‘Never seen anything like it': Penal tactic has pros' attention at Presidents Cup

MEDINAH, Ill. — Min Woo Lee says he looked out in front of him, then almost immediately looked for Geoff Ogilvy.

A three-foot-tall, wooden, split-rail fence was buried into the ground just a few yards off the fairway down the entire left side of the first hole at this week’s Presidents Cup.

And the second hole.

And the third hole.

Was that … ? Nah, it couldn’t be. Ogilvy captains the International team that Lee is playing for at the Cup, and it felt counterproductive that the Medinah Country Club redesign, done by Ogilvy’s design team, would include shaking-in-your-golf-shoes out of bounds right out of the chute.

“When we first got up there,” Lee said, “I just said, ‘Geoff, what are you doing?'”

Depends on who you ask.

What he did for the players was make an already sweaty moment — a team event’s first shots, in front of larger, giddier galleries — and turn the dial right on the thermostat. Right is also where a player is then forced to go on the holes, though easier looks at the green come the more you creep left, all of which delights the golf architecture aficionados. Medinah members play this stretch a bit more warmed up — for them, the holes are actually 5, 6 and 7. But not in this week’s routing.

And everyone’s doing double takes three times.

Collin Morikawa? He said he remembered his first team event, at the 2021 Ryder Cup, where he comfortably thought he could’ve “teed it high and let it fly” on the first hole. But Medinah? “I would say 3 is a lot more gettable than the first two, but the first two holes, I mean, it comes up right against it, and I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said. Si Woo Kim? He said he thought at the three previous Presidents Cups he’s played, he could’ve “hit it everywhere and still make birdie.” But at Medinah? “If it misses left, you pretty much give the hole,” he said. Justin Thomas? He said he was convinced the fence was in everyone’s thoughts: “It’s very nerve-racking.”

Just how close is the fence to the fairway? On the 495-yard, par-4 1st, the distance is maybe a couple of yards; perhaps the length of one Scottie Scheffler. On the 460-yard, par-4 2nd, it’s a bit shorter. The distance on the 592-yard, par-5 3rd falls somewhere in the middle. And the fence stays that close all the way up to the green, though it appears some help has been given — Garrett Morrison of the Fried Egg golf website shared a pair of photos on X that showed the grass between the fairway and fence had been grown recently, potentially slowing incoming shots. Past the fences, interestingly, is about 50 yards of grass until you reach another fence. That one separates Medinah from traffic, and it’s another reason why the wooden one was created.

During Thursday’s first day of play, both fences were seen, which meant some theatrics, and the pin on the 2nd hole was devilishly cut just four paces in. For the most part, the players safely hit straight or right. But some flirted left. A Masters winner also sat on a fence.

The hole on Thursday on Medinah’s 2nd hole. Nick Piastowski

Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns (U.S.) vs. Min Woo Lee and Sunjae Im (International)

Everyone was safe on 1 — tee shots were hit in the fairway, and a pin cut on the back-right part of the green put balls either behind or to the right of the green. Everyone was safe on 3 — Im did hit his tee shot down the left side of the fairway, but a hole dug to the right of a greenside bunker kept balls well right of the fence.

On 2, though, Im’s tee ball struck the fence and disaster almost struck — the ball ricocheted back into play. (You can watch that by clicking here.)

Said Scheffler afterward on the second shot on 2: “You have to take it on; that’s really all it is. You can take a slightly more conservative target, but at the end of the day, you have to hit a really good shot. Hitting it over there right of the green is maybe not the best strategy. I think today we had 8-iron in or something like that. … It is really close, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to hit the shot. You can’t just play it safe all the time.”

Cameron Young and Xander Schauffele (U.S.) vs. Hideki Matsuyama and Ryo Hisatsune (International)

Matsuyama sat on a fence for his second shot of the day, after his first one sailed left and finished about a yard to the right of the O.B. (and maybe two yards to the right of a reporter). Matsuyama could have stood out of bounds to hit his ball, he could have hit it backward, or he could have hit lefty. Instead, he positioned his backside on the top rail, awkwardly swung and his ball went about 50 feet. Said a man in the gallery to his left: “I could have done that.”

After that, everyone was safe on 2 and 3.

Justin Thomas and Jackson Koivun (U.S.) vs. Corey Conners and Nico Echavarria (International)

Koivun went O.B. on his tee shot on 2, and his fourth shot, played from a right fairway bunker, approached the fence near the green. Besides all of that, nothing neared trouble.

Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa (U.S.) vs. Ryan Fox and Adam Scott (International)

Fox also went O.B. on his tee shot on 2, and a marshal said he would start telling fans to be careful. The other shots were played safely.

Chris Gotterup and Patrick Cantlay (U.S.) vs. Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim (International)

And Si Woo Kim also went out of bounds with his tee shot on 2. But no other shots approached the danger.

Chances are, others will.

Thursday was day one of four, meaning there will be at least:

– 30 tee shots and 30 second shots across the first three holes as part of Friday’s five alternate shot matches;

– 48 tee shots and 48 second shots across the first three holes as part of Saturday’s four four-ball matches, and 24 tee shots and 24 second shots across the first three holes as part of Saturday’s four alternate shot matches;

– And 24 tee shots and 24 second shots as part of Sunday’s 12 singles matches.

That’s 252 shots.

Xander Schauffele was looking at them optimistically.

“Yeah, the first thing when I came out here for a practice round I asked the captains, is that O.B.,” he said. “It’s a big old fence that just runs all the way to the hole. On the second hole, it’s on the green almost. It’s something all players notice.

“But a fence or white stakes or whatever you want to call it, I feel like we’ve seen it all. So at least with a fence if you’re going towards it, maybe it’ll bounce off of it, versus the white stakes got no chance.

“Trying to find something positive.”