"Maybe it's hard to find a golf course that's harder than this one so far and in the future. It's a completely different kind of test." (2025 PGA Championship winner Scottie Scheffler)카지노
"I am studying by watching the video clips of the 2016 U.S. Open here. Top players including Dustin Johnson, the winner of the competition, took aim at the event in a different style. Both distance and accuracy should be maintained here." (2025 Masters champion Rory McIlroy)
The Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, USA, is expected to be greeted with a wave of sighs from the world's top rankers for four days from the 12th (local time).
The 125th U.S. Open, the third major tournament of the season, will kick off here, which is called the "Devil's Course" as one of the most difficult golf courses in the U.S.
It is the 10th time this year that the U.S. Open will be held at the infamous Oakmont Country Club (par 70, 7,372 yards). Players are complaining, but the difficulty of the course is getting higher.
The U.S. Golf Association (USGA), which is the host of the U.S. Open, changed the course from par 71 to par 70 in 2007, making the tournament even more infamous. Angel Cabrera of Argentina, who won the championship, scored 5 over par. Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk (U.S.), the runners-up at the time, were 6 over par.
At the most recent 2016 tournament, Jordan Spieth of the U.S. said, "If you win the U.S. Open at Oakmont CC, you can say that you have succeeded in the most difficult test in golf."
A thick and tough rough patch that locks the ankles is hard to escape from, but it's also hard to find a ball. There are 210 bunkers that are threateningly lurking, including a field furrow bunker shaped like a church chair, and a tall jar bunker. A fast, sloping green measuring more than 4 meters with a steam meter is expected to trouble players. Once inserted, the players should also avoid drainage channels that are difficult to escape easily.
Both par-5 holes run over 600 yards this year. The par-38 is set at 289 yards, and many players have to catch a driver. Schaeffler also had a driver tee shot in the practice round.
Even the strong contenders could not hide their tension ahead of the Oakmont blood fight.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler said, "The formula of 'hit far and escape the rough' does not fit this course. "You have to calculate the angle of each hole well, and the green or slope is high," he said. "Rough is the problem. Usually, I grab a No. 7 Wood or No. 3 Iron, but I am not sure whether to use it or not. If the ball is floating in the rough, I have to use the No. 7 Iron or pull out about 50 yards with a short wedge. I think I have to grab a short wedge for most of the time."
Although Schaeffler started his engine a little late this season, he has swept three major championships in the last four competitions, showing his prowess as world No. 1. If Schaeffler, who won the Masters twice and won the PGA Championship last month, wins the U.S. Open, he will only have the D-Open left at the Career Grand Slam. The PGA Tour, local media and sports gamblers all put Schaeffler on top of the list.
Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), the winner of the 2011 U.S. Open, is also drawing attention.
McIlroy, who conquered Augusta GC at the Masters this year, also described Oakmont CC as a "giant beast-like course."
McIlroy, who lost eight shots for two days at the U.S. Open here in 2016, said, "I can't think of the game at that time. "I think I just wanted to erase it from my memory," he said. "Augusta is a course that allows people to recover. However, if you miss the fairway here, there is not much you can do. There is much bigger punishment for missed shots."
McIlroy seems to have slowed down a bit after achieving the career Grand Slam by winning the Masters this year. He did well by tying for 12th at the Zurich Classic and tying for 7th at the Truist Championship, but tied for 47th at the PGA Championship and failed to make the cut at the RBC Canadian Open last week. He has lost motivation remarkably, and has been rumored to have refused to hold a press conference at the PGA Championship.
McIlroy said, "I try to forget what happened six weeks ago (when I won the Masters), as if I have some memory loss. And I'm looking for motivation to train hard again. I'm still enjoying that feeling and I think I deserve it. But the season is going on, so I have to focus again."
Bryson DeChambeau of the U.S., who regained the top spot in four years at the U.S. Open last year, will defend the title. DeChambeau competed for the championship in major competitions, including fifth place at this year's Masters and second place at the PGA Championship.
Four Korean players, Im Sung-jae, Kim Si-woo, Ahn Byung-hoon and Kim Joo-hyung, will also participate.
At this season's major championships, Im Sung-jae tied for fifth at the Masters and Kim Si-woo tied for eighth at the PGA Championship, posting top 10 records. Kim was ranked fifth in the power ranking of the championship by Golf Channel. The only two Korean players to have made the top 10 at the U.S. Open are Yang Yong-eun (joint third) in 2011 and Kim Joo-hyung (joint eighth) in 2023.
Meanwhile, the U.S.GA announced on Wednesday (Korea time) that the total prize money for this year's U.S. Open was set at 21.5 million dollars, the same as last year. The prize money is 4.3 million dollars, the same as last year's. This is the largest among the four major competitions.
This year's total prize money for the first major Masters of the season was set at 21 million dollars, the highest ever, and the prize money exceeded 4 million dollars for the first time to rise to 4.2 million dollars. This year's PGA Championship, the second major of the season, saw the total prize money of 19 million dollars and the prize money of 3.42 million dollars.