Oakmont Country Club, Pennsylvania – Widely regarded as one of golf’s most formidable stages, Oakmont Country Club lived up to its fearsome reputation during the opening round of the 125th U.S. Open. Even the game’s top-ranked players found themselves tested to their absolute limits, demonstrating why this historic venue is often called the ultimate examination of a golfer’s physical and mental fortitude.
The scoring average in the first round hovered around 74.64, marking the hardest opening day at a U.S. Open since 2018. Out of a field of 156 players, a staggering sixteen rounds finished in the 80s, and only a mere eight competitors managed to break par. As players navigated the course, the sentiment was clear: Oakmont demands perfection, and punishes anything less with extreme prejudice.
Why Oakmont is Considered Golf’s Toughest Test
The difficulty isn’t accidental; it’s embedded in the very design philosophy of founder Henry Clay Fownes, who believed “a poor shot should be a shot irrevocably lost.” Modern restorations have maintained this uncompromising spirit, resulting in a layout packed with hazards that leave players walking a constant “knife edge,” as described by Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre.
Several key features contribute to Oakmont’s brutal challenge:
Penal Rough: Measuring up to five inches deep, the rough at Oakmont isn’t just thick; it’s relentlessly penal. Unlike courses with graduated rough, here the transition from fairway to trouble is immediate and severe. Players who miss the narrow fairways often find advancing the ball towards the green nearly impossible. As Bryson DeChambeau put it, the rough is “incredibly penalizing,” admitting even he struggles to escape depending on the lie. Rory McIlroy called missing a fairway “very penal,” limiting options significantly.
Devilish Bunkers: With close to 200 bunkers scattered across the layout, sand is not a bailout option but a genuine hazard. These bunkers are deep, unforgiving, and strategically placed to catch anything slightly off line. They guard the greens like impassive sentinels and, in some cases, appear deep enough to “swallow players whole.” Scottie Scheffler highlighted the bunkers as perhaps an even greater challenge than the rough, noting they are a “real penalty” and make a “bomb and gouge” strategy ineffective. The iconic “Church Pews” bunker, a massive trap with grass islands separating fairways, is perhaps the most famous example of this penal design.
“Pencil-Thin” Fairways: Finding the short grass is paramount, yet incredibly difficult. Fairways are famously narrow and often slope towards bunkers or other hazards, daring players to keep their tee shots in play.
Lightning-Fast, Undulating Greens: Often described as putting on “sheets of glass,” Oakmont’s greens are legendary for their speed and severe undulation. They have so much slope and pitch that simply keeping the ball on the green from certain approaches is a challenge. Bumps develop later in the day as foot traffic increases, adding another layer of complexity. The greens are so notorious that they were the inspiration for the invention of the Stimpmeter, a device used to measure green speed. Lee Trevino famously quipped that two-putting at Oakmont feels like gaining a stroke on the field.
Even the World’s Best Were Humbled
The opening round saw numerous examples of Oakmont’s unforgiving nature impacting the game’s elite:
Scottie Scheffler’s Struggles: World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who had been dominant in recent weeks, including a four-stroke win at the Memorial, visibly struggled. He dropped his jaw after a bogey on the 13th and slammed his club in frustration after an approach spun away on the 14th, leading to another dropped shot on the 15th. On the par-5 12th, a seemingly routine chip from the rough near the green resulted in his ball rocketing across the lightning-fast putting surface and into the thick rough on the opposite side, forcing a difficult up-and-down just to save par. Scheffler admitted the course is “really hard to get the ball in play, and it’s really hard to get the ball close,” noting that being “out of position” makes it “really challenging.”
Other Top Players’ Woes: Rory McIlroy was seen chunking shots out of challenging lies. Viktor Hovland hacked his second shot just 97 yards from the rough on the 15th. Bryson DeChambeau had an approach shot on 12 bounce three times and roll all the way off the back of the green. Even defending champion DeChambeau called it a “brutal test of golf” that “doesn’t just challenge your game, it challenges your sanity.”
- Rare Moments of Brilliance: While the course often “taketh away,” there were a few highlights. Patrick Reed recorded a rare albatross (three shots under par) on the 618-yard par-5 4th hole, using a 3-wood from 286 yards. It was only the fourth albatross in U.S. Open history. However, even this spectacular shot was put into perspective by Reed himself, who called his overall round “sucked” and stated flatly that “one hole doesn’t mean jack.” Shane Lowry also added an eagle on the 3rd. These moments, however, were outliers against a backdrop of relentless difficulty.
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The Mental Marathon
Beyond the technical demands, Oakmont poses a significant mental test. Players must embrace the likelihood of making bogeys or worse and avoid letting frustration derail their round. “Every shot you’re on a knife edge,” said Robert MacIntyre, whose even-par 70 felt like a course record.
Jon Rahm, a former U.S. Open champion who finished the day under par, expressed “extreme happiness” with his score, acknowledging that shooting 1-under wouldn’t normally elicit such a reaction but was a genuine accomplishment here. He recognized Oakmont as the “truest representation of what a U.S. Open is all about,” anticipating bad lies and unfortunate bounces.
Even players who performed well admitted to the mental strain. First-round leader J.J. Spaun confessed to feeling nervous beforehand due to the course’s reputation but tried to harness that anxiety to heighten his focus. Kim Si-woo, who finished high on the leaderboard, openly stated, “I don’t even know what I’m doing on the course… feel like this course is too hard for me.” Justin Thomas emphasized that the course tests patience and discipline, quickly exposing any laziness.
The course, often described with colorful metaphors ranging from having “all the charm of a sock to the head” (Gene Sarazen) to feeling like the “hardest hole you have ever played on every hole” (Geoff Ogilvy), demands unwavering concentration and resilience. As Xander Schauffele noted, perhaps fans tune in precisely to watch the world’s best grapple with such a stern examination.
With forecasts including potential rain and wind in the coming days, conditions could become even more challenging, potentially turning the course into a “bloodbath” that “eat[s] the field for dinner,” as suggested by Thomas Detry. Regardless of weather, Oakmont stands ready to identify the player who best marries precision execution with unbreakable mental fortitude, proving that even for golf’s elite, this course is a test unlike any other. The winner, as history suggests, may well finish over par, a testament to Oakmont’s enduring, uncompromising difficulty.
