2024 U.S. Open: Cutmakers
The (almost) winners and somewhere-in-betweens from a special week in Pinehurst.
Time for those positive* stories from a fun week in Pinehurst.
Cutmakers
Patrick Cantlay. He was in the mix and a birdie combined with a DeChambeau bogey would have put Cantlay in a playoff. The T3 finish ties his best major finish and was impressive given that it seemed like Cantlay held it together without his A game.
Scottie Scheffler. A made cut on the number turned out to be the Masters champion’s highlight for the week. He did not post an under-par round, made just four birdies, and recorded the first birdie-free round of his pro career. A tired Scheffler acknowledged that the previous week’s win under almost-U.S. Open conditions may permanently change his pre-major approach. “I think going into the major championships, especially the ones we know are going to be really challenging, it may be in my best interest not to play the week before.”
Sergio Garcia. The 44-year-old recorded an impressive T12 after making it to Pinehurst as a Final Qualifying alternate. This was the Fireball captain’s best finish and first top 20 in a major since winning the 2017 Masters. He even recorded his first bogey-free U.S. Open round. Not so hot was a Fire Ball Red ensemble for the final round.
Tiger Woods. The legend arrived Sunday under the watchful eye of son Charlie and put in the effort to get acclimated by playing his first three days of practice. He gave a nice speech in accepting the Bob Jones Award and was more competitive than the weekend in Augusta or during a short appearance at Valhalla. Driving was not the issue: Woods hit 21 of 28 fairways but missed too many greens (19/36 GIR) while his putting continues to look rusty (62 in two rounds). He’s got one more start at Troon to see if there is anything left in the tank.
Ratings. NBC set a golf streaming record and had its best East Coast U.S. Open since 2013 at Merion. The final round earned a 2.8 Nielsen rating and 5.9 million average viewership, of which 350,000 were streaming according to Adobe Analytics. The final round was up 5% from 2022’s edition at The Country Club. Viewership was down 6% over last year’s West Coast edition in Los Angeles. According to Sports Media Watch, the audience peaked with a combined linear and streaming audience of 11.4 million, 600,000 of those bravely navigating the NBC Sports app or the more user-friendly Peacock. Hitting 11.4 million was the best peak since 2015’s wild West Coast finish at Chambers Bay. However, the household rating was the lowest on record, excluding 2020’s September edition played against NFL action. Third round action on Saturday drew a 2.0 and 3.56 million, down 14% and 11% from last year.
Slow Play Policing. It was nice seeing officials whizzing around in carts and parking in fairways right behind slow groups. However, bad times were rarely dispensed, including on Thursday when the Woods-Zalatoris-Fitzpatrick group was warned multiple times. In a move that could have only been passive-aggressive because he’s probably the fastest player in the field, Fitzpatrick pitched a tent on the 3rd fairway Thursday in an apparent protest after being asked to speed up. He received a second visit as he walked to the green still did not elicit a bad time that would lay the groundwork for a penalty stroke. No wonder the first two rounds took over 5:30 and set up a ridiculously quick turnaround for the late-early gang.
The USGA App. An upgrade added better functionality and an interactive course map that pretty much eliminates the need for paper pairing sheets (assuming a good cell signal which seemed to be the case thanks to the USGA nudging providers pre-championship). Two gripes: (A) it’s 2024 and we still can’t get an iPad version of the app that allows for full-screen viewing, and, (B) at the PGA scores were included when tapping on a group in the map but the USGA’s only provided then names. Still, it’s a handy feature that impressed gallery members shown how it works.
Putter Boy. He’s been around since 1913 and the kid hasn’t grown up. He’s not to blame for last week’s Children of the Corn vibe outside the Trophy Wives Club: