One of the most noticeable things about the US Open is that the battleground is often more talked about than the soldiers in the build-up to the tournament.
The 116th edition of the second major of the year, which begins today, is no exception.
It happened for all the wrong reasons at Chambers Bay last year, which appeared artificially tough with terrible greens. Even though a bigger challenge awaits the elite field of 156 this week, there will be no complaints. Only respect.
Sure, everyone wants to know whether Jason Day, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy will be able to beat the quality field assembled in Oakmont Country Club. But the bigger question is, whether they will be able to slay the monster that was created by Henry Fownes 113 years ago.
The golf course was designed with a specific aim to be the most rigorous test possible of a golfer of any ability. Unlike the modern-day philosophy of making it easy for the members from the forward tees, it is the Oakmont membership that insists on a golf course that borders on being a sadist.
They say Oakmont is the only golf course in the world that is ready to host a major championship at any given time. Well…they do need a few days to bring down the speed of the greens, which oddly enough, play faster on non-championship days. This is the golf course that led to the invention of the stimpmeter, the device used to measure the speed of the greens.
In 1935, Edward Stimpton saw the incomparable Gene Sarazen roll his putt off the green and that set his engineer’s brain thinking. This is the golf course that has already hosted eight US Opens and has a cumulative winning score of +11.
It guarded itself so fiercely in 2007, the then No. 1 Tiger Woods played superlative golf and yet finished one shot behind champion Angel Cabrera at six-over par.
The Tiger couldn't catch The Duck at the 2007 U.S. Open at Oakmont. https://t.co/9Gmu2GogpG
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 13, 2016
You don’t have to reach the third fairway and the famous Church Pew bunkers to gain respect for the course…you feel like going down on your knees from the very first hole. No gentle openers at Oakmont, which will also feature the longest par-3 in the history of major championships – the 288-yard eighth hole, and the second longest par-5 – the 667-yard 12th hole.
And yet, length and bunkers are not something that will worry the players. What’s giving them major headache is the length of the rough, and the severe slopes and speed of the greens. No wonder USGA’s Mike Davis, the man responsible for setting up the US Open courses, is always happy to be returning to Oakmont. It is one golf course where his workload is lot less compared to most other venues.
“There’s a reason the US Open is coming back to Oakmont. This really is the gold standard for championship golf. It doesn’t get any better than Oakmont,” he said on the eve of the championship.
Oakmont is the predominant storyline this week, but there are several juicy ones involving the players too. There is huge interest around Phil Mickelson, who will once again try and complete his career grand slam in a major in which he has finished runner-up six times.
Then there is the recent form of World No. 1, 2 and 3, with Jason Day, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy all winning in the past few weeks.
One thing is for certain, only a golfer with pedigree will win on a golf course like Oakmont.
