Will rain sink Oakmont's ability to punish players at U.S. Open on weekend?
OAKMONT, Pa. — The story of this U.S. Open isn't simply how hard Oakmont is playing, it's how hard it's playing considering the course has been fighting Mother Nature all spring.
Article content
At any other major championship venue, there would be worry from organizers, media, and club members that a wet golf course would be caught with its pants down and get humiliated by the world's best players.
Article content
Article content
Article content
Yet, here at Oakmont, it's the golf course humbling the players despite Mother Nature apparently being paid off by the golfers. After 36 holes, just three of the 156 players in the field were under par.
Article content
'We're all playing the same course, and it's going to be hard,' Xander Schauffele said. 'You may think something's unfair, but it doesn't really matter at the end of the day. Whoever can sort of deal with it the best is going to play well. That's the attitude I've had: Look at it as a fun challenge versus feeling like you're living in a nightmare.'
Article content
It's rained heavily all month. Before the tournament week even arrived, USGA boss Mike Whan was warning media heading to the Pennsylvania golf course to bring rubber boots.
Article content
Thanks to the hundreds of media folks that will travel to @usopengolf this week. Bring boots! 13' of rain in past 10 weeks! pic.twitter.com/yTJuCHou2h
— Michael Whan (@USGAMike) June 8, 2025
Article content
'Bring boots! 13 (inches) of rain in past 10 weeks.'
Article content
A sunny Wednesday, and a calm, rain-free Thursday likely had the Jaws theme song going through players' heads, but conditions never got anywhere near the limit over the first 36 holes on Oakmont's notoriously insane greens.
Article content
'It was starting to look like another day of hot, dry weather and the weekend would be very difficult out here,' Adam Scott said on Friday. 'There were certain greens that had a slickness about them and a firmness too. Fairways even getting a little bit like that. So the rain might keep it under control, hopefully, and spare us some frustrations.'
Article content
Another serious downpour arrived Friday night into Saturday and, before play began, the USGA made the unusual decision to proactively offer refunds for any fans deciding not to show up to watch the third round of the U.S. Open. Quite a fan-friendly gesture, and as TSN's Bob Weeks pointed out on social media, a clear sign that if you are coming you might not want to wear your white golf pants.
Article content
Early Saturday, a wonderful camera angle showed Rory McIlroy hitting a fairway wood in Round 3 following another night of downpours at the famously difficult golf course. After impact there is an explosion of grass and mud and water as his club tears easily through the waterlogged turf.
Article content
Welcome to Soakmont 💧🏌️♂️
pic.twitter.com/iE7TAjtDt7
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) June 14, 2025
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Tennis star, 93, brightens up the court
Joyce Cutts is a former national doubles champion in tennis. At 93, she shows no signs of slowing down as she hits the tennis courts three times a week.
CTV News
3 hours ago
- CTV News
Marchand, Bennett push Panthers past Oilers to take 3-2 lead in Stanley Cup final
Connor McDavid and Corey Perry scored in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers as Edmonton lost 5-2. EDMONTON — The Oilers are in a familiar spot — facing elimination in the Stanley Cup final. Brad Marchand scored twice to give him a series-leading six goals and Sam Bennett buried his NHL playoff-leading 15th as the Florida Panthers defeated Edmonton 5-2 to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven matchup Saturday. Sam Reinhart and Eetu Luostarinen, into the empty net, had the other goals for the defending champs. Sergei Bobrovsky made 19 saves. Luostarinen added an assist for a two-point night. Bennett and Marchand are the first players since 1981 with at least five goals each in the same final, and the first teammates to do so since 1973. Marchand is also the first player to score six goals in a final since 1988. Connor McDavid and Corey Perry replied for the Oilers, who will look to stave off elimination when Game 6 goes Tuesday in Sunrise, Fla. Calvin Pickard stopped 14 shots. Edmonton trailed Florida 3-0 in last year's final only to battle back with three straight victories to force a winner-take-all finale the club lost 2-1. McDavid had a couple of early chances inside an electric Rogers Place — the raucous, well-lubricated weekend crowd hit 113.4 decibels when the home side hit the ice ahead of puck drop — before the Panthers pounced. Marchand was quickest off a faceoff at centre and then blew past Edmonton defenceman Mattias Ekholm before firing his ninth of the playoffs off the post and in at 9:12. The 37-year-old has now has 12 goals in his four appearances in the final to become the seventh player in the post-expansion era to reach that number. He's also the second player since 1967-68 to have at least five goals in multiple finals after scoring that many in 2011 with the Boston Bruins to join Mario Lemieux (1991 and 1992). The Oilers went to the power play later in the period, but a disjointed and timid sequence resulted in little zone time and no shots on Bobrovsky. Florida doubled its lead moments later when Bennett fired past Pickard, who got the start ahead of Stuart Skinner following his 23-save performance off the bench in Edmonton's dramatic 5-4 overtime victory in Game 4, after Matthew Tkachuk's initial shot was blocked at 18:06. Bennett is the fourth active player to have at least 15 goals in a single playoff, joining Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby and injured Oilers forward Zach Hyman. Edmonton went back to the man advantage in the second period and got some good looks. Bobrovsky denied both Perry and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins before McDavid hit the post. Marchand made it 3-0 at 5:12 of the third when he undressed Edmonton blueliner Jack Walman and slid home his 10th past Pickard. McDavid gave the home side some life at 7:24 with a shake-and-back move on Bobrovsky for his seventh — and first of the series — but Reinhart put things to bed 46 seconds later when he snapped home his seventh. Perry scored a consolation goal with 3:13 left in regulation and Pickard on the bench for an extra attacker in an Edmonton push that came far too late before Luostarinen iced it into the empty net. PICKARD REFLECTS The Oilers goaltender got into just 30 NHL games between 2018 and last season — a stretch that included lots of time in the minors and a brief stint in Austria — before getting a shot in the Alberta capital. 'It's been a great journey, I've been a lot of good places,' Pickard said. 'Grateful that I had the chance to come to Edmonton.' TAKING STOCK Marchand was asked following Saturday's morning skate where this final ranks after winning in 2011 with the Bruins before falling just short in 2013 and 2019. 'This has been a pretty incredible one,' he said. 'This is one of the tightest series anyone will ever see. Just the talent level and how close these two teams are, how back and forth the games have been. It's been very exciting, a little nerve-racking at times. 'It makes you realize why you love the game so much. But also why this trophy is the hardest to win.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 14, 2025. Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press
CTV News
5 hours ago
- CTV News
Messi gets Club World Cup under way in Miami
Inter Miami's Lionel Messi, right, and Al Ahly's Mohamed El Shenawy shake hands prior to the Club World Cup group A soccer match between Al Ahly and Inter Miami in Miami, Fla., Saturday, June 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) FIFA's new 32-team Club World Cup kicked off on Saturday with Lionel Messi leading Inter Miami against Egypt's Al Ahly at an almost full Hard Rock Stadium. Fears of a low crowd for the opening game eased as the seats in the 64,000 venue began to fill up with the stadium almost full at kick-off time. Thousands of fans of Al Ahly, record 12 times African Champions League winner and 45-times Egyptian league titles, arrived at Hard Rock Stadium well ahead of kick off. The stadium, home to the NFL's Miami Dolphins, witnessed chaotic scenes last year at the final of the Copa America between Argentina and Colombia where fans broke into the ground after long delays to enter. But there was a filter system set up for ticket and security checks well away from the stadium perimeter and there were no signs of any problems. This is the first edition of the new expanded format for the tournament which features clubs from every continent and concludes with the final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on July 13.
