Oakmont. OMG-mont. Over the top-mont. The prevailing sense among anybody who ponders aUS Openat this site in rural Pennsylvania is how wonderfully demanding the challenge always is. Cue entertainment. As Xander Schauffele appropriately put it: “I don’t think people turn the TV on to watch some of the guys just hit a 200-yard shot on the green. They turn on the US Open to see a guy shooting eight over and suffer. That’s part of the enjoyment of the US Open for viewers.”
Strap in and enjoy the show. This version of Oakmont has rough that is routinely more than five inches thick. Menacing, sloped greens add to the idea of inevitable carnage. The 125th staging of the major will be a war of attrition, one which will physically and mentally exhaust the finest golfers in the world. Temper tantrums are guaranteed.
The job of the United StatesGolfAssociation is to ensure the environment is at least fair. Dissenting voices exist already on that front. Take Michael Kim, the world No 54. “The greens here feel a bit Mickey Mouse,” Kim said. “The weird sections and overall slopes are just way more than we’re used to.”
This will be met with shrugs at the USGA. This is a major with a 288-yard par three, after all. The organisers seem to revel in the kind of chaos Schauffele referenced. Mike Whan, the USGA’s chief executive, offered sharp historical perspective. “1,385 players have played a major championship on this venue,” he said. “And 27 of them finished their four days under par, 2%. So that’s quite a test out there.”
Oakmont laps up its reputation as the sternest of tests. A T-shirt sold in the club shop bears a quote from the son of the course’s founder: “Let the clumsy, the spineless, the alibi artist stand aside.” Phil Mickelson, a short-game maestro, was pictured struggling to move the ball from greenside rough during his practice on Wednesday.
Scottie Scheffler played in the 2016 US Open here as an amateur. If there is a gap in the world No 1’s illustrious CV, it relates to his ability to handle the major sites thatare not Augusta Nationalor the player-friendly US PGA Championship. Scheffler’s next step is to demonstrate he can emerge successfully from the grind, edging closer to a career grand slam. In his favour at Oakmont is his unshakable temperament and incredible accuracy with irons in hand.
It seems incredibleto write off Rory McIlroy’s chanceswithin weeks of his epic Masters success. However, the Northern Irishman is clearly grasping for rhythm after achieving all he ever wanted to achieve. McIlroy’s close friend Shane Lowry looks to have a strong chance here. So, too, does his Ryder Cup teammate Justin Rose. Collin Morikawa, Corey Conners and Russell Henley are all worthy of attention. Schauffele, who has been disrupted by injury since winning two majors in 2024, once again has live hope as he edges back to form.
“Tough but fair,” said John Bodenhamer, the USGA’s director of championships. “A lot of discussion about Oakmont being tough. It certainly is, but our mantra is tough but fair. What does that mean? It’s pretty simple. It’s not about the score, it’s about getting every club in a player’s bag dirty, all 15 of them. The 14 in their bag and the one between their ears. And we work hard on that, and that’s how we’ve gone about our business here at Oakmont. It’s the culture of this club. They want it to be tough.
“When you think about the cream rising to the top, think about this: of the nine men to win the US Open at Oakmont, eight have won at least two majors. And of the nine men that won the US Open at Oakmont, six are in the World Golf Hall of Fame. I’d venture to think that Ángel Cabrera and Dustin Johnson have a pretty good chance of getting in there and making it eight of nine again, so the ghosts matter.”
Cabrera was five over par when he won in 2007. Johnson closed at four under nine years later. Either outcome is possible here: if rain forecast for Friday and more seriously on Saturday hits, a softer site will trigger improved scoring. If Oakmont stays dry and becomes firmer, over par is likely to win.
Sign up toThe Recap
The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend’s action
after newsletter promotion
As ever, political matters rumble on in the background. Last month, the PGA of America doubled down on its view that an upcoming rollback of the golf ball should be paused. ThePGA Touragrees. The USGA, in conjunction with the R&A, has proposed the plan from 2028 onwards. The USGA has no apparent desire to change approach. Golf could be on the brink of another civil war just as it is no closer to solving the one created by LIV’s arrival.
Whan was asked whether he had a plan B on the golf ball. “We’ve announced our plan,” he responded. “I get this isn’t easy and everybody has got their own constituents. As an industry we have to be able to make small adjustments that are in the best interest of the game long-term, that we all know would be better 40 years from now if we were smart enough to make them today. We’ll make those.
“Not everybody will like it. It’ll be high anxiety until we get there. But nobody is going to die. The game is going to be great. We’re going to prove that we can be better for future generations rather than to simply look the other way and know that in 40 or 50 years we’d be handing them something we could have made small adjustments on. We’re full-speed ahead on what we’ve announced. Those decisions have been made.”
Big picture stuff can wait. Four days at Oakmont will be unapologetically tortuous.