Almost two decades after Kiwi Michael Campbell kept Tiger Woods at bay to claim golf’s most gruelling major championship in North Carolina, late inclusion Scrivener is drawing on the same Anzac spirit to get the job done this week.
Scrivener admitted to poring over replays of US Opens past at Pinehurst almost as soon as he held his nerve down the stretch to qualify last week at Walton Heath in England.
In what he hopes serves as an omen, Scrivener scrapping his way into the field comes 19 years after Campbell also arrived at final qualifying at Walton Heath southwest of London as world No.80 before taking down Woods in the Open two weeks later.
“I look forward to getting to Pinehurst,” Scrivener said, six years after playing his only previous US Open, when he missed the cut at the equally brutal Shinnecock Hills in New York.
“I’ve been watching a little bit of those old US Opens there and it looks amazing.
“I’ve watched quite a lot of Michael Campbell. He used to come down to play in Australia a lot, I remember Tiger was chasing him down.
“I remember it quite vividly.”
Driving accuracy will be important at Pinehurst No.2 though not as much as ‘traditional’ US Open venues given sandy waste borders fairways rather than thick rough. PHOTO: Getty Images
Asked what he thought of the set up at Pinehurst, 35-year-old Scrivener licked his lips in anticipation.
“It looks like it suits an Aussie – firm and fast and a little bit of sandbelt to it,” said the DP World Tour player.
“I think the Aussies are going to do fairly well there.
“It doesn’t necessarily suit a bomber. It looks like it suits somebody that can place the ball in position and play some smart golf.”
Big gun Cameron Smith, who finished fourth last year after also sharing fourth on debut in 2015, is the first Australian out on Thursday (9.18pm AEST).
Smith is playing with 2009 champion Lucas Glover and fellow American Sam Burns.
Min Woo Lee and Cam Davis also have early tee times, while Scrivener, Jason Day and Adam Scott all hit off in the afternoon wave.
Cameron Smith’s short game should suit the Sandbelt-like surfaces at Pinehurst No.2. PHOTO: Getty Images
Scott is contesting his 92nd consecutive major championship, a streak that stretches back to the 2001 British Open.
“I don’t think I can truly fathom it,” said one of Scott’s first-round playing partners, Billy Horschel.
“It’s like Tiger’s (records) … to play 91 straight majors.
“I know there was a couple of years, or a year there or so, that he struggled with his game – but to be there and to be able to play a high level like he is, it just shows you the talent that Adam had and still has.
“We are all just in awe when we think about it.
“I’m 37 and when I was 14 he was playing in his first major and has played every major since.
“I just can’t wrap my head around it.”
Adam Scott’s ball-striking has never been in doubt. If he can marry it with accurate driving and par-saves around the greens, Scott could be factor in consecutive major championship No.92.
AUSTRALIAN TEE TIMES FOR THE US OPEN FIRST ROUND (ALL AEST):
THURSDAY
9.18pm: Cameron Smith, Lucas Glover (USA), Sam Burns (USA)
10.02pm: Min Woo Lee, Sahith Theegala (USA), Nicolai Hojgaard (DEN)
10.35pm: Cam Davis, Austin Eckroat (USA), Adrian Meronk (POL)
FRIDAY
2.30am: Jason Scrivener, Brandon Robinson Thompson (ENG), Brendan Valdes (USA)
3.03am: Jason Day, Harris English (USA), Tom Kim (KOR)
3.58am: Adam Scott, Billy Horschel (USA), Chris Kirk (USA)
