When he played 27 holes at Oakmont Country Club six weeks ago, Jordan Spieth said he would sign for even par right then and take his chances of defending his U.S. Open title.<\/p>\n
But, after a gusty practice round Sunday and nine more holes Monday \u2014\u00a0the first day for fans to attend the U.S. Open \u2014\u00a0Spieth thinks an acceptable score could be higher once the second major of the season begins Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the wind [Sunday], I would have signed for somewhere around 75 or 76 and shaken everyone\u2019s hand and said, I\u2019m going to go back and have a beer,\u201d Spieth said. \u201cI don\u2019t think anybody will be in the red come 72 holes.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is getting tougher by the day at Oakmont, where the density of the rough has become a popular item on social media and the greens are starting to firm like an overcooked pork chop.<\/p>\n
Spieth was only 13 the previous time the Open was at Oakmont, so his recollection of Angel Cabrera\u2019s winning score of 5-over 285 comes only from reading the web. Only seven players in 2007 posted a subpar round in four days. Cabrera had two of them.<\/p>\n
Last year, when Spieth won at 5-under 275 at Chambers Bay, eight players finished under par. Seventy players posted subpar scores over four days.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat won\u2019t be the case [this time],\u201d Spieth said. \u201cIf it\u2019s like it is right now, I think if you\u2019re under par, you certainly win. I don\u2019t think it takes under par to win.\u201d<\/p>\n
Spieth is trying to become only the sixth player in history and first since Curtis Strange in 1989 to win back-to-back U.S. Open titles. And he is trying to do it after failing to defend his title at the Masters, when he blew a five-shot lead on the final nine holes to hand Danny Willett the green jacket.<\/p>\n
In many ways, the same could be said for what happened with Spieth last year at the U.S. Open, when Dustin Johnson three-putted from 12 feet at the final hole to give him a one-shot victory. The experience at Augusta National gave Spieth a little more insight to what Johnson felt like after he lost the U.S. Open.<\/p>\n
When he ran into Johnson outside the scoring trailer at Chambers Bay, Spieth admitted he didn\u2019t know what to say to him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s nothing taken away from my win last year off of that, and there\u2019s nothing taken away from Danny Willett\u2019s win at the Masters this year,\u201d Spieth said. \u201cThe more you look at it, there\u2019s no pictures on scorecards. You just count them up at the end of 72. Ultimately, when I look back, I don\u2019t remember Dustin\u2019s putt. I remember us winning the U.S. Open.\u201d<\/p>\n
If Spieth is to do it again, he said the first order at business at Oakmont is keeping the ball in the fairway and out of the rough. Oakmont\u2019s rough is so thick and dense that Spieth\u2019s closest friend on tour, Justin Thomas, posted a video on Instagram in which his ball in the greenside rough at No. 17 was not visible while standing over it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWinning a U.S. Open is a different experience than winning at any other venue,\u201d Spieth said. \u201cYou learn that literally anything can happen, especially out here where the way the course is set up right now, the way the rough and the bunkers are.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you don\u2019t hit fairways on the last five holes, you could lose a 4- or 5-shot lead like that. Just not even doing anything wrong. You can hit decent shots that just barely miss the fairway, and, all of a sudden, you have to do well to have 10 feet for par.\u201d<\/p>\n