Shane Lowry looking forward to seeing 'carnage' in future US Opens

Shane Lowry is looking forward to a return to the type of US Open courses which produce "carnage" after the experiment with two new venues in the last three years.

Shane Lowry looking forward to seeing 'carnage' in future US Opens

Shane Lowry is looking forward to a return to the type of US Open courses which produce "carnage" after the experiment with two new venues in the last three years.

Lowry finished in a tie for 46th at Erin Hills, which only opened in 2006 and yielded a host of records despite being the longest course in major championship history.

Brooks Koepka's winning total of 16 under par equalled the tournament record set by Rory McIlroy in 2011, while seven players finished in double digits under par. Only McIlroy and Tiger Woods (2000) had done so previously.

A total of 31 players finished under par, surpassing the record of 28 at Medinah in 1990, while Justin Thomas's 63 equalled the lowest score in major history and was the first nine-under-par round in the US Open.

The poor condition of the greens prevented anything similar from happening in 2015 at Chambers Bay, another course which had only opened a few years previously.

And Lowry admits he will be happier with the more traditional US Open venues which have already been announced, starting with Shinnecock Hills in 2018 and followed by Pebble Beach, Winged Foot, Torrey Pines, Brookline Country Club, Los Angeles Country Club, Pinehurst, Oakmont and Shinnecock again.

"It didn't play how I would have liked," said Lowry, who took a four-shot lead into the final round at Oakmont last year before finishing in a tie for second.

"I'd have liked to see it play tougher, firmer, faster - if you got a windy day like Sunday with a firm course it would have been carnage out there, but that's what I would have liked.

"People were talking about which type of US Open do you prefer, and an Oakmont and a level-par winning score is the type of US Open I like.

"It's only once a year we have to play it, every other event is an absolute shoot-out so why not play a US Open as hard as you can and the best golfer at the end is going to win.

"I know I played well last year, but when I got to Oakmont I was licking my chops, thinking this is the type of golf that I like. I can't say when I got here this week I was really looking forward to it that much because someone could shoot seven under out there and we saw someone shoot nine on Saturday."

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