By Rory Carroll
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Brooks Koepka criticized the Los Angeles Country Club on Friday, saying the North Course was yielding scores too low for a U.S. Open and finding fault with its unusual layout.
Koepka, who won the PGA Championship last month, is even par at the halfway point of a tournament where Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele on Thursday both shot eight-under 62s to set the record for lowest round in tournament history.
“I think it should be around par,” Koepka said when asked what an appropriate score should be at a U.S. Open, which prides itself on being the toughest challenge in golf.
“I’m not a huge fan of this place. I’m not a huge fan of blind tee shots, and then there’s just some spots that no matter what you hit, the ball just ends up in the same spot.”
The par-70 course nestled beside Beverly Hills features wide fairways, thick rough, a winding steep-walled ravine known as a barranca and four par-threes that vary dramatically in length.
The ultra exclusive club’s 14th tee is located within earshot of the Playboy mansion, where monkeys and other animals at the property’s zoo can be clearly heard.
Cloudy and cool conditions have also been a factor. Southern California has experienced an unusually aggressive marine layer for much of the spring that has blanketed Los Angeles in a stubborn layer of fog.
While not ideal for a day at the Santa Monica Pier, the cool and damp conditions played right into the hands of the players on Thursday and Friday morning as they took advantage of receptive fairways and greens.
Thursday saw the lowest first-round scoring average in U.S. Open history and sixth-lowest first-round scoring average in major championship history, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
But the sun finally began to shine and the wind began to blow on Friday afternoon.
“I think it will start to play firmer and faster as the weekend goes on,” said Australia’s Cam Smith after his second round 67.
As for Koepka, the five-time major winner has the weekend to turn it around and if he can’t, at least take comfort in the fact that the U.S. Open isn’t scheduled to return to the LACC until 2039.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
