have engulfed it over the past 12 months.

“I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t care that much,” admitted world No 2 Rahm, speaking earlier this week, of how he feels about the situation off the course and it could be quite a while before anyone actually finds out what the landscape at the top level in the men’s game is going to look like now the goalposts appear to have been moved.

Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka wait on the 11th tee during a practice round for the 123rd US Open at The Los Angeles Country Club. Picture: Harry How/Getty Images.

One thing for sure, though, is that the four majors, no matter how much Saudi money might be pumped into the game, will always provide the driving force when it comes to the top players trying to create a legacy and secure a place among the greats of the game.

“I don't know, probably growing up,” replied Koepka, who now has five majors to his name, in reply to being asked about the point in his career when he started to realise the importance of the game’s biggest events bringing out the best in players.

“I think one thing that was always kind of harped on me was you knew how many majors Jack [Nicklaus] has, you knew how many Tiger [Woods] has, you knew how many Arnold Palmer has, you knew how many Gary Player, [Tom] Watson, all these legends, but I never knew how many PGA Tour events or wins they had totalled.”

Of the current generation, Koepka looks to have the best major mentality and, on the back of becoming the first LIV Golf player to land one of the game’s most-coveted titles, the American now has No 6 in his sights in southern California over the next four days.

World No 2 and Masters champion Jon Rahm gestures during a practice round prior to the 123rd US Open in Los Angeles. Picture: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images.

“I just love when I guess maybe somewhere closer to even par wins,” he said of two of his triumphs having come in the US Open, first landing the prize in 217 at Erin Hills then successfully defending it 12 months later at Shinnecock Hills. “If it's going to be a birdie-fest where 20, 21-under wins, that's really not the style. I really don't even think I've competed in many golf events over my career where that's happened.

“The majority of my wins, they're all pretty much 10-under and less, which is kind of suited to major championship golf. I just feel like I can outlast everybody when it comes to having to par things to death or just kind of wearing guys out on the golf course and just mentally beating you and knowing when it's my time to kind of take that opportunity and go with it.”

Due to the fact the USGA event is being held for the first time at the ultra-exclusive Los Angeles Country Club - the initiation fee is between $300,000-500,000 and monthly dues are $20,000-30,000 - it’s a new test for most players in the field but not everyone. World No 1 Scottie Scheffler and two-time major winner Collin Morikawa played for the US in a winning Walker Cup there in 2017 while Rahm teed up at the course just off Wilshire Boulevard in a college event when he was at Arizona State.

“The golf course has changed quite a bit since,” he observed, “But still a great golf course, great design, has the potential to be one of the best US Opens we've seen. I think it's deceptively wide. Those fairways look bigger than they play. It's a design that makes you think. It's very intricate green complexes. You've got to play the angles a little bit and, if you miss the greens, you're going to find yourself in some interesting spots to get up-and-down. It's got everything. It's got all the ingredients to be a great week.”

In at least one round, players will tackle two par 3s in the space of just five holes that will require different skills. The 11th will need a hefty blow at 280 yards whereas it will be just a flick from 80 yards at the 15th. But don’t be fooled into thinking that distance alone provides the biggest test. “It's a hole that gives you a lot to think about,” said Rahm of the 15th. “I wish we saw more of them like that.”

For both Morikawa and world No 7 Max Homa, this event provides a dream opportunity to taste major glory in their home city, where, of course, it would be Hollywood blockbuster material if Phil Mickelson, who was at the heart of that civil war breaking out, delivered another sensational storyline by completing a career grand slam by landing the one big prize to have eluded him so far.

Matthew Fitzpatrick, the defending champion, spearheads a strong English contingent but, sadly at a venue where Macdonald Smith won the Los Angeles Open in 1934, the 156-strong field doesn’t include a single Scot on this occasion. From a parochial point of view, that is certainly disappointing, but, when it comes to majors, it’s more about the wider perspective and, if we get more of the same after the excitement and energy delivered by The Masters and PGA Championship, it should be another winning week for golf on one of its main stages.