PINEHURST, N.C. — It was still early when Justin Thomas woke the ghost.
Just after 8 a.m., he was walking along the pinegrass to the right of the third hole at Pinewood No. 2. After bogeying the second hole, he was already feeling the heat. Now, an errant tee shot on the third hole resulted in an awkward angle into the green.
After saying that, Thomas took back his club and hit a shot that can only be described as… touching. Something between a dead pull and a violent hook. Maybe the culprit is a clump of wire grass near the lie. Maybe it was just a bad shot. Anyway, it was so bad and so left that it went across the entire fairway and into the home field left of the third green.
Few people visited here during Thursday’s first-round match at the U.S. Open. The third hole is just under 400 yards. Perhaps the friendliest par 4 on the course. But Thomas eventually came to a makeshift fence wrapped in thick green canvas that served as the dividing line between the course and surrounding homes. As it happened, there was an opening in the fence not far from where Thomas’ ball landed.
The two swing doors are held together by padlocks but allow entry from either side.
On the other side of that fence was Donald Ross’s house.
The Scotsman first moved to Pinehurst in 1900. hole track. He then began building a second course in 1907. . That’s where they built their bunkers.
Rose became his muse in Pinehurst’s carefully designed courses. So he wanted to take care of her. So he and his second wife, Florence, built their home behind the third green in 1925. So today, 76 years after Rose died in 1948, if you walk along Midland Road you’ll see what looks like a Scottish hut, and if you walk back near the third green, You’ll see something that looks like the colonial South. Every good marriage has a middle ground.
Donald Ross built a home along Pinehurst No. 2, the most famous course in his storied history as a golf architect. (Brendan Quinn/The Athletic)
Romantics here say Rose used to sit back and smoke a cigar and watch the players pass the third and fifth holes. He would notice how they approached the two turtle greens and then plot against them. Some claim Rose would stroll onto the course in the evenings, inspect the contours of the third green and take care of everything.
“Ross continued to improve Course 2 long after he completed it,” said Dan Maples, whose father, Frank, later became Rose’s adopted son and was responsible for the construction and course maintenance of countless Rose courses. That includes Court No. 2 “which became an extension of himself.”
After all these years, the U.S. Open is being held at Pinehurst for the fourth time. So, in order to understand Rose and God’s intent, where else can you watch it but on Rose’s back lawn?
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Just ask Sam Bennett. The 24-year-old put his hands in the air and watched as he charged into the third hole. One very good. Hitting a shot on a seemingly flat green, Bennett made birdie from 15 to 20 feet. But then there was a shaking. The ball seemed to consider its options. Then lean to the left. The crowd groaned. The ball picked up speed, rolled down the green, crossed the fringe, and somehow landed on a cut in the rough on top of the bunker, just inches away from hitting the sand for a direct bunker shot. On the fairway, Bennett hunched over. Then he arrived on the green to find an uneasy stance, a tricky chip and a bogey.
The third is probably a postcard of all of Rose’s greens at Pinehurst. It’s tempting. It teases. It accepts. It refuses. It’s crowned, but can shoot at close range and score points. It’s short and easy to reach, but very difficult to get up and down.
Thursday’s pin location is on the left side of the right-to-left slope. Looking up from the fairway, the top of the green carves out a horizon line, turning the backside of the green into a vast unknown. Players know exactly what’s behind, but they still feel uneasy. That’s exactly what Rose was for.
At the back, the green slopes down to a sandy path that, if you cross, leads all the way to the fifth green. Now some people are more aware of this than others.
Dustin Johnson found his ball sitting in the middle of that dusty lane and rolled his eyes. He then made bogey for a 4-over 74.
Jason Day attempted a traditional bunker shot on the trail but found a patch of compressed sand and hit a sparse shot back on the green. His takeoff from 82 feet was probably one of the best bogey saves you’ll see this week.
Poor Cameron Davis found his ball behind the third green and asked the USGA rules official if he could get relief from the road as if it were a carriage road . The official, confused by the question, simply replied, “No.” Accepting the answer, Davis took out a sand wedge, slammed a shot, and watched his ball roll to the top of the green, Then it stopped. Then he watched it roll back 50 feet back to him. Davis saved a bogey but ended up with a 77.
Scottie Scheffler hits from a greenside bunker on No. 3.
The third hole isn’t all spins and evil eyes. Nineteen players had birdies. At the end of the tournament, all but two players in the top eight were in par. Bryson DeChambeau and Akshay Bhatia had birdies.
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In many ways, that’s the point. Ross’s goal is to create courses that fairly test the best. Good shots are rewarded. Bad shots don’t. Opportunity is always at work. Add it up and you have a war of attrition. Who can consistently aim for the middle of the green? Who can take medication when necessary? Who can keep giving themselves opportunities?
After opening with a 3-under 67, DeChambeau sighed and said, “From a mental exhaustion perspective, this is probably the worst I’ve been through in a long, long, long time. A difficult one. I can’t remember the last time I tried so hard mentally to focus on hitting the fatter part of the green instead of going for the flag.
As for Thomas, his bogey on the third hole was a preview of what was to come. He was truly spooked and ended the morning with a 7-over 77 before returning to the driving range to figure out what was wrong.
Rose, you see, is not a ghost. He is very energetic.
(Top photo of Justin Thomas: Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
