This isn’t your grandfather’s Bethpage Black.
It’s not Brooks Koepka’s, either.
When Koepka lifted the Wanamaker Trophy in 2019, he did so with a winning score of 8 under on the Black Course, which has not yielded a 72-hole mark lower than 10 under in the five PGA Tour-recognized events it’s hosted. When Tiger Woods won the U.S. Open here 23 years ago, he was 3 under and the only player under par.
Ryder Cups on U.S. soil have traditionally invited low scoring, and this 45th edition likely won’t be any different.
The rough is inviting, a thin 2 inches or so.
The green speeds will be quick, pushing past 13 on the stimp, but Bethpage’s putting surfaces aren’t exactly known for their undulations.
And heavy rains this week have soaked an already receptive layout.
“I think Bethpage is a tough course, but it’s certainly not set up like a U.S. Open,” said European captain Luke Donald.
Bryson DeChambeau made his Ryder Cup debut seven years ago at Le Golf National, the Paris venue he called a “beast.” He didn’t hit the ball as far then, sure, but to contextualize his gameplan at Bethpage, he has already this week taken many attempts at driving the first green.
That would be about a 365-yard poke, he says, cutting the dogleg on the 397-yard hole, which is 33 yards shorter than it was for the 2019 PGA because of a massive grandstand erected on the usual back tee box. DeChambeau has history doing as much, too, as he accomplished the feat on Whistling Straits’ first hole in 2021.
“It’s going to be fun to see how this golf course presents itself for us in these types of conditions,” DeChambeau said, “… and hopefully, I can do some fun stuff this week.”
The first hole isn’t the only hole playing shorter than in previous tournaments. In fact, the Black’s listed yardage of 7,352 yards this week is 107 yards shorter than that six years ago. Here are the holes that were shortened:
1 – 397 yards, 33 yards shorter
3 – 210 yards, 20 yards shorter
12 – 496 yards, 19 yards shorter
15 – 477 yards, 7 yards shorter
17 – 179 yards, 28 yards shorter
Aside from No. 1, the most impactful reduction comes at the par-3 17th. With three of Bethpage’s four par-3 usually playing over 200 yards, changing No. 17 to 179 yards favors the home side. When it comes to approach proximity from 200 or more yards out, Europe’s roster boasts seven players who ranked inside the top 40 on the PGA Tour this season, including second-ranked Ludvig Åberg, compared to just two Americans.
“I think we sort of look at the analytical data and how our players perform at their best and we set the course up accordingly,” U.S. captain Keegan Bradley said. “One of the great things is being a captain is to have a say in how the course is set up.”
As for the lack of rough, it may not favor the American side as much as in the past. Five Americans enter this week ranked below the PGA Tour average in driving accuracy while Europe has three, including Rory McIlroy, who was the seventh-worst player at hitting fairways this season.
“You can easily make birdie from out of position here,” Viktor Hovland said. “I think aggressiveness is probably going to be a good strategy … play like you’re trying to birdie almost every hole.”
Which brings us to birdie average, where four of the top five players at Bethpage this week are American. However, keep going and Europe actually has more players inside the top 21 on the PGA Tour, six to four.
Such credentials will help on a course that should produce more than the 320 birdies and 19 eagles racked up in Rome two years ago.
This probably birdie-fest isn’t a major championship, but if 72 holes of stroke play were being played this week, Harris English has a guess of what the winning score would be: “18 to 20 under.”
“It can still bite you out there, especially that back nine. If you miss a couple drives, you’re having some mid-irons into the greens, and you can start missing in some pretty bad place,” English contended, before adding, “Yeah, this is not the normal Bethpage Black we’re used to. … I think that’s great. That’s what we’re ready for.”
