2025 U.S. Open: 5 Biggest Storylines from Oakmont Country Club

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The 125th U.S. Open is upon us, and the world's best golfers are at Oakmont Country Club just outside of Pittsburgh, PA. The golf season's third major championship is sure to deliver the drama, excitement, and glory to its prestigious winner once again. But this year, maybe more than most, has an elevated sense of importance.
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It has been just over two years since the PGA Tour and LIV Golf came to an agreement. Since that time, the sides appear to have only fallen further and further apart, instead of coming together. The Saudi-backed league continues to struggle to gain traction with fans and sponsors. Many of its top players' contracts expire in either 2025 or 2026.
That places the future of the sport in question. But the present, you could argue, could not be any more exciting.
Many of the world's top-ranked golfers enter the U.S. Open atop their game. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is back to dominating the sport. Rory McIlroy finally got the monkey off his back at Augusta National. Reigning U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau has been incredibly consistent in majors in recent years.
And that is just the tip of the iceberg. So, let's get to the five biggest storylines for the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club.
© Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
5 Biggest U.S. Open Storylines
5. The Course Itself
Normally, all of the major storylines are derived from the players. But that is not the case for this year's U.S. Open. Oakmont Country Club already has a reputation for being one of the most challenging golf courses in the world. But the conditions the USGA has set up this week should give the pros nightmares.
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The greens are incredibly wide, but that will only give players hope. If they are not accurate off the tee, they will be begging for par. That is because the rough at Oakmont is as deep as most players have ever seen.
Ben Griffin, one of the hottest players on the PGA Tour, visited Oakmont for a practice round recently. The video of him dropping a ball into the rough, only to disappear, has since gone viral with over a million views. He would later go on to say that he expects the winning score to be around 5-over par.
Not under, over par.
This course last hosted the U.S. Open in 2016. Dustin Johnson won the event at 4-under, but that is not expected to be the winning score this time around.
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Adam Scott and Rory McIlroy each played practice rounds here last week. Suffice it to say, they came away with the same impression as Griffin.
4. Bryson DeChambeau looks for 3rd U.S. Open title
Last year, the content king Bryson DeChambeau bested Rory McIlroy in a dramatic finish at Pinehurst No. 2. While McIlroy crumbled down the stretch, the LIV Golf star brought his best late to capture his second U.S. Open title.
DeChambeau previously won his first major at Winged Foot in 2000. In fact, he has finished in the top six in five of the last six major championships. So, the stage and bright lights are never too big for him.
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His game appears to be on point entering Oakmont, too. He has seven top 20 finishes on LIV Golf this season in as many starts. That includes a victory and a recent leaderboard finish at LIV Golf Virginia this past weekend.
Expect the big man to be there come Sunday.
3. Rory McIlroy Looks to Regain Form
The Northern Irishman made history in April. McIlroy became the sixth man ever to complete the career grand slam by winning the Masters. Only Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods had previously achieved that feat.
His Masters mastery continued his recent run of success. McIlroy had already won twice in 2025: namely the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the PLAYERS Championship (both Signature Events).
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But since the win at Augusta, McIlroy appears to have checked out. He played poorly at the PGA Championship and even caused a stir by refusing to speak to the media after each round. It later came out that his driver failed USGA standards and was deemed non-conforming. That forced the five-time major champion to switch drivers heading into the event.
McIlroy then drove the ball terribly at Quail Hollow, a course he previously dominated. Things did not get any better at the RBC Canadian Open, where McIlroy posted his worst 36-hole finish of his PGA Tour career. He finished 149th of 153 golfers in the field.
The question is; will he regain his form and contend? His driver is the key.
2. Phil Mickelson's U.S. Open Swan Song?
Another player on LIV Golf will surely steal some headlines this week. Phil Mickelson may be playing in the final U.S. Open tournament of his career. That is because his exemption for winning the 2021 PGA Championship (at 50 years old) runs dry after this year. The Official World Golf Rankings still denies points to LIV tournaments, causing most on that tour to plummet.
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While at LIV Virginia this week, Lefty acknowledged this may be his last U.S. Open. That is important because that is the one major missing from his legendary resume. He has finished second place a whopping six times at the event, but has failed to close the deal.
Lefty's vintage play in Virginia over the weekend breeds some hope for the six time major champion, though. It left DeChambeau to call his impossible hole-out one of the greatest shots he had ever seen.
1. Scottie Scheffler Legacy Grows
Even though Scheffler has only three major titles to his credit, most are already calling him the best player of this generation. Normally, that would cause quite a stir. Brooks Koepka has five, as does McIlroy. Jordan Spieth has won three himself.
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But it is easy to see why there is such high regard for what Scheffler has done. Essentially all of the success has happened over just the last couple of years.
Scheffler won the 2022 and 2024 Masters, and then ran away from the field at last month's PGA Championship. He already has 16 PGA Tour wins, but has played full-time on Tour for less than four years.
His 2024 season was stuff of legend. He won nine times worldwide, including an Olympic Gold Medal and the Tour Championship. But during the Christmas break, the Ridgewood, NJ native suffered a hand injury that required surgery. The injury cost him over a month of the 2025 PGA Tour season.
What he has done since returning is somehow matching what he did in 2024.
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He has made all 12 cuts, with three wins, nine top 10s and his worst finish was a tie for 25th at the WM Phoenix Open. Can anyone stop this runaway train, or will Scheffler continue climbing the all-time golf rankings with another major title.
With a U.S. Open win, he will be just an Open title away from the grand slam himself.
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