[Photo: Mike Mulholland]
The green on the par-3 seventh hole might be the most famous of all the putting surfaces at iconic Shinnecock Hills Golf Club. It also might be the most infamous.
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Among the storylines throughout the 2026 US Open has been exactly where USGA officials might place the pin position on this severely sloped Redan hole. Getting balls to hold on the green during calm days is a challenge, let alone with the breezy forecasts that have been in play this week.
All this is a prelude to what we saw early in the third round when Sungjae Im played the hole while paired with Cameron Young during the third round. Set at 178 yards (163 metres), the hole employed a left teeing ground to create a more favourable angle for players to combat the right-to-left wind, with the pin front-right. Im’s tee shot however, sailed past the hole, staying on the green but stopped 78 feet from the cup.
It left the 28-year-old two-time PGA Tour winner with a tricky putt that would have a left-to-right break that could be measured in yards rather than feet. So tricky, in fact, that Im chose a different option.
Greenkeepers, avert your eyes! 🫣
Sungjae Im chips in for birdie on 7… from the green. pic.twitter.com/xm7ykIt1o2
— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 20, 2026
This was just the third birdie made on the hole all day, to this point. Technically this counts as a putt. And what makes that even more interesting is that he gained 1.36 strokes on that “putt” alone, which is the most strokes any player has gained on a single “putt” so far for the round.
