When something you’re interested in having seems unattainable, you just have to want it, because magic can occur when smarts and guts join forces.

Professional athletes are bursting with the self-belief that they can do anything, or at least they won’t permit anything to stop them from trying. But then, every once in a while, a challenge so overwhelming steps forward to cause pause in even the most tenacious of competitors.

Speaking of which, it’s time for the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club!

Situated a few miles east of Pittsburgh along the Allegheny River and bisected by Interstate 76, the National Historic Landmark is poised to host the USGA’s premier competition for a record 10th time. It’s as difficult as it is legendary, but someone will be the 125th champion of the tournament. He just needs to want it.

A review of the par 70’s latest update, how it will test and much more is below.

A course without water and trees in play doesn’t present as a hassle. If anything, it opens the sky for the longest hitters to send it all day long. However, at Oakmont, finding it and recovering from lies that are not preferred will often serve as a reminder of why water and trees are unnecessary.

When Oakmont hosted the U.S. Open in 2007, the field averaged 75.705, every hole averaged over par for the tournament, and half of them ranked inside the top-50 hardest of 990 holes played on the PGA TOUR all season. When the best came back around in 2016, the scoring average dropped to 73.562, and the field beat par on four holes with eight slotting inside the hardest 50 of 900 throughout that wraparound season.

Despite a test that forever leaves its member beaming – you gotta put your work in around these hardscrabble parts – even Oakmont isn’t immune to requiring attention to retain its brute force.

Enter star architects Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner. The duo has applied their wisdom to numerous top-shelf properties around the world, Oakmont included. In a project that lasted about eight months in 2023, they spearheaded what easily is classified as a restoration, but more distinctly could be labeled as a recapturing of what Henry Clay (H.C.) Fownes and his son, William, designed over time once they began shifting and shaping the earth just after the turn of the 20th century.

Oakmont is the only course that the Fowneses ever designed, but they didn’t stop redesigning it. So, per the assignment, Hanse & Co. dug into the records and emerged with what is their all-star lineup of holes selected from a variety of years when the Fowneses were busy. In other words, preeminent designers of current day applied a collective keen eye with the highest respect for yesteryear for what arguably is the strongest representation of the founding fathers’ best ideas in the aggregate on what is widely the most respected venue for the national championship in the United States. That’s all.

In comparison to how it presented nine years ago, Oakmont is 153 yards longer, so it now tips at 7,372 yards, although five par 4s with increases ranging from 18 yards to 36 yards comprise 122 yards of that bump. What were already large greens are even larger and average 8,500 square feet. And that’s entirely necessary given that many are segmented by undulations and that the Poa annua surfaces once again are expected to exceed 14 feet using the Stimpmeter.

The size of the targets further eases some of the sting of drives that come to rest in 5-inch rough, but there’s much more reward in finding the shortest of the grass off the tee. This is the U.S. Open, after all.

In addition to reintroducing options off tees and retaining blind shots, the latest project yielded a reduction of 42 bunkers. There are now 168, including, of course, the iconic "Church Pews" shared by the par-4 third and par-5 fourth holes.

Of the 156 qualifiers, 31 competed in the 2016 U.S. Open. That includes Dustin Johnson, who led the field in distance of measured drives, greens in regulation and scrambling en route to victory at 4-under 276. He also ranked T18 in fairways hit. Shane Lowry (T2) and Jason Day (T8) are the only two others inside that top 10 who are back this year.

Mother Nature will behave until after the cut of low 60 and ties after two rounds. Dry conditions and light winds will allow everyone on site to feel the 80-degree air on Thursday and Friday, but she may have something to say about the flow of the weekend when rain and the potential of storms enters the equation. Temps would tumble slightly with the energy, while wind is the wild card.

ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE

PGATOUR.com’s Rob Bolton previews and recaps every tournament. Refer to the timing of his contributions below. He’s also active as @RobBoltonGolf on X where you can connect with him.

• MONDAY: Power Rankings
• TUESDAY*: Fantasy Insider; Sleepers
• SUNDAY: Points and Payouts; Qualifiers

*Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by PGA TOUR Superstore, which publishes on Tuesday.