No hiding place as Oakmont provides stern US Open test
Footage of golfers emerging from the withering embrace of Oakmont's notoriously deep, ruthless rough over the past couple of days has been broadly equivalent to watching pit ponies blinking and gasping into the daylight after an exhausting shift down the mines.
'Last Monday felt impossible,' observed the Masters champion, Rory McIlroy, as he reflected on a reconnaissance mission to Oakmont last week. 'I birdied the last two holes for 81. It felt pretty good.'
The greens, meanwhile, tend to be so quick it can be a bit like putting on the back of a soup spoon.
The stimpmeter, that simple contraption used for measuring green speeds, was devised back in 1935 after its inventor, Edward S Stimpson, watched the great Gene Sarazen putt a ball off the green during that year's US Open. And yes, you've guessed it, Oakmont was the venue.
Sarazen himself had his own views on this mighty Pennsylvanian track. 'Oakmont possesses all the charm of a sock to the head,' he said.
Keeping the heid while others are losing theirs will be a valuable attribute this week.
Oakmont's course designer, Henry Clay Fowles, certainly wanted to create a fearsome stretch of golfing terrain. And he did.
"Let the clumsy, the spineless, the alibi artists stand aside, a poor shot should be a shot irrevocably lost," he stated. It sounds like he'd watched play unfold at the Association of Golf Writers' spring meeting.
Back in 2007, Angel Cabrera won the US Open at Oakmont with a five-over aggregate. Almost a decade later, in 2016, Dustin Johnston triumphed with a hard-earned four-under total.
That was the year a young Scottie Scheffler made his major debut as an amateur. He narrowly missed the cut. Here in 2025, the 28-year-old is the dominant force in men's golf.
'That was a tough pill to swallow, missing the cut by one,' reflected the world No 1. 'But I played a practice round with Dustin and Brooks (Koepka) and I felt like I learned a lot from those guys at the time. It definitely made me excited to get out here (on tour) for real.'
With all its abundant challenges and hazards – there are 175 bunkers in total with the sprawling sandy expanse of the Church Pews its most famous trap – there's no let-up in the remorseless Oakmont examination.
The eighth hole, for instance, is a par-3 that is set to be the longest in major history. 'I promise you we'll play it at 301 (yards) this year,' said John Bodenhamer, the USGA chief championships officer, with ghoulish glee.
'I'm going to try to hit the green, whether it's a 3-wood or driver from that back tee,' said Scheffler of his own approach. 'Depends on wind direction but basically just going to try to get the ball on the green and two-putt.'
Damage limitation could be a watchword over the next few days. Jack Nicklaus, who won the first of his 18 majors at Oakmont in the 1962 US Open, recently suggested that the eighth hole was 'crazy.'
He did add, with a wry chortle, that, '"I haven't played it since they lengthened it to be a short par five.'
Beasts, of course, can be tamed. Readers of a certain vintage will recall Johnny Miller's barnstorming final round of 63 at Oakmont in 1973 which gave him the US Open title.
The only shot he leaked in that rousing charge was at the eighth. A few could be leaked there too this week.
'This is probably the hardest golf course that we'll play, maybe ever, and that's pretty much all it is,' added Scheffler of the general set up.
A US Open, by nature, tends to be the kind of attritional battle that should feature barbed wire, mortar rounds and trenches.
'You're always aware of what a golf tournament here is going to be like,' said Jon Rahm, the 2021 US Open champion.
'A lot of unfortunate things are going to happen. It's hard fairways to hit, bad lies, difficult bunkers, difficult greens. It's going to be a nice test, a difficult test. And I think one of the truest representations of what a US Open is all about.'
Let battle commence.
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Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Former caddie-turned-dentist eyes silver lining after rough U.S. Open
OAKMONT, Pennsylvania, June 12 (Reuters) - Former Oakmont caddie-turned-dentist Matt Vogt, who qualified for the U.S. Open last week, could have used some laughing gas after a rough start to the year's third major on Thursday but still walked away thankful for all he had accomplished. The 34-year-old amateur, who grew up outside Pittsburgh and caddied at Oakmont where he also got to play on Monday nights, had the honour of hitting the first shot of the U.S. Open where he went on to card a 12-over-par 82. "Honestly, I came in with such optimism for this golf course, but it is so hard. It's just so, so hard," said Vogt. "I'd say in the moment you feel like you get punched in the face but, ultimately, yeah, I'd say it was fun." Vogt, playing on a golf course considered to be one of the toughest in the world and where many top players also struggled on Thursday, made par on his first two holes before his round started to unravel. By the time he reached the turn Vogt had two bogeys and a pair of double-bogeys on his card. He added four more bogeys on the back nine before capping his day with a double-bogey. "You just get behind the eight ball here, and honestly your head starts spinning," said Vogt. "That's what it feels like, your head starts spinning out here, and it just gets away from you." Vogt, who will need a special second round if he hopes to make the cut, may have walked away from Oakmont on Thursday feeling a bit numb but knows that in the future he will look back on this most incredible week with pride. "For me to just say it's just another golf tournament would be lying to myself," said Vogt. "Down the road there will definitely be a lot of things to take from today. "I mean, how could any other golf tournament feel more like this or more full of pressure like this? I mean, it's the U.S. Open. I'm trying to have a silver lining on shooting 82."
Times
2 hours ago
- Times
Rory McIlroy fades fast as Oakmont brings best to their knees
For a couple of hours all the talk of Oakmont's terrors seemed overstated and this near mythical beast by the Allegheny River looked about as dangerous as a stuffed fish on a marble plinth. The reputation has been well-earned, though, and by the end of the first day at a sun-baked US Open, players were using words like brutal and bloodbath, and Rory McIlroy's promising start had faded into more anti-climax. After a bogey-free first nine, he dropped six shots, finished at four over par and was not in the mood for discussing it afterwards. The frustration was palpable as he again walked past journalists shaking his head. For the fifth consecutive round at the majors, the man who inspired post-Augusta paeans had scribes sheathing their pens. Scottie Scheffler was just starting out on his own troubled path at that point, and JJ Spaun was talking into a camera after setting the clubhouse lead with a round of 66, some eight shots clear of McIlroy. It was very much a round of two halves for McIlroy. After all the talk about having to replace his 'non-conforming' driver at last month's US PGA Championship and his own questions about motivation, he began with the requisite calm and control. Playing the easier back nine first, he was able to open with an iron off the tee and on his third felt able to bludgeon a 392-yard drive down the middle. The ensuing eagle chance went awry but he was two under in three holes. The toughest course in the world? Pah. But as the day lengthened, that 'ugly old brute' of a course got under the skin and scraped the scabbing from weakness. Tiger Woods had warned that there is no faking it here, and it duly provided a true test of technique, strategy and psyche. It is a course where you need to make putts from inside ten feet to stay afloat and, significantly, McIlroy missed three from within seven feet after the turn. And then came his penultimate hole, the much-vaunted long par-three measuring 279 yards and due to get longer. He missed the green right and needed two swipes to get out of the dense rough. That double bogey was the final blight on a day of dwindling promise. One of the keys to winning here is damage limitation and the 4th hole, McIlroy's 13th, was a little odyssey. It took some time to locate his ball and, deep in trouble, McIlroy ignored caddie Harry Diamond's suggestion to take a drop. He could only hack his ball some 20 yards forward and the next shot was even worse, his relatively serene progress in danger of unravelling in one, disastrous hole. In fairness to McIlroy, he then managed to get up and down from 180 yards for what was a bonus bogey, but he had started to creak. It will be no consolation that he was better than his playing partners. Shane Lowry, who started the final round of the 2016 US Open here four shots clear, was nine over, despite an eagle from 160 yards, and Justin Rose was only two shots better. It meant a trio with a combined seven majors finished at a collective 20 over par. Pretty beastly, that. Although 23 of the past 24 US Open winners have been within four shots of the lead after the opening round, McIlroy was in good company in the trauma ward. Tommy Fleetwood and Matt Fitzpatrick were among those on the same score, while Gary Woodland, the 2019 champion, was another whose flying start segued into an Icarus descent after six dropped shots in six holes. Bryson DeChambeau, the defending champion, was alongside him at three over par after struggling with his putter, but predicted that could be the winning score if the rain holds off over the weekend. The sun and breeze sapped the course of any lingering moisture, and anyone finishing under par had cause for a panoramic smile. Bob MacIntyre, the pride of Oban, was one of those delighted to walk away at even par. 'You shoot four level-par rounds, you're walking away with a medal and a trophy,' he said. 'That's up there in the top ten rounds I've played. It's just so hard. Honestly, every shot you're on a knife edge. I felt I played beautifully and I drove it as good as I can drive the golf ball.' His excitement with a 70 shows the scale of this challenge. Belgium's Ryder Cup hopeful Thomas Detry, one of the select bunch in the red numbers, warned that it could even become 'a bloodbath' if the wind starts to blow harder. The rough is part of it, but the speed and slopes of the greens provide a potent combination. So Spaun deserved huge credit, as did Thriston Lawrence who was only a shot behind with Kim Si-woo , another stroke adrift. Spaun, beaten by McIlroy in the play-off at The Players in March, chipped in for a birdie on his opening hole and that set the tone for a scrambling round. 'I rode that momentum through the day,' he said. As for McIlroy, he does not need to rewind very far for proof that he can overcome first-round deflation. At the Masters he was written off by many after making two double bogeys down the first-round stretch. Opportunities for salvage streaks are scarcer at Oakmont, though, and his first task is to make the cut. Failure to do so would spawn more enquiries about how he can rekindle his fire after achieving his career goal. Even Scheffler said the post-major comedown last month left him feeling like he had been hit by a bus due to the heightened emotion. He probably felt something similar after a string of early bogeys had him fighting fire and rarely-seen foible. Patrick Reed was another suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune with his 286-yard albatross from the fourth fairway straddled by bogeys. For all the suspicion that McIlroy needs time to regather his mojo, he hates the thought that anyone might think he is not up for golf's hardest tests and, indeed, after three missed cuts at the US Open, he has not been out of the top ten for six years. But Oakmont is tougher than the rest. John Bodenhamer, the USGA's chief championships officer, said with a tinge of sadism that part of the place's appeal is psychological. 'Oakmont is relentless,' he said. 'It's a grind and there are limited opportunities to catch up when you are behind.' They will all try to keep on hanging on today.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Rory McIlroy chewed up by course that's like rabid tiger as he suffers back-nine meltdown to trail early US Open leader JJ Spaun by six shots
First, he tickled the belly of the beast and then he was introduced to its teeth. If nothing else comes from Rory McIlroy's trip to the US Open, at least he will have a battle story to tell about Oakmont. Will that be shared with the media? We have to wait on that, because for the fifth major round in succession he bolted without saying a word. But given the tribulations of his opening 74, and indeed his mood of late, that snub was no great shock. More surprising was the meltdown on his back nine, which launched McIlroy from two-under-par and one off the lead at the turn to four-over by the close, six shots behind leader JJ Spaun. Such a journey from contention to cold shoulders was a messy tale of duffed chips and missed putts, amplified by a new driver that behaved as badly as its recent predecessors. Even for this place, and for all we have raved about its reputation, a return of four bogeys and a double from those inward nine holes was a nasty way to end an afternoon. JJ Spaun had a superb opening round at Oakmont and finished up at four under par With a face like thunder, McIlroy then walked straight past the microphones, presumably in need of a lie down and the sort of inspiration that pulsed through Spaun. It was Spaun who McIlroy defeated in a play-off to win the Players' Championship three months ago, in what became an important staging post in his journey towards Masters glory. Here, it was Spaun who proved the toughest course in major golf can be navigated without loss of blood as he emerged from the first wave of tee times to set the target at four-under. The world No 25 did not drop a shot in his 66. To contextualise the feat, the last time a US Open was played at Oakmont, in 2016, there was only one bogey-free round among the 443 completed. That belonged to Dustin Johnson, the eventual winner, and so Spaun's first-round accomplishment warrants great recognition, particularly for the manner in which he missed six greens and scrambled to make par each time. Does Spaun's score and a number of other sub-par rounds mean Oakmont is playing slightly easier than normal? It is like trying to identify differences between a rabid tiger and an angry one. For instance, Bryson DeChambeau, the defending champion, laboured to a 73 and needed three shots to escape greenside rough at the 12th. Scottie Scheffler? He was among the late starters and found himself two-over through 10 holes. Shane Lowry, tipped to win by many this week and playing alongside McIlroy, had a rough day. He benefited from a chip-in par on the 17th and an eagle from the fairway on the third and yet still signed for a 79. Lowry's round was proof of Oakmont's many challenges — despite hitting 10 of 14 fairways, thereby avoiding too much extra time in the five-inch rough, he was still trending towards a missed cut, battered by his failure to find greens and an inability to thrive with the putter. When one tripwire is navigated on this course, a dozen more await your next step. Lowry's exasperation was best shown when he yanked an on-course microphone from the ground and hurled it as he approached the turn. The third member of the group, Justin Rose, who has been runner-up in two of the previous three majors, shot 77 — combined, he, Lowry and McIlroy were 20-over. So make no mistake, even in sedate weather, Oakmont is a brute. Just ask Matt Vogt, an American amateur who qualified with a good yarn to tell, for he is a former caddie here and these days works as a dentist. He needed 82 shots — you can make your own gags about pulling teeth. Of the British interests among the earlier starters, Robert MacIntyre had the best of it. He closed with a bogey, but after hitting 11 of 14 fairways in a level-par 70 he was well placed. McIlroy? Not nearly so much, which only extends the gloom of his post-Masters lull. Starting on the 10th, he opened well with a 30-footer for birdie on the 11th and another stroke followed when he reached the par-five 12th in two. At that stage, his game from the tee was showing a degree of improvement after switching to his fourth driver configuration in the space of three starts. By the turn, he was also showing plenty of grit, which was necessary because the latest driver had gone cold. He had hit only two fairways, but was saving pars. Alas, it unravelled spectacularly. On the first hole, his 10th, he three-putted back to one-under and on the par five fourth, the easiest on the card, he drove miles off line to the right, which was his pattern for the day. Buried in long grass, McIlroy ignored the advice of caddie Harry Diamond, who suggested a penalty drop in a better spot, and instead hacked into the grassy face of a bunker. The third shot then travelled barely 15 yards and eventually a 32-footer dropped for a six. It could have been worse. Difficulties in the sand on the sixth brought McIlroy back to one-over, a three-putt at the next extended the rut and the final indignity came on the eighth, an excessively long par three of 300 yards. Taking aim with a three wood, he sliced it into the deep stuff on the right, duffed his pitch and required another three to get down. The story of his post-Masters revival might have to wait for a kinder location.
