The Olympic Club features bunker on the 17th hole
The Olympic Club has added another interesting hurdle, a bunker on the 17th hole, making the upcoming US Open tougher and more competitive.
There are just two months until the 2012 edition of the US Open. This will be the second major of the year, and is scheduled to take place from June 14 to 17, 2012.
This will be the fifth time for the US Open to be staged at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, California. All the players are striving to be in the field of the $8,000,000 event.
Of the entire purse, the winner will earn $1,440,000 and additional 600 FedEx Cup points.
To make the 2012 episode more interesting, a new bunker has been added on the Lake Course. Now, every player will face a challenge on the 17th and 18th hole.
This initiative was requested by the USGA Executive Director, Mike Davis. Officials said that Davis wants all the players to reach the green in only two strokes, making the hole tougher.
If one fails to be on the green in two shots, then he will probably be making a bogey on the par-5 17th hole, which was a par-4 hole previously.
"It'll be exciting," Lee Janzen, the 1998 US Open champion at the Olympic Club, said. "Someone could eagle 17, but you're going to have to hit two pinpoint shots".
Now, the 17th hole has two bunkers, one on the right and the new on is on the left of the greens. This additional hurdle is only for the US Open event and it will be removed as soon as the major event finishes.
"You could see someone birdie the last three holes to come from behind and win the tournament," Janzen said.
"But there's just enough trouble that things could change (at the top). It's also not a lock the leader can par those last three to win".
Now, the US Open venue will be featuring three toughest holes, i.e. the par-5 16th hole, par-5 17th hole and par-4 18th hole. Every leader has to be extra cautious on these three holes, so that they can maintain their standing
and be on the top of the leaderboard.
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