Facing The Country Club’s longest hole – a 616-yard fourteenth – MJ Dapheu found himself making an unexpected detour after slanting his tee shot to the left and settling on the hospitality deck.
Still in range, the South African could have taken the opportunity of the drop ball, but instead pitched his 4-wood on the carpet, only to look a few feet away, to the delight of the crowd.
With a tree, a concession stand, and a swarm of spectators in the driving line, the margin for error was nerve-rackingly small, yet Dapheus delivered emphatically, destroying his effort through the gap.
If the shot wasn’t impressive enough already, it landed on the green in the rough. However, an awkward chip and missed putt meant that the 33-year-old was forced to settle for a bogey.
When asked on his decision not to take a drop, Dapheus admitted that it was part-tactical, part-entertainment.
“I had a good angle. I thought I was going to the left of the tree and it was a good lie,” Dapheu told Sky Sports. “If I drop it I have a hard time getting to the next level on the fairway.
“We’re here to entertain, aren’t we? So I thought why not entertain them a little?”
“It was really a shot that suited my eye – I do much better when sometimes I have a corridor or no target and I need to find something in the background. It was right up my alley “
‘It’s an incredible feeling’
Ranked 296th in the world and making his first major championship debut, Dapheu has been one of the surprising standout names in the first two rounds at Brookline as much for his showmanship as for his golf prowess.
Four birdies through the first seven holes helped Daff put three-unders on the turn, but a slump on the home stretch – ending in a double bogey on the eighteenth – left him with two overs 72 for the round.
At an under overall, Dapheu is sure to make the 60-man cut to progress to the third round, but can already reflect a historic dominant start and the ability to say a line “Not many people can say no.” “
“It’s an incredible feeling to say that you led the US Open,” Dapheus told reporters. “It is clearly not the destination, it is a step towards the goal.
“I don’t think my goal is to win this week. My goal is just to be the best that I can be, and if I can be the best and play the best I can, then I’ve achieved what I want to achieve.” wanted to.”