Top Billing For No. 2

Pinehurst’s No. 2 course, the classic layout designed by famed architect Donald Ross, gets its first starring role in the U.S. Open this week. When the 18 holes opened in 1907, the surface of the greens was oiled sand; it wasn’t until 1935 that the greens were converted to Bermuda grass. But they remain one of the course’s distinctive features, with crowns on the interior of the putting surfaces, deep swales and edges that slope away from the middle. Combining those features with aprons shaved to three-eighths of an inch, rather than the usual deep rough characteristic of most Open set-ups, will make play around the greens critical. Chipping might be the determining factor in this tournament. Some players will even putt from well off the green. Because play around the greens as much as play on them is so vital, here’s a look at the eight monster par fours, where scrambling for par could make all the difference: