It's real tough for anyone to become a member of the Los Angeles Country Club,. as far as we can ascertain. Right off the bat, the initiation fee can be as high as $250,000. For some high rollers in the L.A. area, that might be pocket change. But you have to get invited first.

That's just one of the onerous rules the LACC employs. You can't wear T-shirts on the premises. After 6 PM, men can wear only jackets in the clubhouse area. There are no phone calls allowed, except in designated areas. No cash can be spent, except if a member is paying a caddy. And if they are doing that, they are commanded not to tip.

You are not going to see a lot of movie stars on this property. That's simply not allowed. They don't care about glamour. They don't like paparazzi, or publicity. They don't seem to be too crazy about people in general.

And maybe that's one reason they haven't hosted any majors on the PGA Tour, or any tour stops in general. Not since 1940 anyway, when the Los Angeles Open was played there.

And maybe it explains why the course wasn't exactly ready to supply the supreme test for the world's top golfers in the US Open. Perhaps the USGA was a little lax as well.

Whatever the case, records were set in Thursday's first round. And they weren't the kind golf purists look forward to.

Johnny Miller held the record for the lowest score over a single round of US Open play, with a 63 in 1973. On Thursday, two players broke that record - Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele - who both shot a 62. Four players shot 65 or lower, which was another record. No one at all shot as high as 80, and that has never happened in an opening round of the US Open. Fowler birdied 18 of the first 36 holes.

In other words, things were pretty easy out there. Extra-wide fairways allowed for great second-shot opportunities into the green. And the greens were less challenging.

Yes, the course can be less resistant for members who have shelled out a lot of money. But those members are looking for the kind of challenge that US Open competitors have come to expect.

After all, this is a tournament that is often won with scores over par. heck, Geoff Ogilvy and Angel Cabrera both won the US Open finishing at +5.

Brooks Koepka was not a big fan. And he was vocal about it. The media couldn't figure it out.

John Bodenhamer, the Chief Championships Officer of the USGA, was apologetic. He knew the course was soft, but he wasn't expecting these kinds of low scores. He said they weren't going to force anything, but that they would do something to correct the matter.

By all accounts, the correction was made as of Saturday's third round.

But is wasn't totally visible until the back nine.

Tom Kim had a 29 on the first nine holes. Even with a 37 on the back nine, he shot a 66, which made him one of only two players to beat 68. The average scores on the back nine were almost two shots higher than those on the front. You had greens that were firmer and faster, and did not promote scoring. The pin placements were much more difficult. Even the 81-yard 15th hole became treacherous if you hit it to the wrong spot on the green.

Over the last four pairings to tee off, five players shot over par. Fowler shot even par, but Schauffele lost three shots to par.

Bryson DeChambeau, who shot 68, called the course "diabolical."

But it wasn't really diabolical. It was just becoming a US Open course at last.

Look for it to get even tougher on Sunday.

Here are the odds to win the US Open as of now:

Rory McIlroy +225
Rickie Fowler +275
Wyndham Clark +325
Scottie Scheffler +450
Dustin Johnson +3500
Xander Schauffle +3500
Harris English +4500
Cameron Smith +12500
Bryson DeChambeau +17500
Viktor Hovland +22500
Min Woo Lee +30000
Tom Kim +30000

That's the way it looks at BetOnline, where you have plenty of props and plenty of matchups to put your handicapping skills to work. And you should not forget that while the action is in progress, you bet wager on that too, using the "Live Bertting" tab in the sportsbook interface...... You can open an account rather easily; just use your credit card or choose from all of the crypto options that are available, and blast a hole-in-one!