Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka have won a combined nine major championships and are two of the greatest players since the Tiger Woods era.
Thus, whenever these two speak, people listen. Their words carry more weight.
After Friday’s round, Koepka made it very clear that he wasn’t a fan of the course.
McIlroy clearly disagrees with his assessment of Los Angeles Country Club as a US Open venue.
“It felt like the US Open all week,” McIlroy said Saturday. “Scoring was surprisingly low the first two days, but it doesn’t look or feel like any of the other three major championships. The US Open certainly has its own identity, and I think that identity was very strong from the opening tee shot on Thursday.
Both players won their 123rd US Open as McIlroy entered the final round behind 54-hole leaders Rickie Fowler and Wyndham Clarke.
Koepka, meanwhile, is ten strokes back after shooting an even-par 70 on Saturday. One has to wonder how Koepka’s performance made him feel about the course.
“I think [the winning score] To be parallel,” Koepka said after Friday’s round. “I’m not a big fan of this place. I’m not a big fan of blind tee shots, and then I think there are only a few places where the ball ends up in the same spot no matter what you hit. I think it’s more fun to play the regular round than the US Open.
Koepka disliked Los Angeles Country Club because he struggled to get up to speed. On Saturday, Koepka got it to 3-under par, but then double-bogeyed the short par-3 15th—the shortest par-3 in U.S. Open history—and then dropped a shot on the finishing hole.
McIlroy, on the other hand, puffed his golf ball all over the LACC as he led the field in strokes gained off the tee. McIlroy opened with a 5-under 65, shot a 3-under 67 on Friday, then carded a 1-under 69 on Saturday.
The two players are not the only ones to field this kind of question. Victor Hovland shared similar sentiments with Koepka. He also doesn’t like LACC.
Regardless, the US Open Championship is on Sunday, and McIlroy has a great chance to win his first major title in nine years.
