US Open 2016: Complete Guide to This Year's Tournament at Oakmont
Oakmont's green-and-white Tudor-style clubhouse watches over club founder and architect Henry Fownes' Pennsylvania masterpiece, having seen eight U.S. Open contests, each with their component agonies and brilliance—most recently Angel Cabrera's inspired and totally unforeseen 2007 victory over Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk.
The course—where the USGA, with its official fondness for firm fairways and fast greens, actually had to slow the putting surfaces down from where the masochistic members putt—is poised to punish 156 of the best golfers in the world this week.
Curt Coulter, a seven-time club champion, said of the course, per ESPN.com's Jason Sobel, "Oakmont is a place where we punish our members, torture our guests and no one can wait to come back tomorrow."
It's unclear exactly where on the punishment-to-torture spectrum the likes of tournament favorites Jordan Spieth, Jason Day and Rory McIlroy will fall, but surely none will escape without some measure of stern discipline.
Likewise, Phil Mickelson, seeking to finally break through and shed his bridesmaid label and Dustin Johnson, seeking to put the 72nd-hole horror at Chambers Bay will be tested as well.
Ahead of us in this slideshow: A bit about the Fownes-designed gem (the villain this week), viewing information, dominant storylines, featured groupings and a look at our heroes in this drama: contenders, dark horses and favorites.
Let's begin with a little more about what Mike Davis, the USGA's executive director, called the "gold standard for championship golf," per Robert Dvorchak of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
About Oakmont
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"We are the most sadistic folks you'll ever find; we're gluttons for punishment; we like hard, difficult stuff in Pittsburgh," Chick Wagner, three-time club champion at Oakmont told Sobel. "We're not a steel town anymore, but we still have that steeler mentality."
The 7,230-yard par-70—with its signature church-pew bunkers, absurdly long par-three eighth hole and undulating, lightning-fast greens that former club president Banks Smith told Golf magazine have to be slowed down for the U.S. Open—will provide a stern test, to say the least.
Discussing course founder and designer Henry Fownes' one and only course design, Sobel writes:
"The lone design of Henry C. Fownes isn't just difficult. It's uniquely difficult. Unlike many other top-ranked golf courses, there are no fear-inducing water hazards. No forced carries. Out of bounds exists on only four holes and only if a wayward shot is pushed extremely off line.
Lined by thick rough that will be at its juiciest this week, greens slicker than black ice and 211 penal bunkers, more than a century after it was built in the farmland shadow of downtown Pittsburgh, the course remains the epitome of Fownes' lasting legacy: "A shot poorly played should be a shot irrevocably lost."
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Irrevocably lost. Yikes. Fownes' fingerprints remain on a course substantially tweaked by his son, William, and the likes of Robert Trent Jones Sr., Arnold Palmer, Ed Seay and Tom Fazio. And a massive tree-removal effort ahead of this championship has turned the roaming, undulating property into the vast, open expanse it was intended to be.
In eight previous Opens held at the Pittsburgh-area venue, only 19 players have broken par over 72 holes. In 2007, Angel Cabrera’s winning score was five over par.
Difficult driving. Thick, penal rough. Even more penal fairway bunkering and arguably the most difficult putting surfaces in the world where four-putts aren’t uncommon, even among the best players. Calling the course, which hosts the U.S. Open for a record ninth time this year, absurdly, maddeningly difficult would be generous.
Where to Watch
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Here is the television schedule for daily coverage on Fox Sports and Fox Sports 1 (all times Eastern), as well as the live-streaming schedule for USOpen.com and Fox Sports GO.
Thursday, June 16
TV: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Fox Sports 1, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Fox
Streaming (featured groups, holes): 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., USOpen.com, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., FoxSportsGO
Friday, June 17
TV: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Fox Sports 1, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Fox
Streaming (featured groups, holes): 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., USOpen.com, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., FoxSportsGO
Saturday, June 18
TV: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Fox
Streaming (featured groups, holes): 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., USOpen.com, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., FoxSportsGO
Sunday, June 19
TV: 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., Fox
Streaming (featured groups, holes): 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., USOpen.com, 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., FoxSportsGO
The Top Groupings
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Given the USGA's penchant for interesting groupings, there are some notable three-balls for Thursday and Friday at this year's U.S. Open. Here are just a few (all tee times are Eastern).
8:24 a.m. Thursday (No. 1)/2:09 p.m. Friday (No. 10): Rory McIlroy, Danny Willett, Rickie Fowler
Winner of the 2011 U.S. Open, Rory McIlroy is linked up with 2016 Masters champion Danny Willett. Rounding out the trio: Rickie Fowler, creating the possibility that we may see jogger-style golf pants for the first time at the U.S. Open on not one, but two members of a threesome!
8:35 a.m. Thursday (No. 10)/2:20 p.m. Friday (No. 1): Jordan Spieth, Zach Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau
The defending U.S. Open champ is paired with the defending U.S. Amateur champ, as is often the case at the season’s second major. And rounding out the threesome, two-time major winner Zach Johnson.
1:36 p.m. Thursday (No. 1)/7:51 a.m. Friday (No. 10): Dustin Johnson, Hideki Matsuyama, Sergio Garcia
You might call this the "Three Forms of Swing Poetry" group. Dustin Johnson’s raw, wide, bowed-wrist bombing, Hideki Matsuyama’s signature tempo and, of course, lag-master ball-flusher, Sergio Garcia. This’ll be a fun one to watch.
2:20 p.m. Thursday (No. 1)/8:35 a.m. Friday (No. 10): Jason Day, Louis Oosthuizen, Adam Scott
Countrymen Jason Day and Adam Scott are linked up in this grouping, and the USGA decided to toss in the only guy who rivals Adam Scott for “most beautiful and coveted swing on tour,” Louis Oosthuizen (according to Sports Illustrated’s Anonymous Player Poll).
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Biggest Storylines
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Just how tough will Oakmont play?
If Justin Thomas’ Instagram and Rickie Fowler’s Snapchat are to be believed, the rough is long and thick and the greens are quicker than a skating rink. After playing a pair of practice rounds last week, Phil Mickelson, veteran of 25 U.S. Opens said, "I've played Oakmont the last two days, and I really think it is the hardest golf course we've ever played," according to Golf Channel's Rex Hoggard.
Already regarded as one of the sternest tests in golf, where a five-over par score won last time the Open was contested there, Oakmont is going to be exceedingly difficult. But just how tough? Will something in the neighborhood of five over win this year? Will Tommy Armour’s 1927 U.S. Open score of 13 over be exceeded?
The Big Three
The top three golfers in the Official World Golf Ranking are, not surprisingly, the three favorites entering the U.S. Open. Jason Day (No. 1), Jordan Spieth (No. 2), and Rory McIlroy (No. 3) will garner plenty of attention this week.
Spieth, around whom “slump” and “struggling” talk circulated leading up to his Dean & DeLuca Invitational win, will be most closely watched of the three as the defending champion. Day, who has finished inside the top 10 at the last three U.S. Opens, is expected to contend, as is McIlroy at a course where his driving proficiency ought to set him apart from the field.
Phil's last chance?
At 46 years of age on Thursday, were Phil Mickelson to win the U.S. Open this year, he would be the fourth-oldest major winner behind Jack Nicklaus (46 years and 83 days), Old Tom Morris (46 years and 99 days) and Julius Boros (48 years and 138 days). Hale Irwin, who won in 1990, is the oldest U.S. Open winner at 45 years old.
It should be mentioned that Mickelson missed the cut the last time the tournament was contested at Oakmont (2007). He contended at the U.S. Open in 2013 at Merion (tied 2nd) but wasn’t a factor in 2014 or 2015. Mickelson arrives this weekend after a strong showing at the FedEx St. Jude Classic in Memphis where he tied for second.
Dustin Johnson's time?
Dustin Johnson’s three-putt to lose the U.S. Open by a stroke at Chambers Bay last year hasn’t become any less agonizing a year removed. Fortunately, DJ has the sort of carefree, goldfish-memory orientation that isn’t likely marred by past misfortunes.
Johnson heads into the tournament on the heels of a red-hot final-round 63 at the FedEx St. Jude Classic to finish fifth. That showing came after a third-place finish at the Memorial, and he has recorded top-five finishes at the last two U.S. Opens.
He’s surging. He’s a veteran of U.S. Open layouts, where he has consistently played well in recent years. If not now for Dustin Johnson, when?
The Dark Horses
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Paul Casey
Paul Casey tied for 10th at Oakmont in 2007 and has traditionally been a solid U.S. Open performer. He’ll drop off a lot of radar screens after missing the cut at the Memorial. However, with a couple of weeks to hone his game, Casey should ready for his Thursday tee time. Always a quality ball-striker, the Englishman is 25th on tour in strokes gained from tee to green.
Lee Westwood
Another under-the-radar golfer this season—thanks to the fact that he’s playing primarily on the European Tour now—veteran Lee Westwood has recorded top-15 finishes in his last three European Tour starts. He, like Casey, competed in 2007 U.S. Open, finishing tied for 36th. Experience is key, particularly on the course’s treacherous greens. The 43-year-old has recorded a top-10 finish in nearly one-third of his U.S. Open tries.
Jim Furyk
Had he not spent much of the season on the DL recovering from wrist surgery, West Chester, Pennsylvania, native Jim Furyk would be garnering much more attention heading into a home game of a U.S. Open. Furyk finished tied for second in 2007 and is a past U.S. Open winner (2003), which would also earn him serious consideration had he seen anything resembling success in his four starts since returning. Still, with two weeks off after tying for 52nd at the Memorial, Furyk could be dialed in. Certainly, few sleepers have the ceiling of Furyk this week.
The Challengers
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Dustin Johnson
With eight top-10 finishes this season and two top-10s in his last two starts—including a stellar showing at the FedEx St. Jude Classic (5th)—Dustin Johnson is as poised as ever (on paper, at least) to get the major monkey off his back.
No stats are needed to convey the fact that DJ can bomb the golf ball and will be long enough that he ought to be able to hack the ball out of the rough near the putting surface when he misses fairways. The man who came so agonizingly close at Chambers Bay last year looks like a top contender this year.
Matt Kuchar
With four top-10 finishes in his last four starts, Matt Kuchar will tee it up this week in form. While he didn’t compete in the U.S. Open in 2007, he has done good work at Open venues in the past, tying for 12th at both Pinehurst No. 2 (2014) and Chambers Bay (2015). At no worse than 45th in any of the strokes gained stats, Kuchar is a well-rounded veteran who’s been on his game lately.
Phil Mickelson
Mickelson will be putting a peg in the ground in Pittsburgh after matching his best showing of the year, finishing tied for second at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. While he missed the cut at the Masters and hasn’t overwhelmed this year, the left-hander does look to be peaking at the right time.
And his practice visit to the course left him with the impression that he will be able to leave his erratic driver in the bag much of the time, according to Hoggard, which could be just the ticket to adding a U.S. Open victory to his six runner-up finishes.
The Favorites
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Jordan Spieth
According to Joel Beall of Golf Digest, Jordan Spieth said of Oakmont last month: "There's just so many other tough holes that par is going to be a fantastic score. I'd sign for even par right now for 72 holes in June.”
Last year’s U.S. Open champ seems to be approaching this year’s contest in the proper frame of mind, knowing he’s in for an exceedingly difficult test. Spieth arrives outside Pittsburgh after a disappointing 57th-place finish at the Memorial. He is, however, the reigning champ and, in tandem with caddie Michael Greller, an adept course manager. With a win just two starts ago and as the near-winner of the season’s first major, Spieth is rightfully among the favorites this week.
Rory McIlroy
McIlroy returned to the winner’s circle in his most recent European Tour start at the Irish Open. He followed the W up with a fourth-place finish at the Memorial. With a week to sharpen the ax since then, we have to assume McIlroy is in in high gear.
He finished ninth at Chambers Bay last year and is a past U.S. Open champion, both factors that should bolster his confidence as he takes on the toughest test in golf. Oh, and he’s the best driver in the game, leading the tour in strokes gained off the tee. That has to help a bit at a U.S. Open venue, right?
Jason Day
A winner three times in 11 starts this season, were it not for ho-hum work at the Memorial (and a course he never plays well), the Jason Day march to coronation at Oakmont would already be on in the golf media. In addition to superb form this season, Day has finished inside the top 10 at the last three U.S. Opens, including a gritty showing as he battled vertigo at Chambers Bay last year.
The Tour leader in strokes gained from putting and total strokes gained, Jason Day is No. 1 among the Big Three on the eve of the season’s second major.
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