Oakmont is clearly an incredibly difficult golf course, as many of the best players in the world are finding out at the US Open this week.
For just one week of the year, golf fans turn into sadists, as they enjoy watching the top players struggle to hang around par at the US Open.
Oakmont has proven to be one of the toughest tests on the rota, with only three players under par after two rounds so far.
Numerous big names will not be at Oakmont this weekend, including defending champion Bryson DeChambeau, Ludvig Aberg and Dustin Johnson.
Meanwhile, poor old George Duangmanee crashed out of the US Open after rounds of 86 and 89 to end the first two days on 35-over par.
Sam Burns fired a sensational round of 65 on day two, but that was the exceptional rather than the rule.
The rough at Oakmont is incredibly thick and deep, while the greens are lightning quick and undulating.
That’s not all though. The bunkers have really steep faces, meaning that we are seeing a lot of lay-ups from them this week.
Si Woo Kim said Oakmont was ‘too hard’ for him, after shooting a 68 on day one, and that self fulfilling prophecy kind of manifested into reality for him on day two after he posted a round of 74.
Seven-over par for two rounds was good enough to make the cut at Oakmont, with the average score coming in at 74.670.
That’s about right for a US Open, but there is one thing the USGA need to change as a matter of urgency going forward.
USGA must make change to the US Open after farcical Oakmont scenes
Watching some of the best players in the world struggle around Oakmont has been compelling viewing during the first two days of the US Open.
As the players battled against the difficulty of the course and their own minds, the scoring became progressively worse throughout the day.
And that’s what we want to see at the US Open.
The difficulty of the challenge essentially is how America’s national championship forged its identity, and it’s what makes it stand out as unique test among the four major championships.
However, the pace of play is something that needs to be addressed urgently.
It was painful viewing at times during the first two days at Oakmont, as players were regularly forced to wait 20-30 mins on tees before they hit their shots.
At one point on Friday, there were five groups on the 12th hole, as players took nearly six hours to play their rounds, and sometimes even longer!
Nobody wants to see the US Open become easier for the players going forward. As mentioned earlier, that would mean that the championship would lose its identity.
There is only one viable solution to improve upon slow play.
US Open field needs to be trimmed at Shinnecock Hills and beyond
156 players teed it up at Oakmont this week.
That’s simply too many competitors.
For the 2026 US Open , and beyond, the USGA should seriously think about limiting the field to around 132 players.
That would mean there were 44 groups of three golfers, with 22 groups teeing off the first and the same amount starting their rounds from the 10th tee.
The bottom line is that there were clearly certain players competing at Oakmont this week who shouldn’t have been anywhere near the US Open.
The USGA need to cull around 24 players from the field next year and beyond, or they will be in danger of damaging their own product.
It will be interesting to see whether any changes are made for the US Open in 2026, because six hour rounds are simply not acceptable for the players, or for the fans.
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