Players and Mike Whan discuss Oakmont conditions

It’s U.S. Open week and the championship is back at Oakmont, which means one thing: course conditions, and its degree of difficulty, will rule the narrative… for a few days, at least.

Xander Schauffele seems to get this concept, as he summarized it nicely during his press conference. “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?” he 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.”

One curveball has been the amount of rain the course has been soaking up over the last few weeks. Conditions were a bit soggy on Monday of U.S. Open week, but as USGA CEO Mike Whan told Golfdom during the U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills, it’s not a worry.

“We do have a lot of rain, hopefully we can get it as firm and fast as we want it to. Oakmont is the one course I don’t really worry about. Oakmont is the place we probably do the least to,” Whan said. “Like a lot of places in May, it’s been raining nonstop at Oakmont. The good news is, Oakmont can handle it.”

Scottie Scheffler affirmed that message during his presser, when he told the room, “(the) golf course is good. Rough is healthy. Golf course is in great shape, so it should shape up for a really good week.”

The density of the rough is one of the big concerns for players at Oakmont. Many videos on social media leading into the tournament reaffirmed this, showing how gnarly the course’s rough was playing. Rory McIlroy said even finding the ball in the rough can be a chore.

“I’m glad we have spotters up there because … you hit a ball off the fairway and you were looking for a good couple of minutes just to find it,” he said. “It’s very penal if you miss. Sometimes it’s penal if you don’t miss. But the person with the most patience and the best attitude this week is the one that’s going to win.”

Jon Rahm, when asked if he’d like to be a member at Oakmont, said yes — but he wouldn’t want to play it every day.

“I feel like, when they set it up hard — like if they have a superintendent’s revenge here, I don’t know what the average score must be,” Rahm said. “I think 90 percent of the field doesn’t finish. It could be absolutely impossible.”

The last time the U.S. Open was contested at Oakmont, Dustin Johnson won at -4, a 3-stroke margin over Jim Furyk, Shane Lowry and Scott Piercy. His review of the course?

“It feels really good,” he said. “The course is just as hard as I remember, if not harder.”

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