Inside the U.S. Open favorites at Oakmont
Ahead of the U.S. Open, Jay Croucher and Drew Dinsick unpack what to expect from the betting favorites including Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy.
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Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
'No guarantees' that Oakmont rough will cough up every golf ball it swallows
'No guarantees' that Oakmont rough will cough up every golf ball it swallows OAKMONT, Pa. – The U.S. Open is synonymous with tall, thick rough. Especially at Oakmont, where the juicy mix of Kentucky bluegrass, rye and poa annua will be kept around 5 inches and change, continually manicured so that it stays upright and keeps swallowing golf balls. It feels worse. Advertisement 'Try 9 inches,' said one competitor, only half jokingly. Jackson Koivun, the standout Auburn junior who ascended to No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking on Wednesday, has already lost a ball to the rough, on the 10th hole Monday. He's not the only one – Bryson DeChambeau and Preston Summerhays, in the same group, had drives disappear right of the 14th fairway – and if players haven't, it's almost a guarantee that they and their caddies have spent multiple minutes these past few days looking for errant shots. 'This is the worst rough that I've seen,' said Koivun's caddie, Chris Williams, a former world No. 1 amateur in his own right and now the Tigers' assistant. The rough is thriving, in part, because of a record May for rainfall in Allegheny County. Slightly bigger fairways following a recent renovation by Gil Hanse have also emboldened the USGA to be more aggressive with the setup, which includes the elimination of the graduated rough that competitors saw the last time this championship came to Oakmont, nine years ago. When you spot mowers – several dozens of them, in sync – running about the property, there isn't much cutting being done but rather what can better be described as fluffing. Advertisement 'We just felt we needed the rough that we have,' said John Bodenhamer, the USGA's chief championships officer. 'We think it's appropriate for the driving corridors, and we're looking forward to seeing how it unfolds.' Of course, with this tenacious of rough comes greater responsibility to the spotters. Perhaps the most unsung of heroes this week will be the four to six skilled sets of eyes on each hole. That's in addition to the dozen or so marshals per hole. 'This is like watching ketchup come out of a Heinz bottle, the anticipation,' said one marshal as he awaited tee shots on the par-4 17th hole during Wednesday's practice round. Added another, as she arrived for her shift: "I'm ready. I've got my sunglasses." Advertisement They'll be reinforced, too, as the dedicated spotters, not deployed for the practice days and 330 in total, will punch in beginning Thursday morning with the sole task of locating balls and flagging them. 'I'm glad we have spotters up there,' said Rory McIlroy, who also played Oakmont two Mondays ago in an outing, when there was absolutely no help looking for balls that missed the short grass. '… You hit a ball off the fairway and you were looking for a good couple of minutes just to find it.' Added Ben An: '18-handicappers will not finish a round without volunteers.' Try 13-handicappers, too. One such player who played Oakmont last month said he lost four balls in a hole and a half. Advertisement "And then I just walked in," said the man, who is working as a spotter on the 18th hole Friday and Saturday. One final-hole spotter for Sunday was already praying that they wouldn't factor in the outcome: "Imagine if the leader misses one right and we can't find it..." PGA: U.S. Open - Practice Round Tiger Woods might have 16 major titles if not for his lost drive on his first hole of the 2003 Open Championship at Royal St. George's. Woods and an army of marshals spent 5 minutes looking for his Nike '1' golf ball that day but to no avail. Woods had to return to the tee and would eventually finish two shots behind winner Ben Curtis. Advertisement Bodenhamer seemed confident the USGA's platoon of pupils would ensure that every ball is found this week. 'We have plenty of spotters,' Bodenhamer said, 'but no guarantees we won't lose a golf ball or two. But we're going to do everything we possibly can not to do so. But we feel good about that.' Now, finding balls and playing them are different stories. Most balls nestled deep in the rough will require hacking out with a lob wedge, with some of those shots requiring players to take their swings while barely being able to see the ball. Sometimes guys will get lucky, but it won't be often. Oakmont's famous SWAT games usually produce a breakeven best-ball score of 69 to 70. It's been at least seven shots higher in recent months as the club has prepared for this U.S. Open. Advertisement 'I don't think people understand how thick the rough is,' Collin Morikawa said. 'It's not wispy like the club is going to go through. … You have to be steep to get to the ball in the rough, and when you're steep, it delofts the face, so you're just hitting it deeper into the earth. It's very, very hard.' Added McIlroy: 'The person with the most patience and the best attitude this week is the one that's going to win.' Being the luckiest won't hurt, either.
San Francisco Chronicle
14 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Adam Scott at another US Open and headed for century mark in the majors
OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) — Adam Scott is one year away from an impressive streak that the Australian considers to be a classic glass half-full moment in golf. The U.S. Open is his 96th consecutive major championship appearance dating to the 2001 British Open at Royal Lytham & St. Annes. 'It sounds like a lot to have won one,' Scott said with a laugh, referring to his lone major title in the 2013 Masters. 'It would be twice as good if there was one more.' Still, he realizes he is approaching a big milestone. The PGA Championship next year, assuming he qualifies or gets an invitation, will be his 100th career major. He could make it 100 in a row if he makes it to Shinnecock Hills for next year's U.S. Open. A streak like that requires eligibility and good health. Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson only had eligibility in their favor. Woods played 46 straight majors until knee surgery after he won the 2008 U.S. Open. Mickelson played 61 in a row before he sat out the 2009 British Open as his wife was being treated for breast cancer. The record is among the most untouchable in golf — Jack Nicklaus played 146 in a row from the 1962 U.S. Open through the 2008 U.S. Open. 'Probably whenever it ends, whether it's 100 or more or less, I think it will be hard for guys to get to that number going forward,' Scott said. 'I think it's getting harder. And I think I have been a consistent player over a 25-year career. I could probably pick three troughs where my game was looking pretty ordinary and I fell outside the top 50 and I was really struggling. But over 25 years, I'd expect that of almost any player.' He failed to make it through qualifying last year (he was first alternate) but became exempt at No. 61 in the world. Grayson Murray, who took his life in May 2024, was still ahead of him in the world ranking and the USGA went down one spot. Scott said Mickelson and Rory McIlroy are among the few who never went through bad spells or serious injury 'and we're talking about two of the greatest of their generation.' McIlroy's streak was interrupted when he injured his left ankle and couldn't play the 2015 British Open. Oakmont is his 39th consecutive major. US Open prize money For the first time since 2021, the U.S. Open is not increasing its prize money. It will be $21.5 million for the second straight year, with $4.3 million going to the winner. It remains the biggest purse of the four majors. The Masters was $21 million this year, while the PGA Championship was at $19 million. The British Open hasn't announced its total purse for next month at Royal Portrush. It was at $17 million last year. The U.S. Open purse was $12.5 million in 2020 and 2021 before making a big leap to $17.5 million in 2022 at Brookline. 'I feel comfortable that we've been a leader in moving fast and bigger,' USGA CEO Mike Whan said Wednesday. The Players Championship has a $25 million purse. The USGA and R&A get the bulk of their revenue from their Opens. They also use that money to invest back in the game, including the Women's Opens and amateur events such as the Walker Cup and Curtis Cup that several of the top stars once played. 'But at the same time, we understand. We want to be relevant,' Whan said. 'We know that this probably isn't really about the money for the person who puts it there, but at the same time, we want the money to be commensurate with the achievement. ... It's part of creating what we want to be the greatest championship in the game.' Driver testing Xander Schauffele couldn't contain his laughter when he said both his drivers were tested this week and both passed the USGA limits of trampoline effect. It was no joking matter for Rory McIlroy at the PGA Championship when word got out that his driver didn't pass the test from too much use. Turns out Scottie Scheffler's driver didn't pass for the same reason, and they had to get new drivers. The results are supposed to be confidential. The post on McIlroy's driver was published without any context — the random testing at every major, and the service being done for players (and equipment makers) who otherwise would be unaware when the faces of the drivers become too thin from constant strikes. Whan said he felt stronger than ever to keep results private 'In terms of what happened at the PGA Championship, it made us more committed to not wanting to have this be the topic of the town,' Whan said "Because I think when you talked about a rules violation or somebody who's playing with a hot driver, that gets so much more sensational than the reality. 'I can tell you as a rules body, if we had concern about this incredible advantage, we would change the degree in which we test,' he said 'But we think the testing that we're doing now is commensurate with the size of both the issue and the size of the reality of the issue.' Rain and rocks The Pittsburgh area had one of the wettest Mays in history, not ideal for a U.S. Open that would prefer Oakmont to be firm, fast and scary. But it's not just the golf course. It can turn into a sloppy mess outside the ropes, and for some of the lots the U.S. Open is using for parking. That's why Whan was quick to celebrate Thomas Construction, a local company that has supplied gravel to create paths in walkways and parking lots. 'He no longer has gravel — true story — and he's only had one customer in the last 60 days — us,' Whan said. 'Suffice it to say, he told us there's more gravel here than in the quarry right now. And I apologize to all you (Oakmont) members. Good news is it's outside of the rope lines.' ___
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
11 Investigates: What goes into keeping the best golfers in the world safe at the U.S. Open
The best professional golfers in the world are in Oakmont this week for the U.S. Open. RELATED COVERAGE >>> 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club: What you need to know So, what goes into keeping them safe on and off the golf course? Chief Investigator Rick Earle spoke with the USGA about security efforts for the game's biggest stars. Advertisement Earle learned it's a big job that's been in the planning stages for months. Fans will see police officers and security guards on the golf course and there will be even more security around some of the bigger names, especially during the final round of the tournament. 'They're going to have that added level of security in and around their areas, just knowing that they draw the crowds. Obviously, once they come on site, they're going to have that security detail that they need in and around the player-centric areas on the golf course itself,' said Eric Steimer, the USGA senior director of U.S. Open Championships. Steimer said rope lines will be set up to keep fans at a safe distance from the golfers, but he says there's plenty of prime viewing. Advertisement 'We'll establish rope lines where fans can follow their favorite golfers all 18 holes, sit in some great grandstand locations that provide panoramic views,' Steimer said. Local and state police, along with nearly 300 private security guards, will be on hand. Some officers will blend in with the crowd. 'We have undercover officers, escort details, as well as a lot of security position out on the golf course,' Steimer said. 'Someone like Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, they may have some private security with them,' said John Hudson, a retired Secret Service agent and security consultant. Hudson is very familiar with Oakmont Country Club. Advertisement During the last U.S Open in 2016, he operated a drone for the Allegheny County District Attorney's office. Hudson told Earle that fans will notice a heightened level of security on the final day of the tournament. 'Probably on the last day, Sunday, when you have the foursomes that tee off that match, the higher profile shooters, you'll have security with that, that package as well, walking along the fairways,' Hudson said. The USGA is also relying on drones this time around, as well as a network of surveillance cameras and metal detectors to secure the sprawling 380-acre golf course. They want to ensure that, in the end, the best players in the world concentrate on one thing and one thing only. Advertisement 'Really, once they're out there competing for our national championship, we want to make sure their focus stays on that and not on security,' Steimer said. The USGA told Earle that information about where the golfers stay while they're in Pittsburgh and what they do and where they go outside the course is all kept confidential. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
