U.S. Open preview, Oakmont expectations

Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, discuss next week’s U.S. Open, what to expect from Oakmont as a venue and more.

The 125th U.S. Open begins Thursday at Oakmont Country Club outside of Pittsburgh, Pa., with Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy — winners of the first two majors of the year — as the betting favorites. We’ll get to them, but first, what’s your favorite Oakmont storyline that doesn’t involve the aforementioned duo?

Josh Sens, senior writer (@joshsens). Love him or not, Bryson DeChambeau has become the most reliably compelling player in the majors. He said he’d be going back to his tinkerer’s workshop in advance of the U.S. Open. It will be interesting to see what tricks he pulls out at Oakmont, not to mention his brute power on such a brawny course. 

Dylan Dethier, senior writer (@dylan_dethier): I’m with Sens — Bryson’s week will be fascinating. He’s been playing the majors so well, he’s been driving the ball so well, he won last year’s U.S. Open and the brawny Winged Foot test, too, plus he has new irons in play…he’ll command plenty of attention. But I find myself drawn to the U.S. Ryder Cup team and its potential members. There are suddenly only two majors left, which means if some players in the 7-15 range have a big-time week, Bethpage could suddenly include a player we wouldn’t have guessed at the beginning of the year. Ben Griffin? J.J. Spaun? Tom Hoge? Or, of course, Keegan Bradley?

Zephyr Melton, assistant editor (@zephyrmelton): Love the Bryson takes – it’s always fun to see what kind of tricks he has up his sleeves for majors. My favorite storyline to follow will be how the course plays. We all know Oakmont is a brute, and early reports suggest the scoring could be high. I can’t wait to see how the best in the world tackle it.

Scheffler enters the week having won three of his last four starts but has yet to win a U.S. Open. Does a challenging, maddening U.S. Open test like Oakmont versus a birdie-fest setup elsewhere actually improve his chances to win, or does it push him closer to the field?

Sens: The cream tends to rise on tough courses. The only part of the game that sometimes bedevils Scheffler is his putting, and Oakmont’s greens are next-level challenging. But I suspect this week will only underscore the gulf between Scheffler and almost everybody else. 

Dethier: Overall it should improve his chances, given he’s doing everything well at the moment. But it’ll be interesting to watch Scheffler — and the rest of the field! — navigate the mental test of what might be the world’s hardest golf course. Scheffler’s mental game is generally terrific, but he runs hot. I’m excited to watch him handle such a brutish setup.

Melton: Scottie is no one-trick pony. He’s won in birdie-fests (Byron Nelson) and slogs (Memorial), so I wouldn’t say that any certain setup will impact his chances. That said, I’ll be stunned if he isn’t in the mix come Sunday.

After opening his season with a top-20 finish in all eight starts — including three wins — Rory McIlroy tied for 47th at the PGA and enters this week coming off a 71-78 missed cut at the RBC Canadian Open. A troubling trend? Or a couple of outliers? How does Rory’s game translate to Oakmont?

Sens: When Rory’s on, his game translates to any course. But recent signs have been troubling. The erratic drives he’s been hitting of late will not work at Oakmont. Compound that with some comments McIlroy has made about his post-Augusta motivation levels, and I would not pick him high in an office pool. 

Dethier: McIlroy’s trip to Canada was strange from start to finish. I was most struck by one thing he said in his pre-tournament press conference: “You have this event in your life that you’ve worked towards and it happens, sometimes it’s hard to find the motivation to get back on the horse and go again.” It’s pretty clear he’s experiencing some sort of post-Masters letdown. When will he snap out of it? Professional golf is the ultimate grind and the U.S. Open is triply so; I’m sure he’s still eager to contend and to win but if he’s even a little bit elsewhere, that’s enough to throw off everything. We’ll get a good sense of McIlroy’s game this week – his swing, his mind, his grind.

Melton: The comedown after the high of completing the career Grand Slam seems to have caught up with him — and can you blame him? A burden over a decade in the making was finally lifted. I can see how coming down from that rush would make for a rocky re-acclimitization. With Rory’s talent, he’s a threat to win just about every week, but the way his game has been trending, I’d put my money on someone else next week.

While in Canada, McIlroy spoke to the media for the first time since his pre-tournament press conference at the PGA, explained why he didn’t meet with reporters after his rounds at Quail Hollow (“a bit of a weird week”) and added some context to the failed driver test storyline (he was irked Scheffler’s also failed but it was Rory’s name that leaked). What were your thoughts on Rory’s comments and how he unpacked the situation?

Sens: He was typically thoughtful, especially when talking about his frustration at being singled and not wanting to throw Scheffler’s name into the conversation. All of that made sense. But otherwise, his rationale for not speaking with reporters didn’t sit well. Sure, technically, he was not required to stop by the podium.  But it’s still poor form to blow off the press. It takes just a few minutes to field a few questions– a tiny price to pay for the obscene money he makes. 

Dethier: McIlroy should have talked to the media at the PGA, not because he “owes it to us” or whatever but just as a tactical decision, to take some air out of the balloon. With that said, if you’re using this driver storyline as some sort of mark against McIlroy it’s because you already didn’t like him or are intentionally misunderstanding the situation. There are plenty of people in both those camps, so this will continue to float around in social media comment sections across platforms — but he unpacked the situation thoughtfully and, other than revisiting driver testing protocols, I think we should all move on.

Melton: Rory could have controlled the narrative if he’d given just a few minutes of his time to the press at Quail Hollow. Instead, this is still a storyline a month later. I can understand his frustration about the info leaking to the press, but he only threw fuel on the fire by ghosting the media. 

Lots will be said and written this week about the difficulty of Oakmont, one of the USGA’s five U.S. Open anchor courses that’s readying to host a record 10th national championship. Is Oakmont the best U.S. Open venue?

Sens: It’s my personal favorite from a design standpoint. But tournaments are also televised entertainment. And it’s pretty hard to top the imagery from spots like Pebble Beach and Shinnecock. And last I checked, Pjnehurst has produced some pretty electric finishes. Not trying to be mealy-mouthed here. Let’s just say it’s good that they rotate host sites. 

Dethier: This will be my first week on site at Oakmont, which has me fired up and I’ll be able to better answer at week’s end. But my instinct is yes in that it seems like the U.S. Open test that is the most U.S. Open-y, if that makes sense. We can debate whether greater Pittsburgh is in the midwest later this week but there’s something special about a storied club in the American heartland with brutal rough, ridiculous greens and layers of history that stirs the soul.

Melton: It certainly fits the mold of the brawny test that the USGA loves to present. Whether or not it’s the best is up for debate, but it’s definitely up there. I can’t wait to see the carnage. 

OK, enough about Scottie, Rory, tricky greens and long rough. Who is one sleeper to watch at Oakmont?

Sens: Harris English has three top 10s in his last five US Opens. He has also been in pretty good form of late. At 100-1, he’s decent bang for your office pool buck. 

Dethier: Sens stole my man. I’m also high on Keegan Bradley (sleepy, if not full dark horse), Cameron Young, (who left the 72nd hole at the RBC Canadian Open in a state he described as “a lot of anger”, but should be set up well), and Max Greyserman, just cuz.

Melton: No love for Ben Griffin?! He’s trending as well as anyone over the past month, who’s to say he doesn’t keep it going?