The US Open 2023 held at the LACC has received mixed reactions in the golfing world. From the proximity of the club to the urbanized areas to the holes not meeting players’ expectations, there is a lot to be said.

The venue chosen for the first round of the US Open this year may not have been a favorite spot for more than one player. Brooks Koepka has shared his comments of disappointment. It was even more surprising when one of the most even-tempered PGA Tour Pro Viktor Hovland, voiced his concerns regarding the golf course.

Victor Hovland is yet another vote against the LACC

As far as venues go, the Los Angeles Country Club hasn’t received many positive reviews. The recent incident with Keith Mitchell and Si-Woo Kim caused by the stuffiness of the location already indicated why so many golfers are outspoken against the LACC. Now, Hovland also had some points to share during his chat with one of the reporters.

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When asked about his favorite hole at this particular venue of the US Open, Victor stated, “I don’t think there’s any great holes.” He did say that Number 9 was fine, but aside from that, “I think there’s a few bad holes,” he conceded.

“I’m  not a big fan of this golf course, to be honest,” Victor admitted, which puts him alongside Brooks Koepka who plainly stated that he’s “not a huge fan.” The champion golfer has been quite vocal about his criticism of Los Angeles Country Club for this year’s US Open. “I’m not a huge fan of blind tee shots, and then I think there’s just some spots that no matter what you hit, the ball just ends up in the same spot.”

Even though he made the cut, Koepka is far from enthused about playing the LACC golf course. “I won majors on golf courses that I haven’t really liked too much. But, yeah, this one, I don’t know, it’s just… it’s not my favorite,” he added. Does this mean the five-time champion is not seeing a win on the horizon?

Koepka also acknowledged why Hovland may have favored 9. “Like on 9; missing it in the only spot you can’t miss it on.” Clearly, 9 did not make Koepka’s list of favorite holes at the Los Angeles Country Club.

The LACC may not have met the players’ expectations

Earlier this year, long before the 2023 US Open commenced, when the venue was announced, several players shared their thoughts. Surprisingly enough, almost all of them had positive things to say at the time.

The latest hole-in-one Acer stated, “I like the look of it. It’s very rugged.” Matthew Fitzpatrick also shared his hopes that the grounds will become firmer and more rugged by the time the US Opens begin. Sadly, the English golfer’s expectations fell through. Even after making a career-enhancing shot, he says about LACC, “It isn’t my cup of tea.” Although he also predicted, “I think it’s going to be really difficult to make ups and downs.” Clearly, he prepared himself for that when he claimed, “You’ve got to be really strong tee to green,” which seemed to have worked in his favor.

Another PGA Tour golfer with positive insights into the LACC at the time was Adam Scott. He called the course “Phenomenal.” He went on to describe the new changes wherein LACC was to add a bit more range in terms of fairways. However, when asked about the record score, Scott wasn’t optimistic. “With a firm set of greens and where we can live on the edge with pin placements these days, I don’t see it,” he said.

Many more epic PGA Tour golfers such as Rory McIlroy, Max Homa, Shane Lowry, and others were looking forward to playing the LACC course. Only the finals will tell whether or not their expectations for the course were met. It seems like the hype around LACC was too huge, which is what disappointed most players, including Viktor Hovland.

Do you think these Pro golfers are struggling more than they’re letting on at LACC? Who do you think will surpass these circumstances and claim the title? Let us know in the comments down below.

Watch this story: A decade after his breakthrough Brooks Koepka reveals why the young generation of golfers is a major problem they’ve never had to deal with adversity