Oakmont Awaits: What to Watch for at the 2025 U.S. Open

The third major of the 2025 season arrives with a vengeance as the U.S. Open returns to one of golf’s most feared venues: Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania. Known for its lightning-fast greens, gnarly rough, and demanding architecture, Oakmont is widely regarded as one of the most difficult tests in championship golf. This year, the U.S. Open arrives with added intrigue, thanks to a tightly contested season headlined by Scottie Scheffler’s dominance, Rory McIlroy’s post-Grand Slam era, and Bryson DeChambeau’s title defense. While the layout will deliver the punishment, the storylines will deliver the drama. With reputations on the line and careers ready to be defined, Oakmont promises a high-stakes spectacle where every shot feels like a turning point.

Tournament Details

Location: Oakmont Country Club – Oakmont, Pennsylvania

Dates: June 12th – 15th, 2025

Defending Champion: Bryson DeChambeau

Purse: $20 million

FedEx Cup Points: 750

Event Type: Major Championship

Course Week Breakdown

Oakmont is a name that sends chills down even the steeliest of professionals. A par-70 measuring just over 7,372 yards, it’s not the longest major venue, but it doesn’t have to be. With slick, sloping greens, tight fairways bordered by penal rough, and bunkers that punish anything less than perfect execution, Oakmont’s brutality lies in its precision-based examination. The course requires elite control off the tee and world-class lag putting, with three putts more common than birdies on certain holes. Mental endurance will be just as important as physical execution, with patience tested from Thursday morning until Sunday afternoon.

Oakmont’s examination is brutal on a calm day, and this week’s forecast adds a constantly shifting layer of heat, moisture, and wind that will push patience to the limit. The opening round on Thursday brings the highest temperatures of the championship, with an afternoon high of 88 degrees and a morning low of 64 degrees; a light seven-mile-per-hour breeze and relative humidity just below sixty percent should keep the greens fiery and the rough bristling. Friday cools only slightly to an 83-degree high and 67-degree low, but humidity climbs into the upper sixties and the chance of a passing shower rises to roughly one-quarter, meaning soft spots could appear in isolated landing areas by day’s end. Saturday ushers in the biggest shift: a high of 74 degrees, morning fog, humidity near ninety percent, and winds dipping to five miles per hour, conditions that could slow green speeds but also magnify every misread on Oakmont’s tilted surfaces. Championship Sunday looks drier and hotter again, peaking near 79 degrees with mid-afternoon breezes around six miles per hour and humidity in the low eighties, setting up a final-round crucible of slick greens that will only get quicker as they bake. Should play stretch into Monday, competitors will deal with a warm 77-degree high, stout six-mile-per-hour winds, and humidity hovering above eighty percent, ensuring Oakmont remains unrelenting from the opening tee shot to the last nervy putt.

Bryson DeChambeau – The Champion Returns

Bryson DeChambeau enters this week with confidence and purpose, knowing few players are better equipped to tackle Oakmont’s unique blend of challenge and chaos. His 2024 U.S. Open triumph was a masterclass in strategy and execution, and while he now spends his time on the LIV Tour and his personal YouTube Channel, Bryson has remained sharp with a win earlier this year and several top-10 finishes. His length off the tee can reduce the course's bite, but it’s his underrated short game and improved mental approach that makes him a true threat. Returning to a venue that rewards bold play and resilience, DeChambeau will be eager to prove his Major Championship pedigree again. The target on his back is clear, and he welcomes the chase.

Scottie Scheffler – Odds-On Favorite in Peak Form

Scottie Scheffler arrives at Oakmont as the betting favorite and the statistical standout, having already secured a couple of victories on the PGA Tour and a win at the PGA Championship this season. With his last start being a win at the Memorial, Scheffler’s game remains polished and balanced across the board. He leads the Tour in strokes gained total, strokes gained approach, and scrambling, three critical areas for surviving the U.S. Open test. Oakmont rewards precision and punishes impatience, and no one in the game is more methodical right now than Scheffler. With the opportunity to win his second major of the year and continue a run that’s drawing historical comparisons, this could be the moment he elevates from elite to legendary.

Rory McIlroy – Looking to Reignite the Fire

Despite winning the 2025 Masters to complete the career Grand Slam, Rory McIlroy has cooled slightly in the months since. His success early in the season has kept him within striking distance of Scottie Scheffler in the FedEx Cup standings, but a quiet PGA Championship and terrible performance in Canada last week have left questions about his momentum. Still, McIlroy’s talent is unquestioned, and when he gets dialed in, few players in history can match his scoring ability. Oakmont presents a formidable challenge for his sometimes-inconsistent putter, but his elite driving and ability to shape shots are tailor-made for this setup. With a chance to win his second U.S. Open and sixth major overall, Rory has every reason to show up ready.

The Big Three vs. The Field – A Heavyweight Battle Awaits

While Bryson, Scottie, and Rory command nearly every pre-Major Championship headline, the rest of the field faces a daunting task: prying the U.S. Open trophy from one of the Big Three at a venue as punishing as Oakmont. It will take something extraordinary for anyone else to interrupt their march. Jon Rahm has the power and proven nerve to mount such a challenge, but even his seven top-ten finishes worldwide this season suggest consistency more than runaway dominance. Xander Schauffele, the perpetual major contender, owns the all-around game to survive Oakmont’s brutality, yet he still hasn’t found the spark this year that he had in his two Major wins last year. Ludvig Aberg, whose early-season surge hinted at generational talent, must rediscover a red-hot putter to complement that prodigious length and precision. Collin Morikawa’s iron play is tailor-made for Oakmont, but his putter will have to be magical to topple three superstars operating near peak form. Joaquin Niemann thrives in firm, fast conditions and could ride his low-spinning driver past the field, yet he still needs to summon a career week on the greens and through the weekend. Simply put, the bar for dethroning Bryson, Scottie, or Rory is sky-high; anything short of flawless golf over four bruising rounds will fall short. Oakmont does not reward mild excellence; it demands heroic execution and unwavering belief. Only a truly special performance will keep one of the Big Three from adding another chapter to their growing legacies this Sunday.

Final Thoughts

The U.S. Open at Oakmont is not for the faint of heart. It’s the kind of tournament that rewards the toughest minds, sharpest games, and most composed competitors. With three titans in Bryson, Scottie, and Rory at the forefront, and a slew of stars waiting in the wings, this week could shape the major narrative of the season. Expect drama, disaster, and brilliance in equal measure. On a course that offers no shortcuts and no sympathy, greatness must be earned the hard way. By Sunday evening, someone will walk off Oakmont’s 18th green forever changed.