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Bryson DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy already know the dangers that lurk at Oakmont(Image: Richard Heathcote\/Getty Images)<\/p>\nThe difficulty of the U.S. Open at Oakmont has loomed large on the horizon for months, and players’ worst fears are set to materialize after Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau’s scouting trips<\/p>\n
11:56 ET, 06 Jun 2025Updated 11:57 ET, 06 Jun 2025<\/p>\n
Bryson DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy already know the dangers that lurk at Oakmont(Image: Richard Heathcote\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Thick, juicy rough is not the only challenge U.S. Open hopefuls will encounter at Oakmont<\/a> next week after the United States Golf<\/a> Association (USGA) revealed what it has in store for the greens.<\/p>\n The U.S. Open is traditionally the major played with the most testing conditions, with penal rough and ice-rink-like greens making scoring very difficult for the world’s best players. But it seems the USGA intends to take the difficulty to another level at Oakmont, <\/a>where the 125th U.S. Open begins on Thursday.<\/p>\n The Pennsylvania course<\/a> prompted the creation of the stimpmeter \u2013 which measures the speed of greens \u2013 90 years ago, and the tool has been used for decades by the USGA. <\/a>It is not unusual for U.S. Open greens to run at 13.0 or more on the stimpmeter, which is significantly faster than the PGA Tour average of 10-12.<\/p>\n READ MORE: French Open winner looks unrecognizable now five years after retiring from tennis<\/a>READ MORE: Caitlin Clark double standards called out as WNBA icon Sue Bird has her say<\/a><\/p>\n At Oakmont next week, however, players will feel like they are putting on glass. Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis<\/a> reports the USGA intends for the greens to run between 14.5 and 14.9.<\/p>\n And if that is not enough, the rough is “dense and uniformed at five inches,” meaning players will be punished for any slight misjudgment in any part of their games.<\/p>\n Both Rory McIlroy<\/a> and Bryson DeChambeau have made scouting trips<\/a> to Pittsburgh in recent days to get a feel for Oakmont, where Angel Cabrera won in 2007 with a score of five-over-par, summing up the scale of the challenge.<\/p>\n Reigning U.S. Open champion DeChambeau recorded his practice round for a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, and he showed off just how punishing the rough is.<\/p>\n “Oh my gosh,” he said as he saw a flicker of his ball hidden in the jungle that lines the fairways and greens. “That is cooked beyond belief. That\u2019s more than half-baked there. It\u2019s burnt to a crisp. Oh my gosh.”<\/p>\n