US Open players get that sinking feeling, straight down into the rough at brutal Oakmont
Scottie Scheffler hits from a bunker on the sixth hole during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Patrick Reed signals his tee shot is right on the seventh tee during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Jason Day, of Australia, tees off on the seventh hole during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Patrick Reed tees off on the seventh hole during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Thriston Lawrence, of South Africa, hits from the 18th fairway during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Thriston Lawrence, of South Africa, hits from the 18th fairway during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Scottie Scheffler hits from a bunker on the sixth hole during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Patrick Reed signals his tee shot is right on the seventh tee during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Jason Day, of Australia, tees off on the seventh hole during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Patrick Reed tees off on the seventh hole during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Thriston Lawrence, of South Africa, hits from the 18th fairway during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) — Gary Woodland, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, waved the rules official over. Certainly, a ball buried that deep in the rough had to have embedded into the soft turf below when his off-line drive on the 12th hole landed with a thunk.
No such luck, the official told him. The rough at Oakmont is just deep — and thick and hard to escape. Instead of taking a free drop for an embedded ball, Woodland had to replace it where he found it, get out his wedge, take a hack and pray.
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That resulted in Woodland's first blemish in a back nine of 6-over 41 at the U.S. Open on Thursday. It turned a promising round that began with three birdies into a 3-over 73 slog.
Woodland's was one of dozens of tales from the rough — gnarly, thick and sometimes downright impossible — that make an Open at Oakmont as tough as they come.
'Even for a guy like me, I can't get out of it some of the times, depending on the lie,' said defending champion Bryson DeChambeau, who makes a living on overpowering golf courses and gouging out of the thick stuff. 'It was tough. It was a brutal test of golf.'
DeChambeau was at even par when he nuked his second shot over the green and into the rough in back of the 12th green. The grass opened up his club face on the third and rifled the ball into more rough. He needed two more shots to advance the ball from there to the fringe. He shot 73.
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'If you miss the green, you miss it by too much, you then try to play an 8-yard pitch over the rough onto a green that's brick hard running away from you,' Scotland's Robert MacIntyre said after his round of even-par 70. 'It just feels like every shot is on a knife edge.'
Punishing the best in the world is exactly how the superintendents at what might be America's toughest golf course planned it.
For the record, they do mow this rough. If they didn't, there's a chance some of the grass would lay over itself, allowing the ball to perch up instead of sink down. The mowers here have blades that use suction to pull the grass upward as they cut, helping the grass stand up straight and creating the physics that allow the ball to sink to the bottom.
Which is exactly where Rory McIlroy found his second shot, then his third, after failing to gouge his drive out of the lush green fescue located right of all that 'regular' rough on the par-4 fourth. He made 6 there on his way to 74.
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On No. 3, top-ranked No. 1 Scottie Scheffler hit his tee shot into the famous church pew bunker, then cooked his second shot up the hill and over the green. The rough opened up his clubface on the chip, sending the ball into the second cut of fringe. He got down in two to save bogey there.
Patrick Reed hit the shot of the day. It was a 286-yarder from the fairway that hit the green and dropped in for only the fourth albatross — a 2 on a par 5 — in recorded U.S. Open history.
If only he could have stopped there. His ensuing drive was so far left, it landed in the rough near the eighth tee box. He hacked across the fairway into more rough and scrambled to save bogey.
Later, Reed short-sided his approach on No. 9, moved the next shot from the rough about 5 feet and needed to get up and down for bogey.
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Maybe J.J. Spaun figured it out the best.
With the dew still slickening the grass for his early tee time, Spaun chipped in from a gnarly lie on his first hole to open the Open with a birdie. He only hit eight of 14 fairways and 12 of 18 greens, but that was good enough for a 4-under 66, which sent him home with the lead and a chance to watch the afternoon players suffer.
'I like feeling uncomfortable,' Spaun said.
He came to the right place this week.
___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
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Yahoo
15 minutes ago
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U.S. Open live leaderboard: Scottie Scheffler struggling, Brooks Koepka in the hunt
Oakmont is biting back. Only a handful of players remain under par midway through Round 2. Two of those players — Sam Burns and Viktor Hovland — are putting together stellar rounds ... while everyone else is being grounded into paste. The scoring is going to get even more difficult for the afternoon wave, which doesn't bode well for first-round leader J.J. Spaun, who pulled out one of the best rounds that Oakmont Country Club has ever seen during a U.S. Open on Thursday. Spaun fired a bogey-free 66 to kick off the U.S. Open, which gave him a one-shot lead over the field. He's playing in his first U.S. Open, and he carded what was just the second bogey-free round at a U.S. Open at Oakmont. Some big names are in danger of missing the cut, which you can track here. Stick with Yahoo Sports for all of the updates throughout the second round of the U.S. Open. 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A quick look at the betting odds over at Bet MGM and, well, Sam Burns is now the favorite at +700. Next up: J.J. Spaun and Viktor Hovland at +1000. Scottie Scheffler is still at just +1600, fifth best, even though he's nine shots back. If someone offers you an even-par 70, take it an run. You'll be the Round 2 leader. OK, so Oakmont is grinding everyone into a pulp, except maybe Sam Burns who's somehow 4-under on his round. But Brooks Koepka, who had it to 3-under an hour or so ago, is now at +1, after a fourth bogey in five holes. The latest came after he was next to the green at No. 4, a par 5, in two. From there, four strokes, dropped shot, frustration settling in Left, left, left, that's pretty much been Scottie Scheffler off the tee at Oakmont the last two days. And so after yet another drive he lost to the left, even Scheffler is left frustrated. Oakmont can frustrate even the most even-keeled players. — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 13, 2025 That led to another bogey, pushing him back to +5, on the wrong side of the current cut line. A double bogey at No. 2 for Hovland is, well, ouch. And he was probably lucky to get out of there with only that much damage. And just like that, Scottie Scheffler is on the good side of the cut line. A birdie at No. 2 — his 11th hole — has him back to +4. That's right on the cut number. It should be noted, the front nine (where Scheffler is now) is playing four strokes above par, so Scheffler still has a lot of work to do to make the weekend. It's another bogey for Scottie Scheffler, this one at the first, to move him to +5. As of now, that would be on the wrong side of the cut line. No one is putting up a score Friday ... except for Viktor Hovland, who rolled in a lengthy birdie putt at No. 1 to get it back to 3-under, one off the lead. After a birdie at No. 17 got him to 3-under, one shot off the lead, Brooks Koepka has bogeyed each of the last three holes. He's back to even par Here's how the cut works at the U.S. Open: Top 60 and ties, pretty simple. What does that mean? Currently, the cutline would be +4. That pus the following players on the wrong side: Jordan Spieth (+5)Tony FinauDustin Johnson (+5)Patrick Cantlay (+6)Justin Thomas (+ After putting his tee shot on the short par 4 17th just in front of the green, Scottie Scheffler needed four shots to get it in the hole. That's a bogey, his second in three holes, and pushes him to +4. It's been a tough go at the majors for Viktor Hovland, who after some top-5 finishes a few years ago, hasn't been a factor of late. But after an eagle at No. 17, he's got himself to 3-under, just one back of the lead. Keep the hole-outs coming on 17! Viktor Hovland cards an eagle to match Koepka at 3-under. — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 13, 2025 It won't show up on the scorecard, but Collin Morikawa's epic par putt at 15 is the kind of stroke that keeps you in this thing at Oakmont. Not all U.S. Open pars are created equal! Witness this 58-foot bomb from Collin Morikawa at two-time major champion stays right in the hunt at even par. — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 13, 2025 (As of 12:30 p.m. ET) 1. J.J. Spaun -4 (12:52 p.m. ET) 2. Sam Burns -3Thriston Lawrence (2:20) T4. Viktor Hovland -2Si Woo Kim (1:36) T6. Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen -1Ben Griffin (1:14)Thomas Detry (1:47) For full leaderboard, click here Sam Burns finishes his round with a 65, 5-under par. Only two rounds have been lower in U.S. Open history at Oakmont: a 63 by Johnny Miller in 1973 and Loren Roberts' 64 at the 1994 tournament. WHAT A ROUND! 🔥Sam Burns posts a spectacular Friday 65, the best we've seen this week. — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 13, 2025 That leaves Burns one shot behind leader J.J. Spaun, who is just beginning his second round. Taylor Pendrith, tied for 16th at 2 over, nearly hit a spectacular shot on No. 1, only to have it painfully lip out. So close! Taylor Pendrith caught the downslope on 1 and almost pulled off the spectacular. — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 13, 2025 Take a look at Brooks Koepka's scorecard: 7 bogeys, six pars and four birdies. It's good enough, right now, to be T10. Two birdies in the last four holes have Scottie Scheffler at +3, giving him a little more breathing room between himself and the cut line. The irony in this is that Scheffler now has three birdies on the front nine, which is playing three strokes harder than the back nine. And he needed it, otherwise he might have been heading home early. 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But after an eagle at No. 17, he's got himself to 3-under, just one back of the lead. Keep the hole-outs coming on 17! Viktor Hovland cards an eagle to match Koepka at 3-under. — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 13, 2025 It won't show up on the scorecard, but Collin Morikawa's epic par putt at 15 is the kind of stroke that keeps you in this thing at Oakmont. Not all U.S. Open pars are created equal! Witness this 58-foot bomb from Collin Morikawa at two-time major champion stays right in the hunt at even par. — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 13, 2025
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