He is the golfer whose only PGA Tour win came at the US Open after going head-to-head with Tiger Woods

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The US Open at Oakmont is nearly upon us.

Golf fans are eagerly anticipating the 2025 US Open, and many are predicting that it could be the most difficult major championship yet.

Oakmont is apparently going to be an incredibly difficult test of golf.

Rory McIlroy has described Oakmont as a brutal test ahead of the US Open, and there will be plenty of world-class players who struggle on the Henry Fownes design next week.

Measuring around 7,400 yards long, and with six-inch deep rough as well as greens approaching 15 on the Stimpmeter, Oakmont sounds like what nightmares are made of.

However, it was another incredibly difficult US Open venue that played host to a truly remarkable championship 20 years ago this week.

Michael Campbell’s only PGA Tour win came at the US Open

It’s incredible to think that we have reached the 20th anniversary of the 2005 US Open at Pinehurst, when Michael Campbell got the better of Tiger Woods.

Campbell, now 56, was a well-known player on the DP World Tour (formerly the European Tour), having won six times in Europe before he teed off at Pinehurst 20 years ago.

However, he didn’t have a single PGA Tour win to his name, and he entered the US Open as somewhat of an unknown commodity.

Incredibly, Campbell ended the week victorious in North Carolina, after finishing on even-par for the tournament, two clear of second-placed Woods.

The New Zealander carded rounds of 71, 69, 71, 69.

Even more remarkable than the fact that he won the US Open in the first place was his record after his victory at Pinehurst.

Campbell failed to win another PGA Tour event after that magical week in North Carolina 20 years ago.

Michael Campbell’s major record after his 2005 US Open win

The man from New Zealand really struggled after winning the US Open.

Campbell played 23 majors after he triumphed at Pinehurst.

He recorded two top 10 finishes in the two majors that immediately followed his US Open win.

The 56-year-old missed 15 cuts, had zero top-25s and had one withdrawal to his name.

Sometimes, golfers struggle to live up to expectations after winning a huge event that came as somewhat of a shock at the time.

Campbell definitely fits into that category, but nobody will ever be able to take it away from him that he is a US Open champion.