The First Look: 125th U.S. Open
7 Min Read

Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy’s best shots of the year... so far
Written by Kevin Prise
Welcome to the 125th U.S. Open at Oakmont, where a star-studded field prepares to tackle one of the golf world’s toughest tests.
It’s the third of the season’s four major championships, with the world’s top two players – Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy – each owning one major apiece in 2025. The U.S. Open could be a pivotal data point in the PGA TOUR Player of the Year race between Scheffler and McIlroy, and it’s another opportunity for Scheffler to move one step closer to the career Grand Slam – which McIlroy achieved in emotional fashion at this year’s Masters.
A strong week at Oakmont would benefit those on the bubble for a Ryder Cup spot, as the American and European teams begin to take shape in advance of this fall’s matches at Bethpage Black. There’s also the matter of the FedExCup Playoffs – as just 10 events remain before the 70-player starting field is finalized. With a newly introduced format where all 30 TOUR Championship qualifiers will start the FedExCup Playoffs finale at even par, it’s as true as ever that all FedExCup Playoffs qualifiers will have a legitimate chance to win the FedExCup.
In the meantime, the golf world turns its gaze to western Pennsylvania and the season’s third major championship on a historic venue where par is usually a pretty good score. The rough is thick and the greens are slick. Would you expect anything different?
Here’s everything you need to know for the 125th U.S. Open.
FIELD NOTES: World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler arrives at Oakmont on the strength of three wins in his last four starts – an eight-stroke triumph at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson, a five-shot win at the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, and a four-shot win at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday. The three-time major winner is still seeking his first U.S. Open title; he has notched three top 10s in seven starts at his national open. … World No. 2 Rory McIlroy struggled mightily at last week’s RBC Canadian Open, missing the cut by 12 shots with rounds of 71-78, and he intended to fine-tune his driver (and perhaps switch drivers) over the weekend leading into the U.S. Open. McIlroy has notched six straight top-10 finishes at the U.S. Open after missing three straight cuts from 2016-18; he has credited the addition of the RBC Canadian Open to his schedule (the week before the U.S. Open) to his uptick in results. McIlroy, who won the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional, finished runner-up to Bryson DeChambeau a year ago at Pinehurst No. 2. DeChambeau will defend his title this week. … Ryan Fox qualified for the U.S. Open in last-minute fashion, winning the RBC Canadian Open in a playoff over Sam Burns to move inside the top 60 on the Official World Golf Ranking and punch his ticket to Oakmont. … A bulk of the U.S. Open field is composed of players who advance through 36-hole Final Qualifying, otherwise known as "Golf’s Longest Day." Ten of 13 Final Qualifying sites were contested June 2, with the first three played May 19. Notables to advance through Final Qualifying included Cameron Young (who survived a 5-for-1 playoff in Columbus, Ohio, that included Max Homa, Rickie Fowler and Eric Cole), two-time TOUR winner Erik van Rooyen, TOUR veterans like Justin Lower and Mark Hubbard, former 35-year-old Bud Cauley who fulfilled a TOUR medical extension earlier this year to complete an inspiring comeback after being sidelined for three-plus years due to injuries stemming from a car crash, 17-year-old high school junior Mason Howell, and Indiana dentist Matt Vogt. … This marks the final U.S. Open into which Phil Mickelson is exempt via his win at the 2021 PGA Championship. Mickelson has completed three legs of the career Grand Slam, but a U.S. Open title eludes him. He has notched six career runner-up finishes at the U.S. Open.
HIGHEST-RANKED PLAYERS IN THE FIELD | |
World Ranking | FedExCup |
1. Scottie Scheffler | 1. Scottie Scheffler |
2. Rory McIlroy | 2. Rory McIlroy |
3. Xander Schauffele | 3. Sepp Straka |
4. Collin Morikawa | 4. Justin Thomas |
5. Justin Thomas | 5. Ben Griffin |
6. Ludvig Åberg | 6. Russell Henley |
7. Russell Henley | 7. Maverick McNealy |
8. Sepp Straka | 8. Andrew Novak |
9. Hideki Matsuyama | 9. Corey Conners |
10. Bryson DeChambeau | 10. Ludvig Åberg |
SIGNATURE EVENT STORYLINES: The Aon Next 10 for the Travelers Championship will be finalized after the U.S. Open. The Aon Swing 5 for the Travelers is comprised of top FedExCup points earners, not otherwise exempt, across the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic, Charles Schwab Challenge and RBC Canadian Open. The Aon Swing 5 for the Travelers currently consists of Matti Schmid, Kevin Yu, Bud Cauley, Mackenzie Hughes and Harry Hall. Although the events for the Aon Swing 5 have been completed, the qualifiers are not yet finalized, as Ryan Fox (currently No. 9 on the Aon Next 10) could conceivably be bumped from the Aon Next 10 and into the Aon Swing 5, which would remove Hall from the Aon Swing 5.
COMCAST BUSINESS TOUR TOP 10 UPDATES: The top nine spots on the TOUR TOP 10 remained unchanged at the RBC Canadian Open. Both of this season’s three-time winners, Scheffler and McIlroy, hold the top two spots on the TOUR TOP 10, respectively, into the U.S. Open. Sepp Straka, a two-time winner this season, holds the No. 3 spot. He’s followed by a quintet of Americans in Justin Thomas, Ben Griffin, Russell Henley, Andrew Novak and Maverick McNealy, respectively, with just 10 events remaining before the FedExCup Playoffs. Canada’s Corey Conners is No. 9, with Sweden’s Ludvig Åberg jumping one spot to No. 10 with a T13 at the RBC Canadian Open; Harris English fell from No. 10 to No. 12. The TOUR TOP 10 emphasizes player performance by rewarding the top 10 finishers in the FedExCup Regular Season standings (finalized after the Wyndham Championship), offering a shared $40 million total in bonus money.
FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 750 FedExCup points.
COURSE: Oakmont Country Club, par 70, 7,372 yards. This will mark the 10th U.S. Open contested at Oakmont, the most of any host club. The 1903 Henry Fownes design is a staple on the U.S. Open rotation and sometimes described as the most difficult golf course in the United States (maybe hyperbole, maybe not). Fownes spent a year building the course on former farmland adjacent to the Allegheny River Valley; the Pennsylvania Turnpike, which was constructed in the late 1940s, passes through part of the course. It was the only course designed by Fownes, a Pittsburgh steel magnate. Oakmont, which was the United States’ first golf course to be recognized as a National Historic Landmark, recently underwent a bunker restoration project with Gil Hanse. Its wild bunkers are the stuff of legend, notably the “Church Pew” bunker that straddles the third and fourth holes. Oakmont was originally conceptualized as an “inland links,” then became densely tree-lined by the 1990s before returning to its treeless look for the 2016 U.S. Open. There’s plenty of history here, and players relish it – even if the challenge can be overwhelming at times.
Dustin Johnson won the last U.S. Open contested at Oakmont in 2016 with a winning score of 4-under 276. That’s also the lowest 72-hole total score in a U.S. Open at Oakmont to date.
72-HOLE RECORD: 268, Rory McIlroy (2011 at Congressional Country Club)
18-HOLE RECORD: 62, Rickie Fowler (Round 1, 2023 at Los Angeles Country Club), Xander Schauffele (Round 1, 2023 at Los Angeles Country Club)
- Oakmont Country Club: 63, Johnny Miller (Round 4, 1973 U.S. Open)
LAST TIME: A year ago, DeChambeau earned his second U.S. Open title at Pinehurst No. 2, saving par from a greenside bunker at the 72nd hole to post 6 under, one stroke clear of McIlroy, who missed two short putts down the stretch, including a slippery 4-footer for par at the 72nd hole. Patrick Cantlay and Tony Finau shared third place at 4 under, with Matthieu Pavon in solo fifth at 3 under. It looked to be a breaking point in McIlroy’s decade-long chase to earn his fifth major title, the most crushing of several close calls in recent years, and his exasperated face in the scoring area told the story. Revisiting that heartbreak could have been a central storyline in the lead-up to this year’s U.S. Open, but McIlroy made amends at this year’s Masters to complete the career Grand Slam and notch that long-awaited fifth major. Thankfully for McIlroy, he’ll no longer field questions about the major drought.
How to follow (all times ET)
NOTE: The USGA, who owns and operates the U.S. Open, controls all digital streaming and broadcast rights to this event. For more information on how to watch this week, please visit the U.S. Open’s website. PGA TOUR LIVE coverage will resume on Thursday, June 19 at the Travelers Championship.
Televison:
- Thursday: 6 a.m.-5 p.m. (USA), 5-8 p.m. (Peacock)
- Friday: 6:30 a.m.-1 p.m. (Peacock), 1-7 p.m. (NBC), 7-8 p.m. (Peacock)
- Saturday: 10 a.m.-noon (USA), noon-8 p.m. (NBC)
- Sunday: 9 a.m.-noon (USA), noon-7 p.m. (NBC)
Streaming:
- Thursday: U.S. Open all-access: 7 a.m.-5 p.m. (Peacock), featured groups (usopen.com, USGA App, Peacock, DirecTV, YouTube TV) approximately 7:17 a.m., 1:02 p.m.
- Friday: U.S. Open all-access: 7 a.m.-5 p.m. (Peacock), featured groups (usopen.com, USGA App, Peacock, DirecTV, YouTube TV) approximately 7:17 a.m., 1:02 p.m.
- Saturday: U.S. Open all-access: 10 a.m.-noon (Peacock), featured groups (usopen.com, USGA App, Peacock, DirecTV, YouTube TV) TBD
- Sunday: U.S. Open all-access: 10 a.m.-noon (Peacock), featured groups (usopen.com, USGA App, Peacock, DirecTV, YouTube TV) TBD
- NOTE: Various streams are available via USOpen.com. Featured holes and featured groups to be announced. For more live streaming information, click here for the official USGA Viewing Schedule.
Radio on SiriusXM 92/U.S. Open radio:
- Thursday-Friday: noon -8 p.m.
- Saturday: 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
- Sunday: 10 a.m.-7 p.m.