Finishing touches applied to Pinehurst No 2 for US Open double
The USGA are delighted with the set-up of Pinehurst No 2 for the US Open double-header in June.
Last Updated: 23/05/14 1:18pm
The men tee it up at the famous North Carolina venue on June 12, and the US Women's Open will take place on the same layout a week later.
The course has undergone a $2.5million restructure headed by Ben Crenshaw, who was charged with restoring the layout to the original specifications of designer Donald Ross.
Crenshaw has overseen the creation of wider fairways and the removal of rough, and the only two cuts of grass will be fairways and greens while Ross' "turtleback" greens have remained mostly untouched.
The rough has been replaced by a variety of hazards, including wiregrass, sandy waste areas and what USGA executive director Mike Davis described as "natural vegetation".
"It will be a challenging test of golf, but a great test of golf," said Davis at the US Open media day on Monday.
"The course is going to give the best players in the world some shots that they simply haven't had to make in past US Opens.
"Will it be easier? Probably a little bit easier, but I suppose there's an element of luck involved."
Pinehurst, which last hosted the US Open in 2005 when New Zealander Michael Campbell held off Tiger Woods on the final day, will measure 7,562 yards with the par remaining at 70 for the men.
The yardage will be reduced to 6,649 for the women, while the greens are expected to be softened.
Davis would not be drawn on whether the USGA would attempt to hold the men's and women's US Opens on the same course in consecutive weeks again in the future.
"We really want to see how it goes," he said.
