Oakmont Country Club presents an extremely demanding test that only an elite player can tackle. The winner of the 2025 U.S. Open — set Thursday-Sunday near Pittsburgh — will likely come from the top of the odds board, but it won’t be any of these three stars.
Here’s why:
Collin Morikawa
When Morikawa knocked off two major championships in his first eight starts, we thought we were witnessing the start of a historic major career. Well, he’s now gone 14 straight major starts without another win, and he’s failed to finish inside the top 10 in four straight.
This is a brutal golf course for Morikawa because of his lack of distance off the tee. He’ll hit fairways and stay out of trouble, but the sheer length of Oakmont requires Morikawa to be brilliant in every other facet of the game. The American has lost strokes from around the green in five of his past six starts, and his past three tournaments marked his three worst iron performances of the season.
Morikawa’s game isn’t clicking the way it needs to be for him to contend at Oakmont.
Justin Thomas
It was great to see Thomas score his first win since the 2022 PGA Championship earlier this year at the RBC Heritage, but there’s a reason it came at that tournament. Harbour Town Golf Links is a short, positional golf course that doesn’t require a driver off most tees. That’s why Thomas was able to dial in his irons and fairway woods on his way to the victory.