With the U.S. Open coming back to The Country Club at Brookline for the fourth time, here are 8 statistics to think about come Thursday.
1. Brookline as it was built: an homage to Francis Ouimet.
Much changes at The Country Club between each U.S. Open. Order of holes, par of the course, and minor redesigns alter the experience for players. This year, the 131-yard par-3 11th hole will return to the scorecard, absent since 1913 where Francis Ouimet gained a shot on his playoff opponents.
2. Brookline couldn’t stop Francis Ouimet, but the Stimpmeter could.
Brookline is home to the first Amateur to win the U.S. Open, Francis Ouimet. While Ouimet conquered Brookline in 1913, he lost to Edward Stimpson, inventor of the Stimpmeter, in a fourball match about twenty years later. Guess where Stimpson’s home course was? The Country Club at Brookline.
3. Players could go low, relatively speaking.
The most recent of three U.S. Opens played at Brookline yielded 11 championship scores under par. This 1988 championship alone places Brookline 6th all time for most 72-hole sub-par totals.
4. 29 watch?
In 1988, Peter Jacobsen set the record for second-most consecutive 3s in a round, doing so on the first seven holes of Brookline. He finished with 64, the second-lowest final round score in the U.S. Open. The front nine is par 34, so a number in the 20s is out there for just the fifth time in this event’s long history.
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5. A 39-year generational gap.
Fran Quinn, the oldest player in the field at 57, was not planning on trying to qualify for this year’s U.S. Open until he realized he lived 40 minutes away from Brookline. And 18-year-old Nicholas Dunlap, the youngest player, was only 17 when he won the U.S. Junior Amateur, earning him an exemption spot in the field.
6. He’s still here.
Despite his departure from the PGA Tour to join LIV Golf, the 122nd U.S. Open is Phil Mickleson’s 31st start, moving him to 6th all-time in appearances. Mickleson needs the U.S. Open to complete his career grand slam, and he’s knocked on the door six times, with runner-ups in 1999, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2009, and 2013.
7. Brookline played harder back in the day.
The Country Club beat down on the field in the 1963 U.S. Open, producing the highest ever winning score post WWII of 293 (nine over). A double bogey on 17 from Jacky Cuput forced a three-man playoff with Arnold Palmer and Julius Boros, who proceeded to win.
8. Rory McIlroy destined for 6th place?
Coming off his second straight RBC Canadian Open win, Rory is the betting favorite at +1100, but history likes his chances to finish 6th, too. His last three U.S. Open finishes are 9th, 8th, and 7th in 2019 through 2021, respectively. Hey, it could happen?