PINEHURST, N.C. — Patrick Cantlay is on the short list of the best golfers without a major title. He’s off to a good start to remove his name from that list.
The eight-time PGA Tour winner and ninth-ranked player in the world shot 5-under 65 Thursday morning at Pinehurst No. 2 in the opening round of the 124th U.S. Open, leading by one over Ludvig Åberg with the afternoon wave still set to tee off.
Cantlay, a 32-year-old California native who played collegiately at UCLA, is making his 30th major start. He has never missed a cut in the U.S. Open, with high finishes of T14 the last two years.
On Thursday Cantlay made six birdies against just one bogey at perilous Pinehurst No. 2, where domed green complexes repel shots in all directions and act as the course’s primary defense against the game’s best players. Cantlay had just 23 putts.
THISCLOSE to the lowest round in U.S. Open history at Pinehurst. 😮
Two-time U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka, for example, shot 33 on the front nine and got to 3 under through 10 holes but gave all that back with three bogeys in a four-hole stretch and shot even-par 70.
Åberg, a 24-year-old Swede ranked sixth in the world, shot 4-under 66 in his first U.S. Open round. Pavon, a native of France who was a surprise winner earlier this year at Torrey Pines, got to 5 under through 10 holes with eagles on both of Pinehurst's par 5s but made two bogeys the rest of the way to shoot 67.
Tony Finau, who has won six times on Tour and is also in the best-without-a-major conversation, shot 68.
Sam Bennett, Corey Conners, Sergio Garcia, S.H. Kim and Aaron Rai all posted 1-under 69s from the morning wave. Garcia, a player on LIV Golf, is making his 25th consecutive U.S. Open start after making the field as alternate from last week’s 36-hole final qualifying. His 69 featured 17 pars and one birdie—good for the sixth bogey-free round in four U.S. Opens played at Pinehurst No. 2.
Tiger Woods shot 4-over 74, playing for the first time since missing the cut at last month’s PGA Championship. Phil Mickelson, who like Woods played at Pinehurst’s first U.S. Open in 1999, shot 9-over 79 with nine bogeys and no birdies.
The 2024 U.S. Open begins on Thursday, June 13 and runs through Sunday, June 16 at Pinehurst Course No. 2 in North Carolina.
With the tournament around the corner, fans can still snag tickets to attend the third golf major of the year to see the top golfers in the world.
There's a variety of tickets fans can purchase to enjoy the event at Pinehurst, ranging from just a single day ticket to multi-day passes to V.I.P. club packages. It all depends what the fan wants to see and do while attending the tournament.
Here's more information about specific ticket prices to attend the 2024 U.S. Open.
How Much Does It Cost for a Single Day Pass to the 2024 U.S. Open?
Fans can go just one of the four days to the U.S. Open. If fans want to have the ability to walk the course alongside their favorite golfers for a cheaper price, the gallery tickets are the way to go. The cheapest gallery tickets are selling on the official U.S. Open site for $175 plus fees for Thursday's round, while Saturday's third round is the most expensive ticket for $235 plus fees. Both Friday and Sunday are selling for $225 plus fees.
Resale websites, such as StubHub, are selling tickets at a cheaper rate. For instance, a gallery ticket for Thursday is selling for $117 plus fees, while Saturday's round is set at $175 plus fees.
How Much Does It Cost for a Grandstand Ticket on the 11th Green?
The U.S. Open is selling specific tickets for fans to be able to sit in the grandstand bleachers on the 11th green throughout the tournament. On the official tournament website, Thursday's grandstand tickets are selling for $325 plus fees, while Sunday's final round is selling for $350 plus fees. Both Friday and Saturday are sold out on the website.
Fans will still have access to the entire Pinehurst Course No. 2 with these tickets, they will just have the opportunity to sit on the 11th green. Seating is determined on a first-come, first-serve basis.
How Much Does It Cost for a Daily Garden Ticket?
The U.S. Open also has a special Daily Garden package for this year's tournament. These tickets include access to a reserved area that mimics an outdoor bar. Food and beverage packages can be added on to this ticket.
The Daily Garden tickets for Thursday are selling for $260 plus fees, Friday is sold out, Saturday is selling for $325 plus fees and Sunday is selling for $300 plus fees.
How Much Does It Cost to Sit in the Carolina Club at the 2024 U.S. Open?
The hottest tickets for purchase, and the most expensive, are for the Carolina Club at Pinehurst Course No. 2. These tickets include an air-conditioned facility on the 16th tee box, all-inclusive food and beverage and access to the gallery and Daily Garden.
On the official tournament website, only tickets for Sunday's final round are still available for the Carolina Club, selling at $850 plus fees.
In 2001, a 21-year-old Adam Scott played in the British Open. He hasn’t missed a major championship since—a run of 91 consecutive—but will now need a little luck to extend his impressive streak.
Scott made a par to fellow Australian Cam Davis’s birdie on the third playoff hole Monday at Springfield Country Club in Springfield, Ohio, losing in a playoff for a qualifying spot at next week’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2. A total of 44 spots were up for grabs at 10 courses across the U.S. and Canada after marathon 36-hole qualifiers.
PGA Tour members Zac Blair and Beau Hossler took two of the top four spots in Springfield, shooting 9 under and 8 under. Carson Schaake also shot 8 under, while Scott and Davis shot 7 under and went to the playoff.
Scott will be an alternate (the USGA uses an undisclosed system for allocating alternates across all sites), but chances are that won’t get him into the U.S. Open. He can still get in if he’s in the top 60 of the World Golf Ranking on June 10, the Monday of the tournament. He sits at No. 60 in the world but is not playing in this week’s Memorial Tournament on the PGA Tour, whose results could shuffle that top 60 cutoff.
Another notable player not advancing is LIV Golf’s Joaquin Niemann, who along with fellow LIV player Anirban Lahiri finished one shot out of a playoff in Jupiter, Fla. The Chilean had earned special invitations to the Masters and PGA Championship and has a spot in the British Open but will not play in the U.S. Open. Fellow LIV golfer Dean Burmester will be at Pinehurst after claiming one of the five available spots in Jupiter, as will Matt Kuchar and Daniel Berger.
Berger missed the cut at the 2022 U.S. Open and did not play again on the PGA Tour until last January due to persistent back pain.
“This is the first time I’ve walked 36 holes in like three years,” Berger said after advancing at the Bear’s Club, his home course.
Seven LIV golfers in all failed to advance from the Jupiter qualifier, including 2010 U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell.
LIV’s David Puig advanced from a qualifier in Daly City, Calif.
Webb Simpson, the 2012 U.S. Open champion, will play in his home state next week after advancing from a qualifier at the Duke University Golf Club in Durham, N.C. Also qualifying was Harry Higgs, who won back-to-back events recently on the Korn Ferry Tour, PGA Tour pro Chesson Hadley and Sam Bennett, who won the 2022 U.S. Amateur and was in the hunt as an amateur at the 2023 Masters.
Full U.S. Open final qualifying results can be found here.
The U.S. Ryder Cup team has yet to pick a captain for 2025. But it does have a team manager, a new role created recently and announced last week by the PGA of America.
The person taking on the task called it a “dream job,” although it has never been a job until now.
And yet, John Wood—former caddie, current on-course TV reporter—seems perfect for the role that the PGA said would be one of consulting with the captain, assistants, players and PGA of America management on strategy and operational issues.
As someone who has been involved in nine Ryder Cups, including six as a caddie, Wood sees himself as perhaps a missing piece that saves time for those doing the heavy lifting at a Ryder Cup.
“I think something as simple as scheduling the week of (the Ryder Cup) can be streamlined,” Wood told Sports Illustrated. “Something like even team pictures being done before a practice round that always seems to take longer than it should.
“That can be done the first evening they are there, so as not to disrupt any practice schedules or training that the players are used to doing. And depending on the captain, I think there will be things I can be a sounding board on long before the assistants are chosen.
“And I think I will be able to plan ahead more, especially from a year out.”
Wood was undoubtedly chosen because he has a good relationship with those involved in the Ryder Cup, including Tiger Woods, who may or may not be the captain, with a decision imminent.
At the PGA Championship, Woods expressed concerns about the time demands of the captaincy given his own priorities, including being on the PGA Tour Policy Board. It appears that the PGA of America and CEO Seth Waugh are willing to give Woods the time he needs to make a decision.
There have been no obvious backup choices, although Stewart Cink—who was an assistant to Zach Johnson last year in Rome—and even Fred Couples, a three-time Presidents Cup captain and an assistant on numerous teams, have been mentioned.
Wood, in theory, could alleviate some of the duties that take up time for a captain.
He said he was first approached by the PGA of America a few months ago and the initial inquiries, he believed, were more centered on who he might advocate for the role or what the job could entail.
Wood caddied for Mark Calcavecchia at the 2002 Ryder Cup, Chris Riley (2004), Hunter Mahan (2008, 2010 and 2014) and Matt Kuchar in 2016. He also worked as a team assistant in 2018 and then the last two Ryder Cups on TV.
After some of those Ryder Cups, Wood offered some of his thoughts to the PGA in writing. It might typically be difficult for a caddie to speak up in such situations, but sometimes their perspective can be overlooked but valuable.
“Woody is one of the smartest guys I know,” Calcavecchia says. “He’s a great caddie. Great on TV. Just so knowledgeable about the game. I loved the three years he caddied for me. Such a perfect spot and honor for him and I know how passionate he is about the Ryder Cup. He’ll be amazing at whatever they need him to do. Love the guy to death.”
Wood will continue in his role with NBC Sports as an on-course reporter, but will not be part of the broadcast next year at the Ryder Cup at Bethpage.
“There is nothing in my career I’ve been more passionate about than the Ryder Cup,” he says.
The Americans have failed to win a road Ryder Cup since 1993 and are coming off a big defeat to Europe last year in Rome. But they’ve won the last two home Ryder Cups in 2016 and 2021. The Europeans will be looking to win their first road Ryder Cup since 2012 at Medinah.
Golf’s D-Day anniversary
The RBC Canadian Open managed to escape the week without the off-course drama that has enveloped it in recent years. The tournament was not played in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. In 2022, it was the played the same week as the first-ever LIV Golf event in London. Last year it followed the announcement of the June 6 “framework agreement” that dominated discussion during the week.
The one-year anniversary of that momentous announcement falls this week during the Memorial Tournament. The events have switched dates since the Memorial became a signature event and the PGA Tour wanted to move it to the week prior to the U.S. Open.
There figures to be plenty of discussion about the agreement this week, even though nothing has been completed. Plenty has changed in the golf world—the PGA Tour went ahead with plans to form a for-profit arm called PGA Tour Enterprises, got $1.5 billion of investment from a private equity company called Strategic Sports Group and outlined plans for players to get equity shares in the company over the next eight years.
But nothing has been decided with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, negotiations that are said to be ongoing as LIV Golf also plays its next event this week in Houston.
“Obviously a year later you would have thought we had a bit more clarity on that,” said Mackenzie Hughes, who has said previously he thinks all of the chatter is not good for the fans who want a resolution. “There’s not really much there. I think eventually when we get through this situation, I think golf will be in a great spot. But there’s a lot of hurdles to get over right now.”
Mackenzie Hughes acknowledged that fans are tired of hearing about pro golf's off-course battle. / Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
One, of course, is all the money talk. LIV Golf is backed by the PIF, a $700-billion-plus fund. The $1.5 billion in equity PGA Tour Enterprises is getting could grow to $3 billion and is meant to grow the business so players can cash in on their equity shares, with players being in line for millions down the road.
So far, nothing has been done to greatly enhance the product. And the top players are competing against each other only at the major championships.
“I think one of the biggest things I think about is the fan and how the fan has been affected by all this,” Hughes said. “The fans are just tired of hearing about it, tired of hearing about the money. I don't think the money that's going around is sustainable for golf. I would love for the game to kind of come back a little bit where it's like we're just, we're talking about the golf now, we're not talking about LIV, we're not talking about the money and these purses and all that sort of stuff. Because people don't care. People don't want to hear it. I've said this many times to, you know, the media, the Tour ... I feel like we're shoving it down people's throats.
“This (the Canadian Open) is a big tournament for me, I would say far bigger than the one next week (the Memorial), but next week’s worth $20 million, this one's worth, I don't know how many, whatever, but that's not something that I care or think about, but I'm here to win this trophy, it wouldn't matter if it was for a thousand bucks or a million bucks, I'm here to play well and win this tournament. I think it's become so much about the money and, again, I would say 99 percent of the people don't care, they don't want to hear it. So I think the state of the game, I would say right now it's not super healthy, because of the things we're focused on, but I think once we can kind of get past this stuff and maybe the deal happens or it doesn't happen, but we kind of get some clarity there, then we can kind of go forward.”
Golf’s longest day
The U.S. Open is next week at Pinehurst No. 2 but nearly one-third of the field is still to be determined. A good number of those players will come from final qualifiers at 10 North American locations on Monday, with one in Canada and the rest in the U.S.
There have already been 23 players who made it into the field via qualifying in Dallas, London and Japan on May 20. Another 44 players are expected to advance through on Monday, with the United States Golf Association holding a few spots back for players who can still make it via the top 60 in the Official World Golf Ranking as of June 10.
There are likely to be some withdrawals but for now there are 518 players are the 10 qualifying spots, with 84 players at a qualifier near San Francisco and 84 in Durham, N.C., having the most and Oregon, with 44, the least. The spots assigned to each site will not be disclosed until just before the events begin.
The Florida qualifier at the Bear's Club has 73 players, nine of whom play for LIV Golf including Joaquin Niemann, Branden Grace, Graeme McDowell and Charl Schwartzel. European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald is also at the Florida qualifier.
Stewart Cink, 51, is among those at the qualifier in Canada. Cink has played in 23 U.S. Opens. Charley Hoffman is also at that site.
LIV players Matt Jones and David Puig are at the qualifier in Lake Merced, Calif. Bill Haas and Webb Simpson are entered in the Durham qualifier, as is LIV player Harold Varner. Three-time major champion Padraig Harrington is among those at the Columbus, Ohio, qualifier.
Adam Scott, who has played in 91 consecutive majors dating to 2001, fell out of the top 60 in the OWGR again after his finish at the Canadian Open. He is scheduled to play in Springfield, Ohio.
The fields and scoring for all of the sites can be found here.
A bittersweet U.S. Women’s Open for Lexi ... and other notes
Lexi Thompson’s 18th U.S. Women’s Open did not go as she had hoped during a week in which she said this would be her last full season on the LPGA Tour. Thompson, just 29, played in her first U.S. Women’s Open at age 12. She turned pro at 15 and won as a teenager.
But she made clear last week that the demands of professional golf and expectations associated with it took a toll. She alluded to difficulty dealing with some of the criticism that often came her way. And she said the lifestyle can be lonely.
Lancaster (Pa.) Country Club proved to be difficult for numerous players and her scores of 78-75 missed the cut.
"Minus the golf, it was amazing,” Thompson said. “It wasn't the golf that I wanted to play honestly, but it was a special week, of course, with announcing what I did. To see all the parents out there and just to hear their chants and like 'Go Lexi's' made me smile every single shot even if I kept bogeying. It was a special week.”
Thompson said she appreciated the support.
“It's meant the world to me; like I said earlier in the week, this is where my whole dream got started,” she said. “When I was 12, I knew when I teed it up first at Pine Needles, that's where I wanted to be and playing against the best.
“To continue to do so and to be playing my 18th, though it wasn't the way I wanted to end it, it was always special every time I teed it up at the USGA events, so I cherished every moment that I had. I'm so blessed and grateful for the family I have.”
Thompson she hopes to make the U.S. Solheim Cup team and could still play selected events going forward. She has an app called “Lexi Fitness” that she is developing.
And a few more things
Robert MacIntyre’s victory at the RBC Canadian Open was his first on the PGA Tour after coming over this year via the DP World Tour exemption category. The win moves him well inside the top 60 in the Official World Golf Ranking and means he can avoid Monday’s 36-hole final qualifier he had signed up for in Canada. ... The Canadian Open was also a Open Qualifying Series event for the British Open at Royal Troon, with the top three players not otherwise exempt getting in the field. Those spots went to Ben Griffin, who finished second, and Mackenzie Hughes and Maverick McNealy, who tied for seventh. ... This week’s Memorial Tournament will offer one spot in the Open. The conclusion of the Memorial will also be a cutoff point for top 60 OWGR not otherwise exempt into the U.S. Open. ... Laurie Canter’s first victory on the DP World Tour at the European Open puts him in position to earn a PGA Tour card via the top 10 in the Race to Dubai not otherwise exempt. Canter is currently eighth after his victory. He’s also a reserve player for LIV, having competed in two events this year but none since February. The PGA Tour has stuck to a rule that makes you wait a year from your last LIV event to be able top play in a PGA Tour-sponsored event. ... The first round of the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 is in 10 days.
The U.S. Women's Open is set to begin Thursday at Lancaster Country Club in Pennsylvania.
As expected, Nelly Korda is a massive favorite to win her second Major of the year after having won five of her last six starts. If you want my best bets to win this weekend, you can find my full betting preview here.
In this article, we're going to focus on the opening round. If you don't have the patience to wait for all four rounds to see if your bet is going to win, consider betting on the "First Round Leader" market. It gives us something to cheer for on Thursday so can make the opening round more exciting.
Let's take a look at the first round leader odds and then I'll break down my best bet.
When targeting a golfer to lead after the first round, we want someone who can rack up birdies in a hurry who maybe we don't trust to do it all four rounds. Minjee Lee fits that description perfectly. She leads the LPGA in strokes gained approach (+1.69) but her short game is bound to let her down at some point during the tournament, which keeps her from the winner's circle.
Lee has also had her best stuff in the opening round this season. She's seventh on the LPGA in total strokes gained in Round 1.
Finally, she has historically excelled at the U.S. Open. She won this event in 2022 and finished T13 at the U.S. Open last season.
I'll back her to be the first round leader at 35-1.
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
Brandel Chamblee is taking one of NBC’s analyst chairs for next month’s U.S. Open.
The network had been rotating commentators through its main booth all season and plans had been unclear as to who would take the chairs for NBC’s biggest golf broadcast, but a release Monday morning announced the lineup.
Dan Hicks and Chamblee will work together, as will Mike Tirico and Brad Faxon, and the leading pairs will alternate holes in NBC’s main broadcast windows.
“This year we began utilizing an odd/even system of hole assignments for our commentator pairings,” said Sam Flood, executive producer and president, production, NBC Sports. “Our new approach lets our play-by-play announcers give more context for what’s happening, while creating more opportunities for our analysts and on-course reporters to engage with each other and break down the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ before and after each moment.”
NBC also announced that Jim “Bones” Mackay and Roger Maltbie will be on-course reporters and Gary Koch will be an analyst. Maltbie and Koch were let go as full-time voices at the end of 2022 as NBC said it was looking to “refresh” its lineup, but returned for the first two rounds of this year’s Players Championship and were well-received by fans.
In its main booth this year, NBC had used current PGA Tour pro Kevin Kisner and European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald along with Faxon, Chamblee, Notah Begay and Curt Byrum, not committing to anyone yet as the lead analyst.
Chamblee is NBC/Golf Channel’s leading commentator, known for sharp and well-versed opinions. During majors he’s a staple on Golf Channel’s Live From shows that air after each round. Monday's release did not include details on Live From the U.S. Open.
The U.S. Open is June 13-16 at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina and will be aired on NBC, Peacock and USA Network.
The United States Golf Association announced Thursday that the three-time U.S. Open champion has accepted a special exemption to the 124th edition of the championship, to be held June 13-16 at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina.
The Hall of Famer was not exempt for the tournament, the first time since the 1996 PGA Championship that he had not been exempt for a major. He got a five-year exemption into the U.S. Open for winning the 2019 Masters, which began with the 2019 edition and ended last year.
“The U.S. Open, our national championship, is a truly special event for our game and one that has helped define my career,” Woods said in a USGA release. “I’m honored to receive this exemption and could not be more excited for the opportunity to compete in this year’s U.S. Open, especially at Pinehurst, a venue that means so much to the game.”
Woods won the U.S. Open in 2000, 2002 and 2008. He last played it in 2020, missing the cut at Winged Foot in New York in a U.S. Open moved to September due to COVID-19.
“The story of the U.S. Open could not be written without Tiger Woods,” said USGA chief championships officer John Bodenhamer. “From his 15-stroke victory at Pebble Beach in 2000 to his inspiring win on a broken leg at Torrey Pines in 2008, this championship is simply better when Tiger is in the field, and his accomplishments in the game undoubtedly made this an easy decision for our special exemption committee.”
Woods played in last month’s Masters and finished 60th, last among players who made the cut after a weekend of 82-77. He has not officially committed to the PGA Championship in two weeks but an unveiling of his Sun Day Red apparel line is believed to be a clue that he will tee it up at Valhalla in Louisville, Ky.
The 15-time major winner is exempt for life into the PGA and the Masters and exempt until age 60 in the British Open.
Several LIV Golf League players will attempt to make the U.S. Open field via final qualifying next month.
Talor Gooch won’t be one of them.
The top player on LIV Golf in 2023 who won three times and captured the season-long points race said during a news conference in Singapore on Thursday that he would not be taking part.
He did not give a reason.
Gooch appeared alongside Smash GC teammates Brooks Koepka, Graeme McDowell and Jason Kokrak, and they were all asked if they would attempt to qualify for the U.S. Open, which will conduct 36-hole qualifiers around the country on May 3.
Both McDowell and Kokrak said they would not only attempt to qualify for the U.S. Open, but for the British Open as well—which will have final qualifying two weeks prior to the championship.
🏆🇺🇸 World #624 Talor Gooch on if he plans to play in a U.S. Open qualifying event: “I’m not.”
A total of 35 players from LIV are scheduled to play in final qualifying. Koepka, a two-time major winner and the reigning PGA champion, is exempt.
Gooch simply said: “I’m not.” And offered no explanation.
The one-time PGA Tour winner has been outspoken about not being included in the major championships.
Last year, he earned his way into the Masters and the British Open having finished in the top 30 in the 2022 PGA Tour FedEx Cup standings. But Gooch was miffed that the U.S. Open changed its rules to state that the same exemption would only go to a player “eligible” for the season-ending Tour Championship. Having gone to LIV Golf, Gooch was not eligible.
Earlier this year, Gooch made headlines when he said: “If Rory McIlroy goes and completes his (career) Grand Slam without some of the best players in the world, there is just going to be an asterisk. It’s just the reality.”
LIV Golf does not receive Official World Golf Ranking points for its events and many of its players have plummeted in the rankings while not earning points. Gooch, who was top 50 in the world around this time last year, has sunk to 624th in the OWGR. He is ranked 41st by Data Golf, which includes LIV tournaments.
He tied for 34th at the Masters last year and then missed the cut at the PGA Championship. He did not attempt to qualify for the U.S. Open and then missed the cut at The Open.
Gooch has no victories so far this year with LIV Golf but does have three top 10s. He is the defending champion of this week’s event in Singapore.
Among the LIV golfers scheduled to compete in final qualifying for the U.S. Open are Sergio Garcia, Patrick Reed and Henrik Stenson.
