For the first time since 2017, the U.S. Open will be contested on a golf course that has never before hosted a major championship as 156 of the world’s best golfers will converge on Los Angeles Country Club. But the 2017 venue, Erin Hills, and LACC couldn’t be more different.

While Erin Hills had been open for just over a decade when it hosted America’s national championship and can be played by the general public, Los Angeles Country Club was established in 1897 and is one of the wealthiest and most exclusive clubs in the United States.

But here’s the thing. Part of the beauty of holding the U.S. Open at a venue like Erin Hills or Los Angeles Country Club is that the vast majority of the field has no experience playing the course, making the tournament much more exciting.

That’s not to say there’s no beauty in tournaments that are played on the same course year after year. The Masters is all the proof you need there. But there’s undoubtedly plenty of exhilaration watching the world’s best attempt to tackle a track with which they’re unfamiliar.

Now, with that being said, a few of the most high-profile names in this year’s U.S. Open field have played Los Angeles Country Club, which has opened its doors to host a few different events over the years. One of those was the 2017 Walker Cup. And a few names from the winning U.S. squad that year will be teeing it up this week, most notably Collin Morikawa and Scottie Scheffler. Will Zalatoris was also on that team but will not compete this week as he’s out for the remainder of this season with a back injury.

But perhaps no player in this 123rd U.S. Open has more of an advantage over the field than Max Homa. You see, not only has the California native played Los Angeles Country Club — he owns the course record.

Max Homa set the course record at Los Angeles Country Club, site of the 2023 U.S. Open, while still in college

In the spring of 2013, Max Homa was a senior at Cal-Berkeley and would turn pro just a few months later. But he still had plenty of business to tend to with the Bears, starting with the Pac-12 Championship, which was contested at none other than Los Angeles Country Club.

And the Burbank-born star wasted no time in making his presence felt.

In the opening round, Homa fired a 9-under 61 to establish a new course record, a mark that still stands to this very day. What makes the round even more impressive is the fact that the scoring average that day on the par-70 layout at LACC was 73.29.

And how’s this as an added bonus? The low score of the second round belonged to an Arizona State freshman by the name of Jon Rahm, who shot a 3-under 67. So the world No. 2 will also have some fond experience on which to look back heading into the U.S. Open.

Ultimately, Homa won the individual title that week while also leading Cal to its second consecutive team championship.

As he’s still searching for his first major championship, Max Homa will undoubtedly hope for a similar result at the U.S. Open. And oddly enough, he’ll be playing the first two rounds at Los Angeles Country Club alongside the pair of aforementioned players who also have experience here: Scottie Scheffler and Collin Morikawa.