US Open finally arrives at LA Country Club’s patch of prime real estate

Strict rules and a determination to keep A-listers out characterise this week’s venue beneath the Hollywood Hills

It feels appropriate that the penultimate men’s major of the year takes place beneath the famed Hollywood Hills. Books have been commissioned on golf’s civil war, which has apparently morphed into peace in our time, but the themes would also make a captivating movie script. Leading players are focused on the US Open while background chatter concerns where on earth this sport heads next. Nobody has a clue.

If the United States Golf Association, one of the arbiters of the game, has its way, attention for four days will not deviate from the 123rd staging of this country’s national championship. The venue, LA Country Club’s restored North Course, is the most intriguing of the majors in 2023. This is the first time one of golf’s big four has been played here and the first professional individual event since the LA Open of 1940, won by Lawson Little at two over par. The US prevailed when LACC staged the Walker Cup of 2017. “The membership decided it was the right time to showcase this magnificent facility to the world,” said the USGA. It is clear who called who.