Big guns Scheffler, DeChambeau set sights on US Open at testing Oakmont course

A field of 156 for the 125th playing of the US Open, including world number one Scottie Scheffler, Masters winner and world number two Rory McIlroy and defending champion Bryson DeChambeau expects to be fully tested at the Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania.

Dubbed as the hardest major championship venue in the sport, Oakmont is hosting the US Open for a record tenth time, and the 2025 edition is set to do the entrants no favours whatsoever with narrow fairways fringed by thick, five-inch-high roughs, super fast greens and multiple bunkers set to play a role in proceedings.

There are only two par-5s on the 7,372-yard par-70 Oakmont course, one measuring 611 yards (hole 4) and the other 632 yards (hole 12). At 289 yards, the par-3 eighth hole is the longest in major championships and is expected to go up to 300 yards during the four days of the tournament. One infamous bunker between the third and fourth fairways, dubbed the “Church Pew” for its rows of turf ridges that cut across the hazard, is a hundred yards long and 40 yards wide.

Said hot favourite Scheffler, who has won thrice in his last four starts including at the PGA Championship, on tournament eve, "There's not really many areas where you step on the tee box and you're like, hey, I can miss it right here, hey, I can shade towards the left side of the fairway because right is really bad.

"If you hit it in the right rough, you're probably not going to get it to the green; if you hit it in the left rough, you're probably not going to get it to the green. So might as well try and split the difference there and hit it in the middle.”

Added 2024 winner DeChambeau, who led in the final round at the Masters in April and finished runner-up at the PGA Championship last month, "It's been a lot of fun just experiencing what the fans are giving me. It's so much energy.

"The only reason why I'm still here with this much energy is because of them, and even last week (at the LIV Golf event) in Virginia, the crowds were really great and pumping me on. Am I tired? For sure. But am I excited? I'm more excited than I am tired.”

Northern Ireland’s McIlroy, who completed the career Grand Slam at this year's Masters has had a difficult few months since, said he was as ready to tackle the challenging course. "It's very penal if you miss. Sometimes it's penal if you don't miss. But the person with the most patience and the best attitude this week is the one that's going to win."