U.S. Open 2025: Oakmont may be a slow burn but high scores are still coming

New York Times

20 hours ago

OAKMONT, Pa. — My goodness, Robert Macintyre was delighted. Chuffed, even. He drove it as well as he can drive a golf ball. He found fairways and avoided the thick stuff. He converted his tough putts at a steady rate. The 28-year-old Scot played as good of golf as he believes is capable of playing Thursday.
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'That's up there in the top 10 of any rounds that I've played,' he said.
He shot even par.
The U.S. Open is back at Oakmont Country Club this week, meaning the U.S. Open is back to being the toughest test in golf. Superstars threw clubs and duffed chips in Round 1. Rory McIlroy turned a first nine 33 into a 41 on the way in. Sixteen golfers shot in the 80s on a par-70 setup, and the only past major winners still under par are Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm.
So don't make the mistake of looking at a U.S. Open leaderboard with a 4-under leader in Round 1 — and 10 total golfers under par — and think you're being robbed of a true Oakmont carnage.
The golf so far is indeed evil. It is hard. It is the second-highest-scoring U.S. Open first round in 10 years, even higher than the last Oakmont trip in 2016, and the top of the leaderboard will keep reverting back to par over four days. Because more than any other major and any other course, an Oakmont U.S. Open is not about your highest of highs. It's about your lows across 72 holes.
So Adam Scott, a man playing in his third Open at Oakmont, was asked what he thinks it'll take to win if it doesn't rain this weekend.
'I like plus four,' Scott said.
OK, what did MacIntyre think?
'You shoot four level-par rounds, you're walking away with a medal and a trophy,' he said.
Rory is currently in a battle with the par-5 4th. pic.twitter.com/zdUqIB36kM
— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 12, 2025
With the sun still rising in the Western Pennsylvania sky at 6:40 in the morning Thursday, Dr. Matthew Vogt set up on the first tee as an outsider who believed. Here was a dentist from McCordsville, Ind., who grew up outside Pittsburgh and earned his way here in a 36-hole qualifier in Walla Walla, Wash.. He felt good in his practice rounds. He didn't feel like some token, quirky story, a former Oakmont caddie given a tee time. He earned this.
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Vogt stepped up to hit the opening tee shot of the 125th U.S. Open, his eyes not displaying any fear or doubt, and launched a drive so far left it went over the rough, the nearby ninth fairway and all the way into the rough on the other side of No. 9.
Credit where it's due, Vogt hit a fantastic recovery shot to save par. Unfortunately, Vogt was 12-over-par by the time he finished in 82 shots.
'My goodness, honestly, I came in with such optimism for this golf course,' Vogt said, 'but it is so hard. It's just so, so hard. I'd say in the moment you feel like you get punched in the face, but ultimately, yeah, I'd say it was fun.'
This was not just punishment for the dentist. Minutes later, world No. 13 Tommy Fleetwood teed off and found the left-side native area hazard and had to take a drop. An opening bogey started his way to a disappointing 4-over 74. Shane Lowry, the 54-hole leader at Oakmont nine years ago, shot a 79 in spite of a hole-out eagle on No. 3. Dominant forces like the sport's consensus top three — Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau and McIlroy — all shot at least 3-over.
The 2016 U.S. Open here was filled with constant rain and stoppages, and still 11 golfers finished Round 1 under par. By the Sunday finish, there were just four. On Thursday, it was just 10, and it will only get harder each day.
There's a slight misunderstanding about the test Oakmont creates. It is indeed the hardest course in major golf, but it is not the type with constant hazards or daunting hills leading to obvious blow-up holes and crushing penalties. It is a course that jabs you over and over, little by little, slowly but surely, until it can recognize the true golfer still standing after four days of attrition.
The fairways are difficult, but not unbelievably hard to find. The course is long, but nothing crazy by modern standards. The greens are comically fast, but they're big and landable. It's a course that simply tests you in straightforward ways, but with every single shot without a single break.
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So it's not about how low the leader goes on Day 1. It's about who can hold off the disasters constantly around the corner for 72 holes.
'Your head starts spinning out here, and it just gets away from you,' Vogt said.
McIlroy looked composed and steady at 2-under through nine. Then he bogeyed No. 1, went to the par-5 No. 4 and hit it right into the thick, penal native area. It took him three hacks to get back into the fairway, and it was impressive to even make bogey. He'll start Friday's second round tied for 63rd at 4-over.
'If you miss the fairway, it's essentially a stroke penalty,' said Jordan Spieth, who shot even par.
Patrick Reed made an albatross on No. 4 to get to 2-under and become one of the stories of the day. He slowly faded, and on his final hole on 18, he found a bunker, went to some thick rough from there, tried to get cute from the edge of the green and ultimately triple bogeyed to fall to 3-over. 'When I was watching it earlier on the coverage, guys were spinning balls back up the hills on 1 and 10. That's never going to happen again,' Reed said.
MacIntyre's caddie had to remind him after each poor position that they had a plan and need to stick to it. Don't try to be a hero. It kept him alive. He wasn't the only one hearing that. 'If you're out of position in the rough, you lose control,' Scott said. 'It can take two or three goes to get it back into a spot where you can have control over the next shot. It's pretty relentless, really.'
J.J. Spaun is not your 18-hole leader because he made four birdies. Plenty of people strung birdies together. He's the leader because he never let a hole get away from him. He's on top because of his remarkable par saves, like his one on No. 4 from the church pews bunker.
'That's kind of the key to this tournament and this venue is just not losing your steam,' Spaun said, 'not losing your focus, and converting those momentum-saving putts.'
That's the other thing to acknowledge. The only two golfers to shoot 67 or better — Spaun and Thriston Lawrence — putted out of their minds, both ranking top four in the field in strokes gained on the green. That is the least sustainable skill at a course like this. Some of those putts won't fall Friday. Or Saturday. Or Sunday.
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Oakmont is indeed creating carnage, and it will continue to as the week goes on. How do we know? Because even the golfer in third place, Si Woo Kim, admits he's flying blind out there.
'Honestly, I don't even know what I'm doing on the course,' Kim said. 'Kind of hitting good, but I feel like this course is too hard for me.'
(Top photo of Trevor Gutschewski: Ross Kinnaird / Getty Images)