Tyrrell Hatton gives honest verdict on Oakmont rough for US Open: ‘I can’t even see the ball’

The US Open kicks off on Thursday at Oakmont

Tyrell Hatton has given an honest verdict on the Oakmont rough ahead of this year’s US Open.

Hatton, 33, took to the course in preparation for the major, which kicks off on Thursday 12 June.

But when his ball ended up to the side of a bunker in the rough, he was dismayed at the length of the grass as he struggled to find his ball.

“I only saw it because I’m stood here,” he said, standing directly over his ball, which was buried in thick green grass. “Set up over it, I can’t even see the ball.”

As he shot his ball back towards the fairway, he took a hefty chunk of earth and grass with it, an inevitability in such rough.

However, this was no anomaly for English golfer Hatton, with the video documenting his practice round later showing him land in similarly thick rough time and time again.

Another shot with his rescue club ended with him “skying” the ball after taking a divot out of the ground, which was met by laughter from him and his team.

“That’s mad,” he added. “You can see how deep it is.”

Hatton goes into the US Open ranked as 24th in the world, with his best result at Oakmont coming in 2018 when he finished tied for sixth.

He will tee off in Thursday’s first round from the 10th hole at 6:25pm BST, alongside South Korea’s Sung-jae Im and Austria’s Sepp Straka. Then in the second round on Friday, he’ll tee off from the first hole at 12:40pm BST.

The top 60 from the two opening rounds will then progress through to the weekend, at the end of which a champion will be crowned.