🏌🏻Scheffler vs The Rest For $21.5M

Good morning! Round 1 of the 124th US Open is underway - you can watch the morning coverage live on USA Network and the evening coverage on Peacock.

Key Tee Times (ET):
🏌🏻7:40 am: Thomas, Morikawa, Koepka
🏌🏻1:14 pm: McIlroy, Schauffele, Scheffler
🏌🏻1:25 pm: DeChambeau, Hovland, Homa

Today's Trivia: Rory McIlroy is the only player to finish in the top-10 at the US Open each of the last 5 years. Who was the last player to do it 6 years in a row? Answer at the end of the mail.

⛳ This day in history: On this date in 1953, Ben Hogan won his fourth US Open title, at Oakmont, to tie for the most ever with Bobby Jones and Willie Anderson. It was an incredible performance where he was five under par for 72 holes and won by six shots over Sam Snead.

19th Hole
Clubhouse Conversations

ALBATROSS
US Open To Offer Record Purse

The 2024 US Open Champion will earn $4.3 million of a $21.5 million purse - the largest ever awarded in a men's major championship.

The purse is a $1.5 million increase from last year's US Open at Los Angeles Country Club. It's the second-largest purse offered on tour this season; the Players Championship had a $25 million purse in March with winner Scottie Scheffler taking home $4.5 million.

⛳️ Pinehurst's Unique Challenge: The greens at Pinehurst are shaped like upside-down bowls, with the highest point at the center, resembling a turtle shell. The sharply sloping edges deflect inaccurate shots into deep bunkers and sandy areas.

Pinehurst No 2's turtleback greens, designed by Donald Ross in 1907, weren't initially this severe. Originally lower with subtle slopes, the greens' current shape resulted from decades of aggressive topdressing with sand and clay.

While these challenging greens will entertain U.S. Open fans, some players are less enthusiastic about how they'll play.

🚫 Tricky Cutline: The US Open offers perhaps the most challenging cut line in professional golf - top 60 players (out of 156) and ties will make the 36-hole cut.

It’s a contrast from the season’s other majors – the PGA Championship and The Open Championship each take 70 players and ties through 36 holes.

🌦️ Weather Watch: The weather forecast for the US Open looks to be the best of the Majors so far this year, with temperatures reaching up to 96F and a low chance of rain.

While the first two days look to be hot and dry, there is a 40% chance of some precipitation on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon. At those times, there is the potential chance of a thunderstorm.

TWEET
Worth Mentioning

EAGLE
Pros Make Interesting Equipment Tweaks Ahead Of 3rd Major

Three former Major winners have made interesting tweaks to their equipment setup ahead of this week's US Open - here's the gear you'll see them use at Pinehurst No 2.

🏌‍♀Matt Fitzpatrick: After recently talking about his need to add spin and control to his iron game, this week at Pinehurst Fitzpatrick has moved into a fresh set of Titleist T100 irons from his previous Ping Blueprint S irons.

The thin soles of the T100s are helping Matt get through the firm sandy turf on Pinehurst No 2 better and a combination of the extra spin and ground interaction are what led to the change.

🏌‍♀Sergio Garcia: Garcia is known to change putters frequently and this week he'll use a Never Compromise Reserve Model 4 - this marks one of the first times a new Never Compromise Reserve putter has arrived at a major championship.

Garcia has his putter fitted with a BGT Stability graphite putter shaft.

🏌‍♀Bryson DeChambeau: DeChambeau will be debuting new equipment designed to his own specifications.

It is his iron 5, which DeChambeau conceived and had built with a curvature that runs horizontally, from tip to grip. The irons usually have a curvature that runs from top to bottom.

This new iron 5 was approved by the United States Golf Association (USGA) just before the Masters, an event in which he debuted a set of 3D printed irons that helped him finish in the Top 5.

LOCKER ROOM
What else is making news

Swing Consultant: Tiger Woods will have son Charlie Woods as his swing coach at this week's US Open.

NBC Coverage: A major change has been announced for how golf fans can watch this week's US Open, with streaming service Peacock to exclusively show some of the action - they will take over from NBC from 5pm ET as players finish their day.

New Pathway: USGA is considering a new pathway into future US Opens for top LIV Golf players - here's how.

Solheim Cup: World No 1 Nelly Korda has mathematically clinched a spot on the US Solheim Cup team - she currently has 2,604 points in the point standings.

BIRDIE
These Worrying Stats Suggest Tiger Will Struggle At US Open

Tiger Woods has battled away this year but it's been far from vintage in terms of his stats - with some alarming ones showing why Pinehurst may be too much for him at the US Open.

📌 Woods is a combined +24 for the seven full rounds he's played so far in 2024.

📌 With 20 birdies, Woods averages under three per round, which is miles behind Scottie Scheffler's PGA Tour leading 5.22. The PGA Tour average is 3.77 and only two average worse than Woods' 2.8.

📌 In the Strokes Gained: Total category, Woods' -2.834 number is even worse than the current bottom-placed player in the PGA Tour rankings - with Camillo Villegas propping up the rest on -2.225.

📌 His approach play would rank him 177th out of 178 on the PGA Tour this season, while his putting stats would place him also near the bottom of the pile at 159th.

Read the full article.

DRIVING RANGE
Importance Of Your Lead Arm

In today's video, we explain the importance of the lead arm, its proper position and role in improving overall swing performance.

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