We dive into the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 through a series of facts and stats. Our Golf Advanced Stats Zone also breaks down who’s doing well ahead of the year’s third major.
The U.S. Open is regarded as the most difficult of the four major men’s golf tournaments, with the host course often set up with tight fairways, tall rough and fast greens.
Pinehurst No. 2, the par-70, 7,540-yard host course of the 2024 U.S. Open, will challenge the 156-player field this week.
Wyndam Clark is the defending champion and enters the year’s third major at No. 4 in the world rankings behind Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Rory McIlroy.
Following are facts and statistics to know ahead of the 124th U.S. Open, which tees off Thursday and concludes with the fourth round on Sunday:
● The U.S. Open is being held at Pinehurst No. 2 for the fourth time following 1999, 2005 and 2014. Since the 1999 tournament, the North Carolina layout has played host more times than any other course.
● The three previous U.S. Opens played at Pinehurst No. 2 have produced winners from the United States (Payne Stewart, 1999), New Zealand (Michael Campbell, 2005) and Germany (Martin Kaymer, 2014). Kaymer’s eight-stroke win in 2014 marked the second-largest margin since World War II to Tiger Woods’ 15-stroke triumph at Pebble Beach in 2000.
● Except for Martin Kaymer’s 9-under par in 2014, no golfer has finished better than 1-under in the three previous U.S. Opens at Pinehurst No. 2.
● Only one of the last 10 U.S. Open tournaments has been won with an even/over-par score –Brooks Koepka’s 2018 victory at Shinnecock Hills (plus-1). Six of the previous nine editions from 2005 to ‘13 produced an even/over-par winning score.
● None of the last 15 U.S. Opens has been decided by a playoff – the last was Tiger Woods’ triumph over Rocco Mediate at Torrey Pines in 2008. It marks the longest current run without a playoff in the four majors.
● Thirty-one of the last 33 majors have been won by a U.S. or European golfer. The two exceptions are Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama at the 2021 Masters and Australia’s Cameron Smith the 2022 Open Championship.
● Since March, Scottie Scheffler has won five of his eight PGA Tour events (Arnold Palmer Invitational, Players Championship, Masters, Heritage and this past weekend’s Memorial). In the other events, he twice tied for second and had a tie for eighth.
● Scottie Scheffler’s five wins on the 2024 PGA Tour are already the most in a calendar year since 2017, when Justin Thomas also won five times. The last player to win six PGA Tour events in a single year was Tiger Woods in 2009.
● Scottie Scheffler is 191-under par in his 13 PGA Tour events this year, with 37 of his 51 rounds in the 60s and only four over par.
● Scottie Scheffler has finished in the top 10 in 11 of his last 16 major tournament appearances (68.8%). That’s more than any other player since 2020.
● Wyndham Clark will aim to become the fourth golfer since World War II to win back-to-back U.S. Open tournaments after Ben Hogan, Curtis Strange and Brooks Koepka. Clark’s win last year is his only top-30 finish at a major tournament, and he missed the cut in each of the first two 2024 majors.
● Four players have finished inside the top 10 at each of this year’s two majors: Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Bryson DeChambeau and Collin Morikawa.
● Following Xander Schauffele’s triumph at Valhalla last month, he’ll aim to become the sixth golfer to win both the PGA Championship and U.S. Open in the same year after Gene Sarazen (1922), Ben Hogan (1948), Jack Nicklaus (1980), Tiger Woods (2000) and Brooks Koepka (2018).
● Since Xander Schauffele made his U.S. Open debut in 2017, he has enjoyed six top-10s in seven editions of the tournament – more than any other player over that span. The only exception was a tie for 14th in 2022.
● Rory McIlroy’s first major tournament victory was the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional. He’s the only player with a top-10 in each of the last five U.S. Opens (T-9 in 2019, T-8 in 2020, T-7 in 2021, T-5 in 2022 and second in 2023).
● Since Rory McIlroy’s last major victory – the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla – his 36 major appearances without a win mark his longest career drought.
● Brooks Koepka’s first top-10 in a major came at Pinehurst No. 2 in 2014 – he finished T-4 and 10 shots behind winner Martin Kaymer. Koepka has since captured five major championships, the third-highest total among active golfers behind Tiger Woods’ 15 titles and Phil Mickelson’s six.
● Ludvig Åberg and Collin Morikawa have the most top-10s on the PGA Tour without a win (six each) this year.
● Rickie Fowler is winless in 51 appearances at a major, but his best finish was a T-2 in the 2014 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2.
● The U.S. Open is the only major in which Viktor Hovland and Patrick Cantlay have never finished in the top 10. Both nevertheless will be looking to become the fourth golfer this century to win both the U.S Open low amateur medal (Cantlay in 2011 and Hovland in ‘19) and the U.S. Open title after Jordan Spieth, Jon Rahm and Matt Fitzpatrick.
● This will be Patrick Cantlay’s 30th appearance at a major. His only top-5 finish was at the 2019 PGA Championship.
● Since 2017, Brooks Koepka (four) has the most top-5s at the U.S. Open, followed by Tommy Fleetwood’s three.
● Bryson DeChambeau, the 2020 U.S. Open winner, is 22-under through the year’s first two majors (minus-2 at The Masters and -20 at the PGA Championship). Only Scottie Scheffler boasts a lower overall score (-24).
● The U.S. Open is the only major Phil Mickelson hasn’t won in 32 attempts (30 as a professional and two as an amateur), but he’s finished second six times – the most in the tournament’s history. The first time occurred 25 years ago at Pinehurst No. 2.
● Willie Anderson, Ben Hogan, Bobby Jones and Jack Nicklaus share the U.S. Open record with four titles each. Tiger Woods and Hale Irwin are one behind with three each.
● Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka share the U.S. Open record for low score (-16), with McIlroy winning at Congressional in 2011 and Koepka at Erin Hills in 2017.
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