THERE'S only one way you can torture a golfer. Make him play at Oakmont Country Club, site of this year’s US Open and generally seen as the planet’s most difficult course.
The best golfers in the world are playing the iconic course located in Pennsylvania, and not one of the 156 players who begin their quest for the title on Thursday night (Manila time) has been heard to say it’s no sweat.
Collectively, they say it’s brutal, devilish, and nearly certain to punish a player committing an error – off the tee, on the fairway, or on the green.
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Consider this: Oakmont has over 300 bunkers, the rough is five inches high, the Stimpmeter is 15. It is 7,372 yards long — a par 70; a par 3, the eighth, measures close to 300 yards; and the par 5s, of which there are two, are over 600 yards.
One bunker, christened the “Church Pew,” is a legend. It’s been described by one reporter as “13 long, grassy tufts that act as islands within a seemingly endless pit of sand that occupies 28,000 square feet of Oakmont real estate.” Located on the left side of the par 4, 462-yard third hole, the Church Pew is considered to be so penal that a bogey, or worse, is certain once a ball lands there. Players avoid it at all cost.
No wonder the world’s best players view the course, built 122 years ago, with caution, even trepidation, and utmost respect.
How difficult?
To put it in context, some top players were asked how an 18-handicapper would score if he played at Oakmont a day after the US Open and used the same tees as the pros.
“It would eat them for breakfast,” said the US newspaper, The U.S. Sun, after interviewing some top players.
When asked, Bryson DeChambeau, the defending champion, laughed. “Ooh, probably 100.” Then added quickly, “On the front nine.”
In the same interview, Justin Thomas, two-time PGA Championship winner, totally agreed. Maybe, he said, that guy would score 110 or 120. But he also wondered if the guy would even finish.
English star Laurie Canter was pretty sure a rookie would not make it back to the clubhouse. "I’m not trying to wind people up, right, but it will. I’m certain they wouldn’t finish… But if they had to hit every golf shot, and they’re going out with 12 balls, I don’t know an 18 handicapper that finishes.”
Former world No. 1 Justin Rose added: "18 handicapper? Man.”
He told The Sun: "No ball spotter? Better bring a few dozen balls. Probably 140 — it has to be. And that’s just playing conservative, bunting it in front of them. 50 yards, 50 yards, 50 yards, 50 yards. It’s got to be plenty."
The records seem to corroborate their estimates. The numbers show that, in nine previous US Open tournaments at Oakmont, only 23 players ever finished under par.
Great test for golf
Meanwhile, DeChambeau, one of the favorites to win the title, told the newspaper that he will have to be almost perfect on the greens if he's to secure a third major.
Adding: "I think everybody knows this is probably the toughest golf course in the world right now. You have to hit the fairways, you have to hit greens, and you have to two-putt, worst-case scenario. When you've got those putts inside 10 feet, you've got to make them. It's a great test of golf."
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