Oakmont, Pennsylvania —
In 2025, Scottie Scheffler, the top golfer in the world, has been showcasing his remarkable skills, most recently claiming victory at the Memorial Tournament by a convincing four strokes at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Ohio just two weeks ago. However, the renowned Oakmont Country Club, situated near Pittsburgh, presents an entirely different set of challenges that has even the best players struggling.
At Oakmont, the rough is notoriously deep—often high enough to conceal a golfer’s shoes. Even PGA officials dispatched to locate errant shots can be seen grappling to find balls like one might search for a contact lens in a crowded room. The fairways are narrow and slope perilously toward bunkers that carve deep into the ground, resembling jaws ready to swallow players whole. These bunkers serve as formidable sentinels, fiercely protecting the greens, which are akin to putting on sheets of glass marred with ridges and undulations.
During the demanding 618-yard par-5 12th hole, Scheffler felt the wrath of Oakmont when he missed an opportunity to chip out of the rough near the green, which would have set him up for a rare birdie. Instead, his shot misfired, sending his ball racing across the green and into daunting rough on the opposite side. Despite his skill, he managed to salvage a par, though frustration was beginning to mount. A jaw-dropping bogey on 13, a botched approach on 14, and a missed six-footer on the treacherous greens at 15 put him on uneasy ground.
“The golf course is just challenging,” he remarked afterward. “The greens just got challenging out there late in the day. There’s so much speed and so much pitch, and with the amount of guys going through on these greens, they can get a little bit bumpy. But you know that’s going to be part of the challenge going in. You’ve got to do your best to stay under the hole and stay patient.”
It was a tough day not only for Scheffler but for many other competitors. And for the 156 players in the field, the prospects for improvement were grim.
“It just puts so much pressure on every single part of your game constantly, whether it’s off the tee or putting green, or it’s around the greens or it’s the iron shots into the green,” noted Thomas Detry, who finished with a 1-under 69. “Luckily, the wind wasn’t too much up today, but it could be a bloodbath out here if it suddenly starts to blow.”
The weather forecast for Oakmont signals potential rain and thunderstorms, with similar predictions for the weekend. Should the rough become soggy and the wind pick up, the course may magnify its challenges even further.
While a few spectacular shots were executed—such as Shane Lowry’s eagle on No. 3 and Patrick Reed’s remarkable 286-yard albatross on No. 4—the course also extracted a toll on numerous players. Rory McIlroy struggled with consecutive mishaps on No. 4, while Viktor Hovland faced obstacles on his second shot on No. 15, resulting in a bogey. Bryson DeChambeau also found himself at odds with the course on No. 12, as his shot bounced erratically off the green.
“The rough is incredibly penalizing,” DeChambeau remarked. “Even for a guy like me, I can’t get out of it sometimes, depending on the lie. It was tough. It was a brutal test of golf.”
Robert MacIntyre, who managed an even-par 70 in his opening round, shared that even though he was pleased with his performance, Oakmont is a looming psychological challenge. “That’s up there, up there in the top 10 of any rounds that I’ve played. It is just so hard – honestly, every shot you’re on a knife edge,” he said.
For players like JJ Spaun, who led the tournament after the first round, leaning into anxiety was necessary. “I was definitely kind of nervous because I didn’t – all you’ve been hearing is how hard this place is,” he admitted. “I tried to harness that, the nerves, the anxiety, because it kind of heightens my focus.”
Kim Si-woo, who finished at 2-under par, confessed to feeling bemused about his gameplay. “Honestly, I don’t even know what I’m doing on the course,” he said. “Kind of hitting good, but I feel like this course is too hard for me.”
Even Jon Rahm, an experienced major champion, found satisfaction in navigating the course successfully, stating, “I’m extremely happy. I played some incredible golf to shoot 1-under, which we don’t usually say, right?”
The second round action will commence early Friday morning, as the field will be narrowed to the top 60 players after the cut.