OAKMONT, Pa. – There is no U.S. Open venue that defines itself in its unrelenting brutality quite like Oakmont Country Club. It’s folded into the club’s DNA – sought after by its founder, Henry C. Fownes, and perpetuated for decades by members who lean into the masochism as a badge of honor.

It was designed with punishment in mind, breaking spirits more often than par. You may hit the fairway (you’re screwed if you don’t). You may even hit the green (ha, good luck), but the fun isn’t over until the ball is finally in the hole and you manage to do it 18 times (72 if we’re being completely honest) without looking silly.

In that quest for carnage, Thursday’s opening round of the U.S. Open at Oakmont can be given a passing grade. There were some scores to be had, but don’t let a few red numbers fool you. Oakmont is doling out carnage, and more is coming.

Don’t believe us? Caught up in J.J. Spaun’s bogey-free 4-under 66? Or relative unknowns Thriston Lawrence and Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen going low and staying in the mix?

We understand. It’s become an annual tradition among golf’s large disaster-hungry contingent to overreact to low scores before the first cards have been signed. We could almost hear you shouting, ‘This isn’t my father’s U.S. Open!’ as Spaun made the turn in 31 and Rory McIlroy was nipping at his heels.

But you’d be wrong.

Oakmont, a par-70, played to a scoring average of 74.64 on Thursday. As first rounds go, it’s the hardest at the U.S. Open since 2018 at Shinnecock Hills when gusts reached 30mph, the USGA intentionally set the course up easier, and the scoring average still ballooned to +6.46.

There were no conditions to bloat the scores on Thursday at Oakmont. If anything, they hindered it. Wind never played much of a factor, and historic rain totals over the last month kept the greens softer than the USGA and Oakmont would have liked. Yet it still produced 16 rounds of 80 or higher. Even compared to previous trips to Oakmont, the course showed its teeth. The first round scoring average was higher than in 2016. In ‘16, the course yielded just 18 rounds of 80 or higher for the whole week.

Not yet satisfied?

Take McIlroy’s round. He played nine holes of perfect U.S. Open golf, hitting sensible shots, holing crucial par saves and taking advantage of the few opportunities presented. It was clinical U.S. Open-winning golf. But trouble lurks at Oakmont for any golfer at any time. What looked to be an easy birdie opportunity after McIlroy split the fairway on the first hole quickly became an infuriating three-putt bogey. What seemed like a dream opportunity to get another shot back at the par-5 fourth became a nightmare as McIlroy missed the fairway and needed three lashes before his ball was back on short grass. He needed a miraculous up-and-down to save bogey. After going out in 2-under 33, he shot 41 on the back. His 74 was his highest opening-round score in the U.S. Open since a first-round 80 at Shinnecock in 2018.

Need more?

What about Scottie Scheffler, the invincible superstar destined to conquer Oakmont and leave its members muttering about how he managed to make it look so simple? Well, he shot 3-over 73, his worst round to par since February and took a chunk out of the 14th fairway to document his disgust. After his round, Scheffler said he stood in several fairways flummoxed about what club he could possibly hit that would leave him in a good spot on the green.

“It’s just really hard to get the ball in play, and it's really hard to get the ball close,” Scheffler said. “Anytime you're out of position, the golf course just gets really challenging.”

Not good enough?

Only two holes played under par. Shane Lowry needed to hole out for an eagle just to break 80. Sepp Straka shot 78. Justin Rose shot 77. Robert MacIntyre shot even-par and called it one of the best rounds of his life.

“I don't know if it's good or bad to save a level par, but that's almost as good as I've got,” MacIntyre said. “... “You shoot four level-par rounds, you're walking away with a medal and a trophy.”

You still thirsty for more? Adam Scott believes you will get it.

“It’s just very nice at the moment,” Scott began, before realizing that would be billboard material for the USGA setup team. “It’s actually, it’s really hard. But it’s not blow your brains out kind of hard just yet. I mean if it’s like this today and tomorrow, the weekend could be pretty spicy.”

What does Scott believe the winning score will be?

“Plus four. I’m trying to see how it evolves over the next few days. If it’s like this it’s going to be better, but I don’t think it’s going to be like this for much longer,” he said. “They’ve got plenty of tricks up their sleeve.”

How many tricks they have at their disposal is partly up to Mother Nature. There’s a chance of rain for each of the next three days, with specific concerns that the weekend could bring rain, and with it, less carnage. That’s an important distinction. Oakmont has shown itself to be condition-agnostic when it comes to carnage. It’s coming regardless of the weather. It’s just about how much destruction will play out. With increasingly firm and fast conditions, Round 1 would likely prove to be the easiest day of the tournament. If the rain comes, the course will yield lower scores.

But any thought that the course would play easy ended on Oct. 1, 1904 – the day Oakmont opened. Don’t fool yourself into thinking 122 years of history will end this week.