PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Following the first round of the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, there were 45 players under par. The hope for the US Open at Oakmont next month none are under par.
That is said with pride by Oakmont membership and one of three requests for the national championship in June, along with thick rough and new pin placements.
“Oakmont embraces difficult,” said USGA Managing Director of Rules and Open Championships Jeff Hall. “Every change that was made always seemed to add difficulty. Not in an arrogant way. Not in a hap-hazard way, but you’ve got to play precise golf. That is what a USGA championship is all about.”
“We are not trying to torture these guys, although they suggest otherwise. Play it properly and you can have a very enjoyable day. A day you accomplished something. But if your game is not on and something is missing, Oakmont will expose you in spades. You cannot pretend your way around this golf course for four days. It just can’t happen.”
“We want the players to get every club in their bag dirty,” said USGA Chief Championships Officer John Bodenhamer. “All 15 of them, all 14 in their bag and the one between their ears.”
“We don’t want to be every player’s best friend, but we want to earn their respect.”
Over the course of the nine US Open championships at Oakmont, the finishing scores would prove it
· 1927-Tommy Armour +13
· 1935-Sam Parks, Junior +11
· 1953-Ben Hogan -5
· 1962-Jack Nicklaus -1
· 1973-Johnny Miller -5
· 1983-Larry Nelson -4
· 1994-Ernie Els -5
· 2007-Angel Cabrera +5
· 2016-Dustin Johnson -4
Bodenhamer quoted the architect and founder of Oakmont Country Club, Henry Fownes, ‘The clumsy, the spineless, the alibi artists stand aside. A shot poorly played should be a shot irrevocably lost.’
You can buy a copper coin ball marker in the Oakmont Country Club pro shop with that phrase on it.
“The DNA is tough here,” Bodenhamer said.
“The cream rises to the top. What the Fownes family created, and what Oakmont (members) are caretakers of, and it continues, the cream rises to the top. When you win at Oakmont, it just means more.”
“It matters where the pros win their championships,” said Oakmont Country Club President John Lynch. “We all know that’s true. That’s one of the many reasons Oakmont is on the rotation and is considered an anchor site.”
Oakmont CC has a partnership with the USGA over the next 25 years to hold three more US Opens and other USGA events. The membership at Oakmont considers the United States Golf Association a partner and friend.
Bodenhamer views Oakmont Country Club one of America’s greatest golf venues and referred to it as a cathedral.
“These hallowed grounds offer the most demanding mental test of golf of any US Open venue,” said Hall. “Mentally this golf course will wear you out, but this is the US Open. To put your name on that trophy, especially when playing at Oakmont, it’s an exhausting process.”
