Claude Harmon III predicted the 2024 US Open would be difficult to endure.
And so far the American instructor has been proven right, with competitors in the field at Pinehurst No.2 taking an age to complete their rounds.
Things got so bad that even Tiger Woods‘ group were put on the clock during their opening round on Thursday morning.
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USGA officials stepped in after Woods, Matthew Fitzpatrick and Will Zalatoris were on course for a six-hour round after only playing two holes.
Harmon told the Son of a Butch podcast before the major got underway: “I think the rounds are going to take forever.
“I don’t think we’re going to finish; I certainly don’t think people are going to finish Thursday.
“The field’s too big and the golf course is just too difficult.”
Harmon, who coaches the likes of Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson, added: “I think we’re looking at rounds in excess of five hours, I think we could get into six hour rounds this week because the test is just so difficult.”
Players in the field already expressed concern at how the course was set up.
On Monday, defending champion Wyndham Clarke warned the greens were already ‘borderline’ unplayable.
The aforementioned Woods told his news conference: “Everyone is going to be tested.
“It’s going to make for long rounds with the falloffs and run-offs on the greens.
“The rounds time-wise are going to be a little bit longer.
“Then when you’re out in the heat for that length and period of time, that’s going to take a little bit of wear and tear on you.”
Perhaps Viktor Hovland was the only player to disagree.
“The greens are not that firm,” Hovland told reporters, describing them as ‘soft’.
However, he warned: “If they were, in my opinion, borderline yesterday when the greens were soft, what if it starts blowing up a little bit, and the greens just keep getting firmer and faster?
“It’ll be interesting to see.”
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