When it comes to a US Open at Shinnecock Hills, the numbers tell their own story. On the five previous occasions it has hosted the event, only three players have ever finished under par for the week.
A total of 654 players have teed it up across those five previous editions, yet only three of them have finished in the red numbers.
It is an utterly brutal examination of golf, one which will test every facet of a player’s game from a technical standpoint, as well as their mental fortitude.
When the US Open was staged at Oakmont last year, Phil Mickelson branded it the toughest course set-up he had ever encountered.
Another colourful observation came from Bryson DeChambeau, who noted: ‘This course doesn’t just challenge your game, it challenges your sanity.’
Those descriptions could apply just as much to Shinnecock as they did to Oakmont, although the USGA have widened some of the fairways this year and are keen to avoid the greens turning into sheets of glass.
Robert MacIntyre has had a mixed bag this season but his game is made for the US Open
Yet, even if the course is slightly less penal than usual, a US Open at Shinnecock would never be regarded as the ideal chance for anyone to play their way into some form.
If previous editions of the championship are anything to go by, this is the golfing equivalent of root canal treatment. As much as anything else, it will be a test of survival across the next four days.
In that regard, Bob MacIntyre might well be licking his chops. His strong record on links courses extends all the way back to his days as an amateur and Shinnecock is as close to a links layout as you will find in America.
MacIntyre also excelled at Oakmont last year. His final round of 68 was arguably the finest of his career given the circumstances as so many others faltered around him.
The Scot had started the final day seven shots back from the lead, but a stunning Sunday surge up the leaderboard so nearly saw him break his duck in the majors.
In the end, it was JJ Spaun who broke his heart as MacIntyre finished two shots back as runner-up. Close but no cigar.
By the time the Ryder Cup came around later in the year, MacIntyre was safely ensconced inside the world’s top 10 and had just been part of a victorious performance from Team Europe at Bethpage Black.
MacIntyre was forced to settle for a runner-up finish last year as JJ Spaun prevailed
Yet, as he returns to Long Island this week, with Shinnecock some 60 miles or so from Bethpage, the picture is very different.
This has been a season of more downs than ups so far. MacIntyre has slipped to 17th in the world rankings and has missed the cut in three of his last seven events.
That was a run which started at The Masters in April, where he suffered a total meltdown and was later reprimanded by tournament officials for his on-course conduct.
MacIntyre then went on to miss the cut at the USPGA and The Memorial. Last week at the Canadian Open, an event he won two years ago, he finished in a tie for 15th place.
That at least demonstrated some of the form he showed earlier in the season when he finished fourth at The Players Championship at Sawgrass and then tied for second in the Texas Open.
Yet, in the context of his season, this feels like a big week for MacIntyre. He has the game and the capabilities to do well around Shinnecock, of that there’s no question.
The fast-running course and breezy conditions should, in theory, suit him. In terms of strokes gained off the tee and strokes gained putting, MacIntyre sits 13th on the PGA tour in both of those stats for this season.
His driving and long game have been largely on point. Likewise his putting. It has been his approach play which has let him down too often over recent months, not giving himself anywhere near enough looks at birdies.
MacIntyre slams his club into his bag as his Masters turned into a nightmare earlier this year
In strokes gained from approach play, he sits 129th. That is a huge disparity from the rest of his game, and is perhaps one of the main reasons why his frustrations have boiled over at times.
MacIntyre is also still in the process of adjusting to fatherhood. In January this year, he and his partner Shannon celebrated the birth of their son.
Speaking earlier this week, former Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley said of the 29-year-old Scot: ‘I don’t think he’s got a golf issue going on at the moment, I think he’s got life going on.
‘As Jack Nicklaus used to say, life gets in the way and you’ve got to deal with it. Bob has just had a baby a few months ago, just before the Masters. It’s not derailed him, but it’s an adjustment in your life.
‘He’ll settle down, he’ll figure that out, and he’ll come back again. His form has not been what we would have expected the last two or three months, and I think that’s the reason why.’
On the suggestion that Shinnecock could suit MacIntyre, McGinley continued: ‘He’s a dogged competitor. He’s got a huge heart.
‘There was a reason he was played down the order on the last day of the singles in the Ryder Cup. We have a lot of belief in him.
‘He loves the fight. I’m a huge admirer of his game. He’s a wonderful putter, he’s won on links courses and growing up in Scotland, he’s very familiar with the kind of conditions at Shinnecock Hills.’
The Scot showed glimpses of a return to form last week with a tied-15th finish in Canada
MacIntyre’s long game should be a huge asset, with Shinnecock’s par of 70 being stretched to its limit at 7,440 yards.
The rough is generally to be avoided at all costs. Back in 1995, in what was his first US Open, Tiger Woods had to withdraw due to a wrist injury after gouging his ball out of the thick stuff.
The greens are greased lightning. The USGA may not have them quite as slick as they were in 2004 and 2018, when Retief Goosen and Brooks Koepka won, but they will still be fast and undulating.
This could either be the week that ignites MacIntyre’s season and kicks off a huge summer, or one which amplifies his recent struggles.
It has been quite a few days for sports fans in New York after the Knicks clinched their first NBA championship in 53 years, with thousands of fans gathering outside Madison Square Garden to celebrate.
The MetLife Stadium in New Jersey hosted Brazil’s World Cup clash with Morocco last weekend, with next month’s final also set to be held at the 80,000-capacity venue.
Now in Long Island, the world’s best golfers descend on Shinnecock for a US Open and another brutally difficult examination.
