Oakmont has hosted the US Open more often than any other course, with the Pennsylvania track set to provide the stage for the major for the 10th time this week.
While there is always plenty of talk surrounding the course which hosts the US Open, Oakmont seems to have embraced being the main character this week. There has been plenty of discussion about the thickness of the rough and the difficulty of the greens.
Five under par is the lowest winning score Oakmont has ever seen. Meanwhile, Angel Cabrera was 10 shots worse off when he won in 2007.
With that, it is hard for us mere mortals to imagine just how challenging playing Oakmont in US Open conditions would truly be.
Bryson DeChambeau suggests what an 18 handicapper would shoot around Oakmont
The course is going to make some phenomenal players look quite silly over the coming days. There are likely to be moments where they swing at the ball in the rough and fail to make contact, or perhaps putt their ball off the green.
So it is no surprise that none of the players spoken to by the DP World Tour had an encouraging answer when asked what an 18 handicapper would shoot around Oakmont.
“Probably 100 on the front nine,” Bryson DeChambeau said.
“150, because they would just struggle. I mean, it’s difficult out there. Most 18 handicappers typically don’t have the greatest control off the tee box. They’re probably hitting this wipey cut into the right rough. They’ve got no knowledge on how to hit the angle of attack on some of these. So they’re hitting these shots which are coming out way left, so they’ll be hitting the ball back and forth. 150, I feel like, is very good for an 18 marker. So 150 I think is pretty solid,” Jason Day replied.
“I’m not trying to wind people up, but it will, I’m certain they wouldn’t finish. And I’m not trying to be facetious and wind people up, but if they had to hit every golf shot and they’re going out with 12 balls, I don’t know an 18 handicapper who finishes that,” Laurie Canter added.
The highest scores shot at the 2016 US Open at Oakmont
The 2016 US Open was not quite as brutal as the US Open from nine years earlier. Dustin Johnson won on four under par, while four players finished under par.
But there were some extremely high scores. Zachary Edmondson shot the highest round of the week at 89, while Kevin Foley posted an 85.
Four players meanwhile, signed for an 84 before missing the cut, including Soren Hansen who had been on the European Ryder Cup team just eight years earlier.
Those numbers would not bode well for those who are currently playing off 18. But it would be fascinating to know just how tough the test would truly be.
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