When Tiger Woods was the best golfer on the planet, he played Oakmont Country Club in the 2007 U.S. Open and famously declared: “A 10-handicapper wouldn’t break 100.”
Nine years later, Woods would be hard-pressed to break 100 at the storied course, given the back problems that have sidelined him the entire year and won’t allow him to compete in the 2016 U.S. Open to be played there this weekend. The guess here is Woods isn’t at all envious of those who will compete for the national championship, given how difficult the layout figures to play.
“I really think it is the hardest golf course we’ve ever played,” Phil Mickelson said after two days of practice rounds at the course outside Pittsburgh. “A lot of golf courses, when it challenges you tee to green the way Oakmont does, it usually has a little bit of a reprieve on the greens, but you really don’t at Oakmont. They’re some of the most undulating greens to putt. It really is the hardest golf course I think we’ve played.”
Sure, the Big Three — Jason Day, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth — will be in the spotlight, but the real star will be Oakmont, with its tradition of brutality and demanding excellence. It will be a mental test of patience and handling frustration.
If you’re looking for birdies, wait for the Ritz Cracker Open. This isn’t the place. The last time the U.S. Open was played at Oakmont, Angel Cabrera won it at 5-over par, one stroke better than Woods and Jim Furyk.
“You know you’re not going to have the same opportunity for the same number of birdies you normally might,” said Curtis Strange, the two-time U.S. Open winner, who will serve as an announcer for FOX. “You’re going to have to take advantage of those few opportunities. And then you’re going to have to salvage par and save shots.
“The Open isn’t about how many birdies you make. It’s about how you save shots. Everything is magnified there. You know there’s going to be more little battles as you play a round of golf at Oakmont, where you have to win those little battles to do well.”
Paul Azinger, who will also serve as a broadcaster for FOX, said simply, “It’s not how many birdies you make, but how many bogies you avoid.”
The scoring average in 2007 was 75.72. The signature church pews on the third and fourth holes are beautiful in appearance, but diabolical if your ball happens to land in them.
“Nobody is going to hit every fairway, and nobody is going to hit every green,” Strange said. “It’s about mental strength. It’s about being patient and not getting rattled. If you get rattled, you’re going to lose.”
The course will play at a par-70 covering as much as 7,219 yards, which actually is 11 yards shorter than in ’07. The greens will be rolling as much as 14-feet on the Stimpmeter.
Rain is in the forecast for much of the week. That could lead to a softer course, but not necessarily an easier one. The course will play longer and the rough will be gnarly.
“If it’s firm those fairways shrink,” said Dustin Johnson, one of the longest hitters on tour. “They’re all sloped and they don’t funnel into the fairway, they funnel away from it.”
There are some who favor the difficult conditions, because it will separate the best players from the weekend wonders. Mickelson will be counting on his experience to help him capture the only major championship he hasn’t won his career.
“The reason why I’m optimistic about Oakmont is that it doesn’t require me to hit a lot of drivers,” he said. “It requires me to get the ball in play off the tee. But when I’m not hitting drivers, if I’m hitting 3-woods and hybrids, I feel confident I’m able to do that a fairly high percentage of the time. However, it’s a U.S. Open, and if you get on a bad streak and you start missing fairways there, it’s difficult.”
Last year’s U.S. Open was played at Chambers Bay, an unknown layout outside of Seattle that had everyone wondering what to expect. There will be no surprises at Oakmont. Everyone is familiar with what has become the staple of championship golf. Besides eight previous U.S. Opens, it has been the site of five U.S. Amateurs, three PGA Championships and two U.S. Women’s Opens.
“A big part of the story line is people will know what they’re looking at,” Strange said. “They’ve seen it before many times, and they can’t wait to see how the best in the world play it. Last year was a great unknown. There was no familiarity with Chambers Bay. Everything is going to be better because we’re at a grand old place to play golf.”