Recent PGA Tour winner already changes plans for US Open after making double bogeys playing at ‘crazy’ Oakmont on Monday

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While the Canadian Open is next up on the PGA Tour schedule, it is hard to not keep one eye on the US Open, with Oakmont set to host the event for the first time since 2016 next week.

Once again, there are so many intriguing storylines heading into the US Open. Scottie Scheffler is back to his best after winning the PGA Championship and The Memorial Tournament.

Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy has a point to prove again after his disappointing showing at Quail Hollow. The LIV Golf stars Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau proved to be Scheffler’s biggest competition at the second major of the year last month.

And of course, it was at last year’s US Open that McIlroy and DeChambeau engaged in one of the all-time great tussles at Pinehurst.

Ben Griffin says he’s changed his plans for the US Open after playing Oakmont this week

But there are other names who must not be discounted. And, other than Scheffler, no-one has played better golf in recent weeks than Ben Griffin. He won the Zurich Classic alongside Andrew Novak before securing his first individual title at the Charles Schwab Challenge.

Griffin proved to be Scheffler’s closest challenger at Muirfield Village. But it would appear that that form did not do him too many favours when he travelled to Oakmont to play a round on Monday.

Speaking on The Smylie Show, Griffin suggested that his plans have now changed after getting a sneak peek of the golf course ahead of the US Open.

“It’s extremely hard right now. This is actually going to be my first US Open, but I have played US Open practice rounds because I’ve been a first alternate a couple of times. So I’ve been on site at a few and this one’s by far the hardest that I have played,” he said.

“I don’t know what the definition of too hard is, but if five over par being a winning score is too hard, then that’s probably Oakmont right now.

“I saw something on X about how Adam Scott hit every fairway on the front nine and shot three over, and Rory had a couple of tough holes. I made three birdies, and I think I must have made nine pars and then the others were bogeys and doubles. Never made anything worse than a double. But the problem is you can hit some shots that are landing in fairways and you get up there and it’s in the rough or almost in a trench. Then you’re scrambling just to advance it, and once you advance it, if it’s not in the fairway for the next shot, you can’t really hold the greens. And then when you can’t hold the greens around the greens, it’s like Memorial last week with the rough where it’s a toss up what kind of lie you’re going to get. It’s very, very difficult right now.

“I was planning on playing it Monday and then showing up on Sunday night and doing Monday through Wednesday. I’m flying in Saturday afternoon to get out there again Sunday, just because the green complexes are crazy. And the yardage books with the modern rules, they don’t really show a lot of the little slopes.”

The score needed to make the top 10 at the 2007 US Open at Oakmont

The US Open is returning to Oakmont for the 10th time this year. It is the most that any course has hosted the iconic event.

No player has ever won with a score of better than five under par. Meanwhile, Angel Cabrera won the 2007 event on five over par.

And finishing on 11 over par would have been enough to make the top 10 in 2007, with Justin Rose and Paul Casey both shooting 76 on Sunday.

It is hard to imagine that it will be a similar case later this month. No US Open has been won by a worse score since 2007 than Cabrera’s total.

However, Griffin’s comments show that there are probably going to be a lot of players who will have a nightmare at this year’s US Open and will not be in any hurry to return to Oakmont.