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SA’s new boykies set to star at US Open
South Africa has two new sensations that hit the world stage recently in Garrick Higgo and Wilco Nienaber and they will form part of a nine-strong contingent from the Rainbow Nation at the US Open at Torrey Pines South Course this week.
Higgo got a taste of the big time at the PGA Championship where he made his Major debut and finished in a respectable tie for 64th. Not only did he earn the plaudits of the golfing world for his display but the fact that he made it to the weekend on a course that got the better of the likes of Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas, who failed to make the cut, would have done his confidence the world of good.
That was just the beginning of a whirlwind ride for the 22-year-old… Next up was an invitation to the Palmetto Championship where the leftie would make his PGA Tour debut.
And what a debut it would turn out to be…
Having quietly gone about his business while Wilco got all the attention for his incredible distance off the tee, Higgo would ultimately emerge as the latest golfing sensation to emerge from the Rainbow Nation.
The two got off to fantastic starts and after making the cut they were paired together for the third round, which would have been very comforting to both having grown up playing together in South Africa. The after the third-round scores were tallied though Higgo was in contention and would go off in the penultimate pairing on Sunday while Nienaber slipped down the pecking order.
Wilco had a blinder of a Sunday, carding a 67 which included an eagle at the driveable par-4 third, but he started too far back to really mount a title challenge.
And if Wilco had a good day the Higgo had the best day. Higgo looked nervous on the front nine, making the turn at even for the day but it was the eagle at 12 and the birdie at 14 that would see him hunt down the overnight leader Chesson Hadley. Hadley headed to the 18th tied with Higgo and par would have sent the pair to a playoff. But Hadley fluffed his lines carded a third straight bogey and handed Higgo victory on his debut on the PGA Tour.
Gary Player was so eager to congratulate the man from Stellenbosch that Higgo took his phone call during a press conference and the pair shared an incredible exchange on speakerphone. If Mr Player’s assessment of Higgo is anything to go by then he could go on to match if not surpass the achievements of the Black Knight himself.
There is no doubt that after their exploits at Congaree that both Wilco and Garrick will have as much confidence in their ability to tee it up with the best-of-the-best and even go on to win a Major, if not at Torrey Pines then definitely in the near future.
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BROADCAST DETAILS (all times SA, CAT, GMT+2)
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Day 1 - Thursday 17 June
Early Coverage | SS Golf - 15:45-20:00
Main Feed | SS Golf & SS Grandstand | 20:00-04:00
Day 2 - Friday 18 June
Early Coverage | SS Golf - 15:45-20:00
Main Feed | SS Golf - 20:00-04:00 | SS Grandstand - midnight-04:00
Day 3 - Saturday 19 June
Early Coverage | SS Golf - 15:45-19:00
Main Feed | SS Golf - 19:00-03:00 | SS Grandstand - midnight-03:00
Day 4 - Sunday 20 June
Early Coverage | SS Golf - 15:45-18:00
Main Feed | SS Golf - 18:00-02:00 | SS Grandstand - midnight-02:00
For some time Louis Oosthuizen has been SA’s only realistic hope at Major championships and after yet another near miss, with another runner-up finish at the PGA, smooth-swinging technician will be eager to prove that he is not ready to hand the mantle over the young guns just yet. Louis has been playing some fantastic golf and it feels like he is just one good break away from finally lifting his second Major title.
Christian Bezuidenhout joins Louis, Garrick and Wilco as the players who gained entry to the US Open via exemption while the rest of the boykies had to do it the hard way via the US Open Qualifiers on what is known in the United States as ‘Golf’s Longest Day’.
Erik van Rooyen’s, Dylan Frittelli, Charl Schwartzel booked their spots at Torrey Pines via the Brookside Golf and Country Club and the Lakes Golf and Country Club in Columbus, Ohio while Thomas Aiken and Branden Grace came through from the event at Jupiter, Florida.
BROOKS V BRYSON ADDS EXTRA SPICE
Bryson DeChambeau would have had enough on his plate heading to the US Open as the defending champions but his beef with Brooks Koepka will add an extra dimension of difficulty to his week at Torrey Pines.
The two have been trading jabs for some time over the last couple of years but things seem to be heating even more up after the incident at the PGA Championship.
A rogue video emerged (and was promptly scrubbed from twitter) after the final round at Kiawah Island that show Brooks lose his cool as Bryson walks by while he was giving an interview. After an eye-roll, the magnitude of which would have made any mere mortal dizzy, and an expletive-laden rant by Brooks it was clear to everyone that the feud between the two was set to go into overdrive.
Fast-forward to the Memorial and in Brook’s absence his fans took the fight into their own hands by heckling Bryson with taunts of ‘Brooksy’, a display that promptly got them kicked off the course.
Not one to miss an opportunity, Koepka took to social media to offer up a case of beers to anyone who was ejected, further fueling the fire that is burning between the two.
Brooks has gone on to say that the animosity between himself and Bryson is good for the game of golf but that sentiment is not echoed by all in the game with many saying it is against the spirit of golf.
Much like a train wreck it is hard to take your eyes off this story and hopefully at Torrey Pines we get to see the pair out on the course together where they can let their talent do the talking.
June 5, 2021
LEFTIE UP FOR IT
After becoming the oldest Major winner in the history of the game Phil Mickelson has once again vaulted himself into contention as a pre-tournament favourite ahead of any Major championship.
Phil has never been one to shy away from the spotlight and he is loving the attention the world is throwing his way.
The US Open now stands as the only Major he has yet to win and the record six runner-up finishes is surely an accolade he would like to forget about. The World Golf Hall of Famer heads to Torrey Pines full of confidence this week and it would take a brave man to write off his chance of completing a Career Slam.
SOUTH COURSE
* Click here for the Course Guide *
The South Course at Torrey Pines will the be arena at which the world’s top golfers put their skills to the test as they hunt down US Open glory.
The last time the course hosted the US Open, in 2008, Tiger Woods walked away with his 14th Major title a victory that was proceeded by an 11-year Major drought.
The course was redesigned after that feat by Rees Jones in 2019, who was responsible for the South Course’s first facelift in 2001, so it will play longer and more difficult than it did in 2008.
Having won the Farmers Insurance Open here in 2019 and 2020 Marc Leishman and Patrick Reed will have very fond memories of the South Course and will looking to be right up there come Sunday.
The notoriously tough course will provide the ultimate test for the golfers this week and when the winner emerges on Sunday it will be fair to say that he more than earned the title.
UP FOR GRABS
The US Open Championship Trophy can be traced back to the inaugural US Open at Newport Golf Club in 1895. The 18-inch tall, 6-inch wide, 8.5-pound heavy, sterling silver trophy was originally commissioned by the United States Golf Association and made by the Gorham Company.
The winner only gets to hold on to the trophy for a year before returning it at the next edition of the tournament but receives a gold medal (named the Jack Nicklaus Medal in 2012) as a permanent ‘trophy’.
The current trophy is actually a replica of a replica of the original, which was lost in a fire. Lloyd Mangrum, the 1946 winner, took the trophy to his Chicago-area club (Tam O'Shanter) where the clubhouse and the original trophy was destroyed in the blaze. In 1986 the first replica was retired to the USGA Golf Museum and replace with another replica and replaced by a second replica that remains in service today
The 2021 purse will be $12.5 million, the highest among golf’s major championships; the winner will earn approximately $2.25 million.
Among the benefits enjoyed by the US Open winner are:
- A US Open exemption for the next 10 years
- An invitation to the next five Masters Tournaments
- An invitation to the next five Open Championships, conducted by The R&A
- An invitation to the next five PGA Championships
- An invitation to the next five Players Championships
- Exempt status on the PGA Tour for five years
The top 10 finishers (and ties) are exempt into the following year’s US Open. The top four finishers (and ties) are invited to the following year’s Masters Tournament.
RECORDS
Willie Anderson 1901, 1903–1905; Bobby Jones 1923, 1926, 1929–30; Ben Hogan 1948, 1950–51, 1953; Jack Nicklaus 1962, 1967, 1972, 1980 jointly hold the record for the most US Open title, each of them winning it on four occasions.
Of the record holders, Anderson is the only player in the history of the tournament to win it three times in a row while John McDermott, Bobby Jones, Ralph Guldahl, Ben Hogan, Curtis Strange and Brooks Koepka each managed to defend their title once.
Brooks Koepka and Rory McIlroy both hold the honour of posting the lowest tournament scores, which they achieved with their victories in 2017 and 2011 respectively, while Tiger Woods has the largest winning margin with his 15-stroke victory in 2000.
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