Oakmont looks set to put the game of the world’s best players right under the microscope in the coming days when it hosts the US Open for the 10th time.
It is surely fair to say that Oakmont has embraced the main character role in the build-up to the 2025 US Open, with the Pennsylvania course one of the toughest challenges in the world.
Oakmont plays extremely long. Meanwhile, no player has ever won a US Open at Oakmont with a score that is better than five under par.
If the conditions are right, it can be the most brutal test. During the third round of the 2007 US Open, only Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker managed to break par. That week, Angel Cabrera was able to win on five over par.
How the Oakmont greens are like nothing else on tour ahead of the US Open
It remains to be seen if similar numbers contend this week. But it seems that the players are preparing for the most thorough examination of their games.
Michael Kim has provided some detailed insight ahead of the event beginning on Thursday, and he explained what he noticed on the greens which he has not seen at another golf course.
“They are fast but not crazy fast on a flat putt. Not anything I haven’t seen. The part that makes them feel much faster are the slopes on the greens. [I don’t know] if I’ve ever seen greens sloped this much overall front to back or back to front. Usually there are parts of a green that’s sloped a lot but not the entire thing. The first green (pic) is the most front to back green I’ve ever played. Very cool hole. The ball just keeps rolling and rolling and doesn’t want to stop,” he wrote.
The treacherous rough at Oakmont
Along with the greens, the rough at Oakmont has been a key talking point in recent weeks. It does appear that wayward drives are going to be penalised, and going for the green is going to be considerably more difficult after missing the fairway.
And Kim outlined what hitting shots from the rough this week is really going to be like.
“So the rough isn’t stupid long. Memorial had overall longer rough even imo. BUT, it’s way way thicker here. Like there’s more grass per square inch here. Multiple times, the lie looked so so and I’d hit a shot and the club would be grabbed like it was a terrible lie. Will have to get used to swinging harder than normal from this rough around the greens. -The thickness does however give you some lies where the ball sits up a little bit,” he added.
It does appear that no-one is going to be able to win this week unless all aspects of their game are firing on all cylinders.
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