The U.S. Open at Oakmont: The Toughest Challenge in Golf?
Oakmont Country Club, host of the 125th U.S. Open, is preparing to test the world’s best golfers. Initial reports from professionals who have scouted the renovated course describe a scene of “carnage” and “the most difficult course in the world.”
Players will face an implacable rough, narrow fairways, the famous Church Pews bunker, and fast, firm greens. “I’ve heard from several players that it’s the most difficult course they’ve played,” commented Xander Schauffele. “It’s long, the rough is impossible, and you could end up making 50-yard shots to save par on every hole.”
Oakmont hosts the U.S. Open for the tenth time, and the US Golf Association (USGA) returns for a reason: to offer golfers the most demanding test of the season.
“I would say all the rumors and everything else are pretty accurate,” added Justin Thomas, who played a practice round at Oakmont two weeks ago.
Justin Thomas
Favorites and Title Aspirants
In this tournament, Scottie Scheffler is seen as the main favorite. After winning the PGA Championship and two Masters, Scheffler seeks to complete three-quarters of the Grand Slam with a victory on Sunday. Scheffler has won three of the last four tournaments he has participated in, including the Memorial Tournament.
Other contenders include Bryson DeChambeau, who already won the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst. Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, Jon Rahm, Russell Henley, Sepp Straka, Xander Schauffele, Ludvig Åberg, Hideki Matsuyama, Justin Thomas, Shane Lowry, Harris English, Patrick Cantlay, Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood, and Viktor Hovland.
Possible Surprises and Aspirants
In the “if everything goes well” category, we find players like Tony Finau, Brian Harman, Cameron Smith, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Jordan Spieth. These golfers, with the right game and a bit of luck, could surprise at Oakmont.
Also, players who could surprise should be taken into account. Among them are Min Woo Lee, Sam Burns, Ryan Fox, Andrew Novak, Patrick Reed, Robert MacIntyre, Daniel Berger, Davis Riley, Tom Kim, Maverick McNealy, Akshay Bhatia, Thomas Detry, Si Woo Kim, Keegan Bradley, Jason Day, J.T. Poston, Denny McCarthy, Michael Kim, Davis Thompson, Dustin Johnson, Wyndham Clark, Sungjae Im, J.J. Spaun, Jacob Bridgeman, Rasmus Højgaard, Joe Highsmith, Ryan Gerard, Lucas Glover, Matthieu Pavon, Nick Taylor, Taylor Pendrith, Adam Scott, Cameron Young, Bud Cauley, and Stephan Jager.
The Possible “Miracles” in Oakmont
In the “Hey, miracles happen” category are Gary Woodland, Brian Campbell, Cam Davis, Laurie Canter, Mackenzie Hughes, Jhonattan Vegas, Nico Echavarria, Max Greyserman, Sam Stevens, Emiliano Grillo, Matt Wallace, Marc Leishman, Chris Kirk, Tom Hoge, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Byeong Hun An, Thriston Lawrence, Mark Hubbard, Lanto Griffin, Justin Lower, Richard Bland, Eric Cole, Doug Ghim and Carlos Ortiz.
The U.S. Open at Oakmont promises to be a challenging tournament, where precision, patience, and mental skill will be key to success.
