The 19th Hole with Michael Williams
Jun 17, 2026 · 1 hr 22 min · 13 segments
Award-winning host Michael Williams presents his annual U.S. Open preview, once again featuring The Open Doctor, Hall of Fame golf course architect Rees Jones. Jones gives his unique perspective on…
Rees JonesGuest
Alison MetcalfeGuestUm, I love it because every time I go to play there, I read more about the history of the course and I read about something new, whether it's the first American golf pro who was an African American, John Shippen, and his playing in the 1896 Open, the second time it was played there and almost winning it, to the great champions that have emerged in the 20th century.
Corey Pavin, who won with one of the most memorable shots in golf history when he hit his, I believe, a forward to the green on number 18 within five feet to capture that open in 1995. and the absolute clinic he put on putting in the 2004 version of the Open.
And then, of course, Brooks Koepka, who in his prime, I mean, absolutely, absolutely, I would say, in a sense, wrestling that course, wrestling that title from the field.
So you can see... over the course of the four days the difficulty and the challenge that this course presents for even the very best players in the world now we have john bodenhammer who has come into the role of course set up for the usga and he has stated many times that he wants this course to be a test but he wants it to be a playable test he doesn't want it necessarily to punish any and every errant move that, uh, that a golfer may make.
Um, so instead of being 25, um, yards wide, the, the, uh, fairways are going to be, I think substantially, uh, larger for, for this event.
Um, they're playing around 50 yards, you know, for the, uh, for the, uh, for the width of the fairways.
Of course, when you get outside the fairways, you'll have the primary cut and then the wispy stuff.
So you'll see plenty of players, um, hacking and chopping their way out of that stuff back into play, hopefully, on the first shot.
But I think you'll have a number of players who will be able to advance the ball and even hit credible shots from rough areas that used to be considered unplayable.
I remember when I used to watch Speed Racer when I was a little kid, and everybody used to crash in those races.
Um, I love it because every time I go to play there, I read more about the history of the course and I read about something new, whether it's the first American golf pro who was an African American, John Shippen, and his playing in the 1896 Open, the second time it was played there and almost winning it, to the great champions that have emerged in the 20th century.
Corey Pavin, who won with one of the most memorable shots in golf history when he hit his, I believe, a forward to the green on number 18 within five feet to capture that open in 1995. and the absolute clinic he put on putting in the 2004 version of the Open.
And then, of course, Brooks Koepka, who in his prime, I mean, absolutely, absolutely, I would say, in a sense, wrestling that course, wrestling that title from the field.
So you can see... over the course of the four days the difficulty and the challenge that this course presents for even the very best players in the world now we have john bodenhammer who has come into the role of course set up for the usga and he has stated many times that he wants this course to be a test but he wants it to be a playable test he doesn't want it necessarily to punish any and every errant move that, uh, that a golfer may make.
Um, so instead of being 25, um, yards wide, the, the, uh, fairways are going to be, I think substantially, uh, larger for, for this event.
Um, they're playing around 50 yards, you know, for the, uh, for the, uh, for the width of the fairways.
Of course, when you get outside the fairways, you'll have the primary cut and then the wispy stuff.
So you'll see plenty of players, um, hacking and chopping their way out of that stuff back into play, hopefully, on the first shot.
But I think you'll have a number of players who will be able to advance the ball and even hit credible shots from rough areas that used to be considered unplayable.
I remember when I used to watch Speed Racer when I was a little kid, and everybody used to crash in those races.
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