The 125th US Open at Oakmont Country Club has quickly become a psychological and physical gauntlet for even the most elite players in the game. Known for its punishing rough, glassy greens, and unrelenting pressure on every swing, Oakmont is proving once again why it holds a near-mythical reputation in golf — as both cathedral and crucible.
A champion humbled
Scottie Scheffler has spent most of 2025 looking nearly invincible. The world’s No. 1 golfer came into the US Open after a dominant win at the Memorial Tournament, where he left the field in the dust with a four-shot victory. But Oakmont is not just another course. It’s a different beast entirely.
Its rough is so thick it swallows shoes — and sometimes clubs — whole. Fairways are tight ribbons of turf, sloping treacherously into yawning bunkers that sit like traps from a forgotten war. And when you finally make it to the greens? They roll faster than marble countertops, sloped and contoured with a kind of cruel precision that turns putting into roulette.
Scheffler found that out the hard way on Oakmont’s 618-yard, par-5 12th. A well-placed chip from near the green could’ve set up a rare birdie. Instead, he scorched a flop shot across the lightning-fast green and into the rough on the other side. Though he recovered for par, the moment cracked his composure. Bogeys on 13 and 15 followed. On 14, after an approach shot spun away, Scheffler slammed his club into the fairway. “The golf course is just challenging,” he said. “There’s so much speed and so much pitch… It really tests your patience.”
A course that punishes perfection
Scheffler wasn’t alone in his misery. As Thursday’s round wore on, the world’s finest golfers repeatedly fell prey to Oakmont’s ruthless design. What makes the course uniquely brutal is that it demands excellence on every single shot. There is no margin for error.
Belgian pro Thomas Detry, who managed a 1-under 69, described it bluntly: “It puts so much pressure on every single part of your game constantly. If the wind picks up or the rain hits, it could be a bloodbath out here.”
And indeed, the weather may soon conspire with the layout to make things even worse. Forecasts for the weekend include rain and storms — meaning the already difficult rough will get heavier and the course slower in some places and slicker in others. If Oakmont has been menacing under dry skies, it may become downright sadistic when the weather turns.
Brilliant moments, fleeting reprieve
Despite the carnage, Oakmont did allow a few moments of magic — reminders that greatness can still emerge, even on golf’s most unforgiving stage. Shane Lowry eagled the par-4 3rd hole with a pinpoint drive and approach. Patrick Reed authored one of the most memorable shots in US Open history: a 286-yard second shot on the par-5 4th that found the bottom of the cup for an albatross, just the fourth ever recorded in this tournament.
But those highlights were rare exceptions. For every miracle shot, there were dozens of demoralizing mistakes. Rory McIlroy chunked two consecutive shots on the 4th, barely advancing the ball out of thick rough. Viktor Hovland’s second shot on 15 traveled just 97 yards after the rough swallowed his clubhead. Bryson DeChambeau watched his ball bounce three times on the 12th green before rolling all the way off.
Even Tony Finau found himself a victim of Oakmont’s quirks — his ball struck a sprinkler head and shot into the grandstands, narrowly missing a fan. “The rough is incredibly penalizing,” DeChambeau said. “Even for a guy like me, I can’t get out of it sometimes depending on the lie. It was a brutal test of golf.”
Psychological warfare at every turn
The most defining trait of Oakmont may not be its layout, but its psychological toll. As Scottish golfer Robert MacIntyre put it, “Every shot you’re on a knife edge. Miss by too much, and you’re trying to play an eight-yard pitch over rough onto a green that’s brick-hard and running away.”
JJ Spaun, who led the tournament after Day 1, admitted that the reputation of the course had him on edge before he even teed off. “All you’ve been hearing is how hard this place is,” he said. “You’re just kind of only hearing about how hard this course is.” But instead of running from the nerves, Spaun leaned into them. “I tried to harness that — the nerves, the anxiety. It kind of heightens my focus.”
Others coped with humor or a sense of disbelief. Kim Si-woo, tied for third after a 2-under 68, shrugged and said, “Honestly, I don’t even know what I’m doing out there. This course is too hard for me.” Even seasoned major winner Jon Rahm, who finished the day with a 1-under 69, felt like surviving the round was an achievement. “I’m extremely happy. I played some incredible golf to shoot 1-under — which we don’t usually say, right?” he laughed.
A battlefield by design
Oakmont isn’t trying to fool anyone. It’s built to break spirits, and it does so without apology. A perfect round is not the goal — survival is. And in that respect, it is delivering exactly what the US Open demands: a supreme test of skill, patience, and mental fortitude.
As the second round gets underway Friday, only the top 60 players will survive the cut and continue on through the weekend. With rain looming and pressure mounting, the only certainty at Oakmont is that every stroke matters — and none come easy. For now, the course stands undefeated — and still hungry.
