OAKMONT, Pa. — Xander Schauffele’s U.S. Open career has started in historic fashion. Finishing inside the top 15 in all eight of his championship appearances, the two-time major champion knows a thing or two on how to successfully navigate what many consider to be the most difficult test in golf.
He also knows thing or two about what viewers want to see: carnage.
“I don’t think people turn the TV on to watch some of the guys just hit like a 200-yard shot on the green, you know what I mean?” Schauffele said. “I think they turn on the U.S. Open to see a guy shooting 8 over and suffer. That’s part of the enjoyment of playing in the U.S. Open for viewers.”
Schauffele’s comments come as the U.S. Open returns to Oakmont Country Club for the first time since 2016. Known as the hardest golf course in the United States, Oakmont has been unrelenting the nine prior times it has hosted the U.S. Open.
Across the last two U.S. Opens held in Western Pennsylvania, only four players have finished their championships in red figures — all in 2016. Angel Cabrera won at 5 over in 2007 — tied for the highest winning score in the last 50 playings of the championship. Since 1929, Oakmont has yielded a scoring average of 2 over or higher in every single one of its U.S. Open rounds.
To put it bluntly, the par 70 is a beast.
Yet that is not how the U.S. Open has been played in recent years. The winning score of the championship has been 6 under or lower in the last six playings — the longest such streak in championship history. Before that, seven of the last 14 winners posted a score of even par or higher.
The 2025 U.S. Open is likely to fall back within that realm even with early week showers softening the golf course. Similar conditions unfolded in 2016 when Dustin Johnson reigned supreme at 4 under with only 11 birdies all week. Birdies will be rare and bogeys will be plentiful. Most importantly, par saves will need to be converted, especially once players face the penalty of missing a fairway.
“If you’re a true fan of golf,” Schauffele continued, “it’s more about what happens after the hack-out.”