Fownes treasure

OAKMONT, PA

Sam Burns had a five-foot putt to win the RBC Canadian Open.

Five feet.

Brutal.

Speaking of brutal, welcome to the 125th United States Open Championship hosted by one of our country's greatest championship venues, Oakmont Country Club. Over 1300 players have competed in a US Open on this property, and approximately 2% have finished the tournament under par. There have been nine previous national championships played at Oakmont. Past champions include Jack Nicklaus, Johnny Miller, Dustin Johnson, Ernie Els, and Ben Hogan. Much like St. Andrews or Augusta National, the best are generally rewarded for acumen at Oakmont.

A field of 156 will start tomorrow on a quest to capture one of golf's toughest treasures. Even the cut at the US Open is hard; only the low 60 and ties will make the weekend. Much is going to be made of this venue, and with good reason. No other club has hosted more US Opens than Oakmont. Taking its tenth turn, there is one fact we all know about the identity of this course: it is hard. The USGA has tried to make its major championship stand out as the most difficult for decades. Coming to Oakmont appears to be a perfect marriage for that mission. As I walk the property, it sure seems like we are going to get that perfect moment of championship confluence. The game's elite are in great form while we reach a peak venue. Buckle up for a battle because the last time I checked, the score is Oakmont 9, the field 0 over the last 98 years in our national championship.

"SOAK-mont"

Oakmont Country Club was designed in 1903 by Henry Fownes. Haven't heard that name in any architecture podcasts or read it in any books; that's because he was a one-hit wonder. The Fownes family founded Oakmont and built one of golf's greatest cathedrals with one goal in mind: to create a complete examination. Unlike several courses built during golf's golden age of architecture, Henry Fownes lived at Oakmont and continued to tinker with his design. The evolution of Oakmont has taken place over 120 years. It sounds like hyperbole, but it's true. To renovate this design, Gil Hanse followed the Fownes philosophy. Instead of using one window in time for the project, they pulled pictures from various generations of this golf course.

In doing so, Hanse and his team created Oakmont's 18 greatest hits scorecard. Each hole renovation went back to the best version of each hole. The result is a 100-year plus masterpiece we all get to appreciate over the next four days. The par 70 layout covers 7,372 yards. Certainly not long by modern major championship standards, this test is truly about hitting great golf shots. If Oakmont was just hard for the sake of frustrating golfers, we wouldn't be watching our tenth US Open here. This scorecard will reward golfers. Most of the approach shots you see this week will be played from a realistic length. The par 3s are a bit much, but overall this isn't Augusta National or Quail Hollow, where there's a 480+ yard par 4 around every corner.

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Keith's Keys 🗞️ A couple of key skills you can claim as your own at the water cooler and cocktail party conversations. You can find complete explanations for each in the betting breakdown. Putt the ball in play: Long and short hitters have both had great success at Oakmont. The one common thread between them was hitting the fairway. Lag for show: The best lag putters in the world would have trouble at Oakmont. Putt with patience and above all else, pay attention to gravity because that's one opponent this week you will not defeat. Enter Sandman: Metallica might be a great choice for an Oakmont anthem. No championship venue in the States has more bunkers. Avoid them at all costs, and when you find yourself in one, get out safely.

The beauty of Oakmont is that you can make birdies here. We will see players go on runs throughout the week. The difficulty of this design appears when you make a mistake. No other course I can remember forces you to take your medicine like Oakmont. Even when you do swallow your competitive pride and punch out, the challenge can be far from over. As I watch the players prepare, I have a couple of on-site observations. The course is wet. The Pittsburgh region received over four inches of rain in May. Since June started, another inch plus has fertilized the fairways and rough. In the last 10 weeks, nearly 13 inches of rain have fallen on the property. Oakmont can get these greens where they want them based on daily routine practices. Firm and fast greens are an everyday occurrence on this property, but the rough surrounding these fairways is well watered. In doing so, it is dense and uniform. It could be three inches and cost a severe penalty, let alone the five inches it currently is and growing...

The US Open starts in...

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Tuesday was dry and sunny, and that should help. Today and tomorrow are supposed to be rain-free as well, but the USGA might have a couple of wet weather challenges over the weekend. Another damp national championship at Oakmont, and your winner will be under par with possibly a handful of others. Past that, good luck, and the main reason is the green complexes. Players do not compete on putting surfaces like these; EVER. The first thing that catches your attention is the size. In the recent renovation, Hanse added 24,000 sq/ft to the 18 greens. They now average 8,500 sq/ft in size. Words cannot describe how difficult some of the approach putts players will face will be. Between the speed and the undulations, god help them all.

So many of the best approach locations take on the greatest risk. Walking with practice round groups, you can see players build a blueprint. This golf course has stood the competitive test of time because it cannot be blindly attacked. There are an infinite number of nuances around this landscape. Since the tour only comes here once every 10 years, most of these players will only compete here once in their careers. You cannot learn this place in three or four days. It is for that reason you should depend on the best ball strikers. The golf course has 168 bunkers! Ninety-six of which players will face alongside the fairways, and another 72 surrounding the greens. So many of the fairway bunkers challenge players after the tee shot. Whether you are laying up or getting out of trouble, you really must pay attention.

The average par 4 length is 435 yards. That's over 20 yards shorter than the average at Augusta National and Quail Hollow. Again, there's artistry behind the architecture. You can make birdies on this course. Great shots will be rewarded, and we will see plenty of them. The biggest issue will come when competitors do not play it safe from trouble, or they get overly aggressive. Fownes never really finished his masterpiece. Year after year, he kept enhancing the design. This golf course places every player on edge because it gives you a sensation that it is actively fighting back. By constantly changing the characteristics, Fownes brought this landscape to life.

For the next four days, you will see what I mean. Conditions will evolve, and leaderboards will drastically change. US Opens at Oakmont are equal parts Shakespeare and Hitchcock. Many call Oakmont a cathedral of golf. Having experienced this venue on more than one occasion, I tend to agree with them. Cathedrals are places where lost souls go to pray. Start your penance now boys, tomorrow is coming quickly.

First shot golf course

Being on-site at a venue like Oakmont takes your mind in a million places, and that's the fool's gold. The best way to handicap this championship is to keep it simple and let history provide the answers. Take a good look at those last two top 10s in the US Open from 2007 and 2016. Where else have the winners Dustin Johnson and Angel Cabrera had great success? How about their contenders Bubba Watson, Shane Lowry, Jason Day, and Jim Furyk? Some of these will sound crazy, but take a moment and consider these comp venues. I see a lot of Riviera, Kapalua, Augusta National, and Olympia Fields in this layout. Those are unique venues, and they ask you to be a complete player. Many will jump on Winged Foot, and they aren't wrong, but if that's your main comp, then you will have a very limited leaderboard list to work with.

The northeast Poa on these green surfaces is the same agronomy we see next week at TPC River Highlands. Is the Philadelphia Cricket Club a good comparison course? Nobody perfectly parallels Oakmont, so feel free to use a couple of courses that fit the mold on paper. Classic designs depart quickly from the TPC typecast. Our skill set is VERY specific for the US Open. If you find venues where these competitor characteristics create success, then the research is valuable.

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How many times have you heard Augusta National described as a second-shot golf course? Too many times to count, that's not the case this week. I believe Oakmont is a FIRST shot test. Augusta lacks deep rough alongside the fairways. I know the church pews sit on three and four, but all of these 14 fairways are single-file. If you consistently miss fairways at Oakmont, you CANNOT play this golf course. Jack Nicklaus, Johnny Miller, Larry Nelson, Ernie Els, Angel Cabrera, and Dustin Johnson are all excellent off the tee. DJ even said it himself in the interview room on Monday. When asked what he did best that week in 2016, he replied, "I drove the ball great that week." Whether you are Scottie Scheffler or Aaron Rai, by keeping the ball out of the rough, you will have an incredible advantage this week.

My outright card is built around this one simple principle. Gain as many strokes as you can off the tee with accuracy and length. Then take care of the ball on these greens. The modern statistic calls it approach putting, but the casual fan refers to this skill set as lag putting. How close can you get your first putt to the hole? Sounds simple, but unless you have played here or St. Andrews, it is impossible to appreciate this putting test. Players will face so many long putts across bumps, humps, swales, and plateaus. Losing to gravity at all times, certain putts just cannot be rolled anywhere near the target. It is one thing to swallow your playing pride and pitch out from five-inch rough or a church pew mound. It is another level of submission to putt away from the hole when you are a top 20 player in the world.

The full complement of Oakmont abilities doesn't stop there. PGA TOUR players compete on a single front-to-back sloping green about once per month. Seriously, the TPC template we see week after week doesn't test players like this. It starts on the first hole, whether the turf is wet or dry. The opening test at Oakmont is a 488 par 4 that plays with a driver and a nine iron (or a pitching wedge) for the majority of the field. The downhill severity of the second shot can only be replicated on the initial drop of a theme park roller coaster. This is the first hole! Several times throughout the round, as you head toward the turnpike, the greens run away from the approaching player. Since everyone comes with little local knowledge, this part of the examination involves believing in your plan, finding the correct landing zone, and executing it.

We face a par 70 scorecard this week with 12 par 4s. All unique, the best par 4 players will have an advantage over four rounds. Remember, when you remove those two par 5s, it changes the scoring dynamic. Players need to make birdies in other places, and par 70 scorers excel on the 4s. Oakmont also has an endless number of bunkers. Twelve holes have at least seven sandy pockets. Some are miniature, while the church pews measure 110 yards long and 40 yards wide. Sand play success is a secret sauce skill at Oakmont. Sooner or later, you will find one, and they aren't easy to escape. Better sand players have an advantage.

When it comes to scrambling and short game, I tend to like the ground game aficionados the best. That's a fancy way of saying, if you're good at the Open Championship, you have a strong chance for success here. So many of the champions and contenders at Oakmont have had success across the pond on links settings. Focusing on ground targets away from the hole and knowing how your shots will react by controlling the trajectory and spin is an elite skill. Only the world's most creative players can see those shots, let alone perform them. Another RTL on-site insight is seeing how player prepare different aspects of their short game. You won't catch this coverage on "Live From." You have to see these guys get ready in person to truly appreciate the complete skill set needed to contend and win on this golf course.

Those skills are how I'm building out my championship card. You'll see great par 70 scorers who have proven they can drive the golf ball to an elite level. I know I didn't pick Bryson DeChambeau, but did you know he's never successfully defended a title in his career? Rory rips the driver like a top 5 OTT player all-time, but where has that been since The Masters? Playing well at Oakmont is all about commitment. Believing in your ball striking when you're aiming at a specific spot on the ground. Trusting that flatstick across three humps when a green is rolling faster than you have ever played.

Oakmont is not a complicated test. Just like our betting card approach, the player(s) who keep it simple in their mind will have the best chance for success.

Outright Winners - US Open

I’m not picking Jon Rahm to win the US Open because he has 19 straight top 10s on LIV Golf, which is impressive. I love Rahm because he’s back contending in majors and fits the Oakmont blueprint. A power player who can separate himself with his driving is step one. Jon’s creative around the greens and can handle extreme USGA conditions (2021 Champion). His seventh at Royal Troon, coming out of the bad weather wave, has stuck with me. Add in a T14 at Augusta National in April and another top 10 at Quail Hollow, and the sensational Spainard seems ready for career national championship number two. Jon Rahm +1200

Nine starts in the US Open, and nine made cuts for Harris English. The sweet swinging southern man finished second at the PGA Championship and twelfth at The Masters. Looking for a great US Open comp, how about a third-place finish at Torrey Pines in 2021 and a fourth at Winged Foot (2020). English excels when you need to drive it straight, putt, and stay patient. Three great traits for a player ready to take on the field and Oakmont for our national championship. Harris English+10000

Another classic

What in the world is going on with Lilia Vu? One year ago, Vu won the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give and reached number two in the world. The two-time major winner has one finish inside the top 29 in seven events this season. Vu has missed three of her last four cuts and is now situated seventh on the Rolex Rankings board. Upon closer examination of her season, it becomes clear why she's in a bit of a free fall. Lilia is ranked one hundred and forty-ninth in strokes gained tee to green (T2G). The fact that she doesn't miss more cuts is a testament to her putting. Vu is ranked fourth in putting on tour.

I'm going down this path because the Meijer rewards solid ball strikers. Lexi, Nelly, and Brooke have all won here. This is the eleventh edition of this event, and the average winning score is 19 under par. Our winner this week will be great T2G and needs to possess a proficient putter. I'm not saying this is anywhere near the test the men will face at Oakmont, but Blythefield Country Club will cause you to hit some golf shots. Thirteen of the top 25 in the Rolex Rankings are in Michigan. The field of 144 players will be cut to the top 65 and ties after 36 holes. Those weekend warriors will compete for $3 million and a winner's share of $450,000.

Meijer LPGA Classic starts in...

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Blythefield Country Club is one of the more unique layouts on the LPGA schedule. It's a shame that tournament officials choose this week every year. Going up against the men's national championship is tough competition for any audience. A par 72 scorecard, BCC has five par 3s, eight par 4s, and five par 5s. A quick tangent, it always amazes me that more courses don't design more creative scorecards. Do we need another par 72 with four 3s/5s and ten par 4s? I love the creativity of this layout. I believe the modern golfer needs a little more “action,” and by switching pars more often, you are more capable of keeping their attention. Just sayin'...

One of those 18 holes has been lengthened since last year (Hole 8). The course now covers 6,611 yards. That sounds long, but Blythefield is the third shortest course these women have seen on tour in 2025. Five of the eight par 4s measure over 400 yards, and the par 3 thirteenth is 234 on the card, but the remaining 12 holes are quite gettable for the best ball strikers. The toughest design characteristic of this course is the green complexes. BCC's greens are an average of 4,500 sq/ft. Those are some small targets across this hilly, tree-lined terrain near Grand Rapids, Michigan. Covered in a beautiful Bentgrass/Poa mix, those who can roll the rock have proven sub-par scores can be made.

If you have played Blythefield, please note the LPGA uses a different routing for the tournament. The players start on holes eight and nine and then one through five, finishing the front nine with seventeen and eighteen. The back nine starts with 10 through 16 and completes the round with six and seven. Seven is a reachable par 5, but also away from the clubhouse. I'm not sure why the LPGA switches it every year, but they have done it for some time. There's little doubt it works for the event, because it does create some solid theater on Sunday afternoons. Vu won one year ago in a three-way playoff for the Miejer title.

3s & 5s

A vast majority of weeks, par 4s dominate tournament scoring. A course with 12 par 4s accounts for two-thirds of the holes each competitor plays. Blythefield CC flips the script, and I love it. Combine the 3s and 5s, and you now account for 56% of scoring, and the 4s get reduced to 32%. That's a significant switch and one that allows for different players to gain an advantage and separate from their opponents. Par 5 scoring is no doubt a focus for all professional players. Par 3 scoring tends to be more about survival. My PGA mind sees those 20 par 3s as an opportunity to differentiate. That's approximately 20 approaches off a tee giving you a perfectly level lie. You won't get many of those on these fairways.

Score on the 3s and 5s, and you will be in contention come Sunday afternoon. I've mentioned the terrain a couple of times. BCC is built across the Michigan hillside. As the course weaves its way through the tree-lined fairways, players are constantly hitting golf shots from different angles and heights. The best T2G players have an advantage here. Look at the past champions list! Lilia Vu was ranked second in the world last year when she won. Lexi Thompson was also in that playoff. Thompson is one of the best LPGA players of the last decade. Inside the tree line, these fairways are framed by four-inch Kentucky Bluegrass rough. The same stuff we see at Oakmont and so many other courses up north. We know from the weather forecast that it has been (and will get) watered. Temperatures will be good for Michigan in the low 70s, but the women will see some wet weather.

A storm system will be running through the region on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Soft course conditions should help these ladies score. Greens this small play much bigger when they are soft. To piggyback on the par 3 skill, approach play is another specific target of mine. There are a couple of high-leverage iron shots on this layout. With 64 bunkers covering the course and plenty of rough around the perimeter, I'm concerned with accuracy on the second shot(s). Approach play will help you most weeks on any course. In fact, with those five par 3s, it is probably more important here than a standard event.

It's early for golf in Grand Rapids. The weather just turned, and the putting surfaces are brand new for the season when we get to the Meijer. Good putters can make putts. I looked at the last couple of leaderboards, and those top 10s all gained an average of five strokes on the field with their flatstick. Sub-par scoring means the leaders are making putts, and the combination of perfect putting surfaces and a field full of midseason talent takes the scoring to another level. In those same top 10s, the contenders are averaging 20+ birdie or better scores. Yes, don't forget those eagles; the scoring average across the five par 5s is less than 4.5 each year for the contenders.

I mentioned this earlier, but it is a shame these women are competing against the US Open at OAKMONT! Blythefield Country Club is a cool venue that fosters some serious scoring volatility. Our archetype player this week should have some ball speed. Couple that with approach proximity and a hot putter. They should be actively attacking the par 3s as much as the 5s and will most likely make 20+ birdies to take home the trophy. That's some pretty terrific theater we have coming. I just wish we all had time to watch it.

Outright winners - Meijer LPGA Classic

In her last two Meijer starts, Minjee Lee has two top 18 results. The T2G queen, Lee has recently switched to a long putter. The transition has produced immediate results as she ranks eleventh in putting on tour. Combined with Minjee's ability to produce birdie opportunities and I know a win is in her near future. Minjee Lee +1800

I've been waiting for a Linn Grant comeback. Fourth in Mexico and ninth at the US Women's Open, Grant is starting to drive the golf ball again. Off the tee ability is her superpower, and if she keeps that driver going at BCC, she will separate from this field. Throw in a recent major champion from her home country, and she has every reason to play inspired golf in Michigan. Linn Grant +2800

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