1. Welcome to the 125th edition of the US Open, which will be held from Thursday at the Oakmont Country Club. Undoubtedly, a milestone: it is the second Major in golf to reach such a record, naturally behind the Open Championship, which held its 125th edition in 1996, no less.
2. Let’s stay at this point, with these two anniversaries. Because there is only one player who will have the honour of having played the 125th edition of the Open Championship and also the US Open. That unique record cannot be taken away by anyone. It is, of course, Phil Mickelson, who this week will play his 34th US Open, the man with six runner-up finishes in this Major. Another name could have been added to this exclusive list of one, that of Sergio García. The Spaniard played that 1996 Open at Royal Birkdale at just 16 years old, still as an amateur (it was the first Major of his career), and he came very close to qualifying for this US Open through the preliminaries.
3. Oakmont Country Club, the great colossus of Pennsylvania, is not just any venue. It is undoubtedly one of the cathedrals of world golf, precisely because it is the course in the United States that has hosted the most Majors, obviously only behind Augusta National. Oakmont has hosted three editions of the PGA Championship (1922, 1951, and 1978) and nine editions of the US Open, more than any other place (1927, 1935, 1953, 1962, 1973, 1983, 1994, 2007, and 2016). It hosts its thirteenth major this week. If anything has always characterised this course, it is its fierceness and extreme playing conditions. Gil Hanse, a renowned course designer who undertook the latest renovation of Oakmont in 2023, points out that “there are two courses in the United States whose members value the fact that they could well host a US Open next week, without prior notice, due to the demanding conditions the course maintains at all times, and they are Winged Foot and Oakmont.”
4. Despite everything, up to four US Open winners at Oakmont reached the figure of -5 as the winning score. However, the list of these four is enough to make you fall over: Ben Hogan (1953), Jack Nicklaus (1962), Johnny Miller (1973), and Ernie Els (1994). That -5 is the ceiling. The last winner, in 2016, was Dustin Johnson, who finished at -4, although he achieved this result on a par 70 Oakmont (Hogan and Nicklaus did it on a par 72 and Els on a par 71). Not a bad challenge for this year’s contender, although all the news coming from the course describes really tough conditions. When Hanse presented the Oakmont board with the renovation project, everyone seemed to agree, although always trying to ensure that the course was not made easier after the changes, as the designer explained. It’s in their blood.
5. Well, to be precise, it should be noted that in the 1978 edition of the PGA at Oakmont, the three players who went to the playoff (John Mahaffey, the eventual winner, Tom Watson, and Jerry Pate) reached a total of -6.
6. Sooner or later, the name Seve Ballesteros always appears. It was at Oakmont, in 1983, where the Cantabrian genius achieved his first top ten in the US Open (he finished 4th), playing in the final round’s leading group alongside Tom Watson, although it was Larry Nelson who ultimately took the victory. Honour and glory to the great Seve.
7. Everyone may have forgotten, but there, at Oakmont, in the 2016 edition, Sergio García came within one stroke of the lead on Sunday after making a birdie on the 13th hole, par 3… But then he made three consecutive bogeys and had to settle for fifth place. It was also the edition and the course where Jon Rahm made his debut in the Majors, still as an amateur. And the man from Barrika exceeded all expectations with a remarkable 23rd place finish, being, of course, the best amateur, ahead of, among others, a certain Scottie Scheffler, who was also playing his first Major then and missed the cut (Jon, in fact, was the only amateur to make it to the weekend).
8. And since the name has come up… It’s impossible not to focus all attention on Scottie Scheffler, the top favourite for victory like no other since the best days of Tiger Woods. Any daydream with the Texan as the protagonist makes sense. Let’s go with one, the main one: if he can win this week at Oakmont, he would be on the verge of a crazy Grand Slam Career, which he could complete next month at the Open at Royal Portrush… It sounds excessive, agreed, but everything Scheffler is already doing is excessive. His record in the US Open also shows us a second place in 2022, at The Country Club in Brookline, and a third in 2023, in Los Angeles. And in 2021, when Rahm won at Torrey Pines, he finished seventh.
9. Let’s conclude this first welcome instalment to this exciting event with a look at the weather forecast, which looks tricky in Plum, Pennsylvania, where Oakmont is located, as it seems storms are expected over the weekend, although this forecast could still change.
