What a modern-day U.S. Open really means, from the man who runs it

In the last month, I’ve been drowning in the U.S. Open — and absolutely loving it. I’ve played both Erin Hills (this year’s U.S. Women’s Open site) and Oakmont (this year’s men’s U.S. Open site); I covered the USWO on the ground and will do the same at the men’s event next week; I’ve pored over the Final Qualifying scores and storylines; I’ve even talked with LPGA pro Linn Grant about how Brooks Koepka became a U.S. Open killer.

Then there was Saturday at Erin Hills and the fascinating conversation I had with John Bodenhamer, chief championships officer at the USGA, aka the man behind the U.S. Open. We chatted for half an hour on the back patio of the clubhouse — which was designed to mimic the hilltop vibes of another Open host, Shinnecock Hills — diving into what has worked, what hasn’t and what the U.S. Open really means.

Bodenhamer, in his mid-60s, is a font of knowledge. He knows what Ben Hogan did on the short par-4 17th at Oakmont in 1953 (drove the green, made birdie). He knows what Jack and Arnie did there, too, during their 1962 playoff (both played conservatively, made pars). 

To explain the Open ethos, Bodenhamer harkened back to Johnny Miller’s epic 63 at Oakmont in 1973. Miller viewed the course on any given day as if he were driving a car, with red-, yellow- and green-light hole locations. Green meant go, yellow meant maybe, red meant…advance at your own risk.

“We think about that a lot,” Bodenhamer told me. “We do think about giving them some green lights. It’s not like we go all out on every hole — we could make it a lot tougher than we make it. Twenty over could win if we wanted it to. We don’t want that.” 

Short Game

What the USGA does want is to showcase the “cathedrals” of the sport and conduct a test players believe is tough but fair. That’s when Bodenhamer was as transparent and vulnerable as any executive I’ve encountered in the golf industry. 

We chatted about the viability of Erin Hills hosting a men’s U.S. Open again, after red numbers defined its 2017 debut. We broke down the condition of the greens at Chambers Bay, which the pros decried in 2015. In between those topics was the Dustin Johnson victory at Oakmont, forever remembered for a lingering ruling that kept fans from knowing his score over the final six holes. 

“In no slight to anybody — I was part of it,” he began. “But it really became more about us than about these great venues and these great players. And I think we’ve refocused it to try to be less about what we do to the golf course than about the golf course and what the players do on the golf course. That’s really top of mind for us.”

Bodenhamer sees this mission clearly. He knows the USGA has made missteps but also that the association’s signature event is in a different era now, and the more time I spend around the Open, the more I find myself agreeing with him. Players love the test. Courses love being the test. And fans love watching the test.

We’ve got another special week coming up.