The 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont promises punishing greens, historic storylines, and golf’s fiercest test for the game’s elite.
There are golf courses. And then there is Oakmont.
A course etched into the hills of western Pennsylvania like scripture, Oakmont is less a venue than a rite of age — a sanctuary and a storm. Designed in 1904 by Henry Fownes, it has never sought to welcome players. Instead, it asks the boldest question in the sport: Can you survive?
Now, for the 10th time, Oakmont stands as host to the U.S. Open. Its sloping greens, legendary bunkers, and unforgiving rough do not care about names or résumés. Here, past glories are erased with one missed putt. Here, even legends tremble.
The course has humbled the greats. It crowned Jack Nicklaus, elevated Johnny Miller, and nearly undid Dustin Johnson. And this week, with par set at a stingy 70 and more than 7,300 yards of tension ahead, Oakmont is poised once again to become the main character in the world’s most grueling golf story.
Scheffler’s Everest
Scottie Scheffler is the sport’s current summit — its alpha, its bar. Three major championships to his name. Dominance that has felt effortless. But even he has never reached the top of this mountain.
Betting on Scottie Scheffler is the best investment around. 😂
(H/T: @bookies) pic.twitter.com/XNuGgF8XFt
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) June 6, 2025
The U.S. Open is the one stage Scheffler has yet to command. He’s been close — so close — with three top-seven finishes in the last four years. But Oakmont demands something different: not just excellence, but endurance, humility, and near-perfection.
This is no tournament for frontrunners or frontrunners alone. It rewards the disciplined, the fearless, and the patient. And though Scheffler has displayed all of those qualities, Oakmont rarely allows a coronation. If he wins here, it won’t be because he’s the best — it’ll be because he proved it, stroke by excruciating stroke, on the hardest week of the year.
Rory, After the Roar
When Rory McIlroy finally slipped on the green jacket in April, it felt like an ending — a long, soaring note at the end of a decade-long symphony.
But the story didn’t end there.
Rory’s hard at work with the new driver 📈 pic.twitter.com/7utjf6giAS
— Rory McIlroy Tracker (@RMTracker) June 11, 2025
Since that Masters triumph, McIlroy has drifted. He missed the cut in Canada, looked human at the PGA, and enters Oakmont with something to prove all over again. That’s the way golf works — it doesn’t care what you’ve just done. Only what you’ll do next.
Oakmont has no memory, and no mercy. But Rory knows it’s not about chasing another fairytale. It’s about grinding through the pain, the putts that don’t fall, and the rough that punishes confidence. This isn’t Augusta’s poetic beauty. This is Oakmont’s brutal honesty. And Rory must be ready to hear it.
Bryson’s Encore
Bryson DeChambeau is no longer just a curiosity — he’s a force. And maybe even, somehow, a fan favorite.
Last year’s U.S. Open win was cinematic — a blend of bombed drives, baffling calculations, and unshakable composure. It was a reminder that beneath the branding and brawn is a world-class competitor who loves chaos and thrives in it.
What are you hitting on this 289 yard Par 3? 🤨 #usopengolf pic.twitter.com/YNuKISG5C7
— Bryson DeChambeau (@brysondech) June 11, 2025
This week, he returns to defend, not just his title, but his transformation. He’s not just the analytics kid anymore. He’s a showman with swagger and a trophy to match. Oakmont will test his touch, his patience, and his bravado.
But if anyone can turn torment into triumph, it might just be golf’s most unlikely hero.
A Spotlight for the Unknown
U.S. Opens do not always choose the most famous winners. Sometimes, they choose the most ready.
Since Tiger Woods last won in 2008, the trophy has gone to both future legends and players whose names barely ed beforehand. That’s part of the Open’s magic — the chance for one week, on the sport’s hardest stage, to define a life.
This year, someone unexpected will break par when no one else can. Someone unheralded will play the round of their life. And someone, somewhere, will write their name alongside the immortals.
Oakmont will not make it easy. It never does. But it will make it unforgettable.
The 2025 U.S. Open begins Thursday morning. The coverage, as scattered as Oakmont’s 210 bunkers, will stretch across NBC, Peacock, and USA Network. You’ll need more than a remote — you’ll need a strategy.
If you miss it, don’t worry. Oakmont is scheduled to host again in 2034, 2042, and 2049. Its story is eternal.
But this week — this U.S. Open — only comes once. And in the shadows of steel and thunder, golf’s bravest will try to conquer the unconquerable.
