Oakmont. OMG-mont. Over the top-mont. The prevailing sense among anybody who ponders a US Open at this site in rural Pennsylvania is how wonderfully demanding the challenge always is. Cue entertainment. As Xander Schauffele appropriately put it: “I don’t think people turn the TV on to watch some of the guys just hit a 200-yard shot on the green. They turn on the US Open to see a guy shooting eight over and suffer. That’s part of the enjoyment of the US Open for viewers.”
Strap in and enjoy the show. This version of Oakmont has rough that is routinely more than five inches thick. Menacing, sloped greens add to the idea of inevitable carnage. The 125th staging of the major will be a war of attrition, one which will physically and mentally exhaust the finest golfers in the world. Temper tantrums are guaranteed.
