Players braced for carnage ahead of brutal Pinehurst US Open test

Fairness will be the biggest concern when the 124th US Open starts on Thursday morning.

SPLASHING OUT: USA's Justin Thomas of the United States plays a shot from a bunker on the fifth at Pinehurst Resort on Thursday. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

Players’ heads were spinning, and it was only Monday of US Open week. Donald Ross has been dead for 76 years, but the crowned greens he created are still haunting modern golfers having to contend with them on modern grasses and green speeds.

There was Max Homa, getting his first look at Pinehurst No. 2, dropping three balls directly beside the second green and failing to get a single one of his attempts to stay on the green.