This Insane U.S. Open Stat Proves Oakmont Living up to the Hype

Newsweek

15 hours ago

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The USGA loves to pick big-boy golf courses to host its annual U.S. Open.
This year, for the 125th edition, the U.S. Open returned to Oakmont Country Club for the first time since 2016, and midway through the 72-hole event, the course is living up to the hype.
Carnage is everywhere, and Oakmont does not care about golfers' OWGR (Official World Golf Ranking) placement.
With just a handful of groups left to complete the second round, a stat will put into perspective how difficult Oakmont is playing this week.
There are currently five players under par and only six at even or better. However, on the other end of the leaderboard, there are seven at +20 or higher. Since stat guru Justin Ray tweeted this initially, one more guy dropped a shot.
Currently at Oakmont:
5 players are under par
6 players are at +20 or higher — Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) June 13, 2025
To take it further, there are 19 players at +15 or worse.
The average score through two days of play at Oakmont is 74.65, almost five strokes worse than par at this track.
OAKMONT, PENNSYLVANIA - JUNE 13: Ludvig Aberg of Sweden takes a moment while playing the seventh hole during the second round of the 125th U.S. OPEN at Oakmont Country Club on June 13, 2025 in...
OAKMONT, PENNSYLVANIA - JUNE 13: Ludvig Aberg of Sweden takes a moment while playing the seventh hole during the second round of the 125th U.S. OPEN at Oakmont Country Club on June 13, 2025 in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. More
Photo byAnother wild stat is the wide gap between the best and worst scores on Friday at Oakmont.
Sam Burns posted a 5-under 65, and George Duangmanee's 89 is the worst so far. That is a 24-shot difference, the largest gap in any single round in an Oakmont U.S. Open.
The gap between the best round today (65) and worst (89, so far) is 24 shots
That's the largest such gap in any single round in a U.S. Open at Oakmont. — Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) June 13, 2025
Denny McCarthy, who went 70-74 and sits at 4-over overall, perfectly put what it's like playing Oakmont this week.
"Everyone seems like they're exhausted when they come in off the course just because it's a punch in the face," McCarthy said. "Even if you've played okay and grind it out and shoot a couple under to a couple over, it's still just a grind."
Currently, there have only been 627 birdies or better and 1,692 bogeys or worse. These numbers will slightly change, but the point is that there have been over 1,000 more dropped shots than gained ones.
Oakmont is notorious for high scores. Dustin Johnson won at 4-under overall. In 2006, Angel Cabrera finished with a +5 to win the tournament.
Fans love carnage at these major championships, but when do these guys start waving the white flag?
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