Five years ago, slightly less, David Puig was for the first time in Pinehurst. Believe it or not, he was barely 17 years old. It was the third time he played golf across the Atlantic and the experience was deeply ingrained in him. It was at the US Amateur in 2019 and, as always, two stroke play qualifying rounds were held for the final match play phase. One round was played right here at No.2 and the other was at No.4. “I was hit from all sides,” confesses the golfer from La Garriga with a laugh.
Puig didn’t make the cut and was able to experience firsthand the toughness of Donald Ross‘s design… “and the other one,” Puig quickly intervenes. “And the other one, there’s a lot of talk about 2, which is very tough, but watch out for 4, it’s no gift”. The 4 was initially designed by Donald Ross, but it has undergone so many changes that it is not attributed to him. However, watch out for the string of names that have intervened in its evolution: Robert Trent Jones, Rees Jones, Tom Fazio and, lastly, Gil Hanse, who is considered the designer today. The best of the best. It’s a par 72.
David’s memories of that US Amateur, where Eduard Rousaud and Alex del Rey were the Spaniards who went the furthest, are not very good, but they do help him put into perspective how his life has changed during this time. “Who would have told me that I would be at a US Open, playing, and sharing a house with Jon Rahm,” he reflects aloud with an absolute mix of emotion, pride and admiration. “The truth is that Jon has made it very easy for us and we are very grateful. We came on the plane with him and we are staying at his house. It’s a luxury,” he says.
As luxurious was also his first practice round of the week, alongside two US Open champions like Wyndham Clark, this year’s defender, and Lucas Glover. The fourth was Beau Hossler. The game came out impromptu on the practice field. “Wyndham, Hossler and I know each other from Scottsdale, we sometimes train together at Whisper Rock, I asked them, they had a spot and I joined. It was good, it was a good round,” he tells Ten Golf.
Puig has been good, barely noticing the fatigue of finishing on Sunday in Houston fighting for the first time for victory in a LIV tournament. “I needed to hit the irons a bit better to win. A pity, but I’m happy to have seen myself there, to feel that the results also come in LIV,” he says. Today, of course, the irons have been better. On the 17th, par 3, he made a birdie with a shot that bounced a meter from the flag and on the 18th he left another very clear option about three meters away. After playing he went to the practice field to fine-tune some things.
David has a big mentality and states without blushing that his goal whenever he plays a tournament is to win, even if it’s the US Open. However, he knows it will be a very tough week. Nine holes have been enough to know that it will be harder than his debut last year in Los Angeles. The reason is very simple: “Last year’s was a very difficult course, but at least it had some holes that were clearly birdie. Here there are none. The only par 5 we’ve played is almost impossible to reach in two. You have to hit very good shots to give yourself any option, and that’s with the greens not yet as hard as we’ll see on Thursday. Four rounds of par here and you’re God,” he says smiling.
Of course, he also has the Olympic qualification in mind. He wants it and will fight for it. He needs to make the cut, but he couldn’t be more elegant when it comes to talking about Jorge Campillo, his great rival to be in Paris.
