As one of the first arrivals at Oakmont, Jordan Spieth has had a good look at just how tough the test will be at the 125th US Open.
The rough around Oakmont was already making headlines even before the wet weather arrived in Pennsylvania, just to add a notch or two on the difficulty tariff.
Spieth has already experienced Oakmont Country Club after playing the course over the weekend, and although he is not surprised at all by just how tough a test it will be – he insists it’s not an unfair setup.
The 2015 US Open champion has been around long enough to know how to roll with the punches this tournament throws at you, and says Oakmont offers a true test of golf.
The USGA has at times been criticized for making the US Open courses too tough, but Spieth says that Oakmont is just a tough course and does not feel like it’s been tricked up for the tournament.
“This course is built to be like this,” said Spieth on the Golf Channel. “So they’re not doing a whole lot different to the golf course.
“You hit a good shot, you get rewarded for it here. And if you don’t, you’re in big trouble. It’s pure golf, no funny business about it.”
Spieth says that the penal rough on show at Oakmont is tough, but players will only have to deal with it if they hit a bad shot that misses a fairway or green.
“It magnifies once you make a mistake if you don’t play the right shot,” Spieth added.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
“It’s not like making a mistake is the end of the world. It might cost you half a shot. You just have to take what it gives you.”
Staging the US Open for a record 10th time, Oakmont has a fearsome reputation due to that combination of hostile rough and rapid greens.
The USGA often want to make par a good score, and that switch in mindset from players usually trying to pile up the birdies on a weekly basis often catches them out.
Spieth is one of the most gung-ho players on the PGA Tour, but even he realizes that at the US Open you have to take your medicine and accept bogeys when they come.
“That will be the biggest challenge this week – swallowing pride,” Spieth said. “Bogeys don’t hurt you. Anything more will.”
Spieth is renowned for his shot making a bility when he gets into trouble, but even he’ll struggle this week to escape from Oakmont’s…
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