7 over par. That is the cutline at the Oakmont Country Club for the 2025 US Open. Yes, you read that right! Remember Golfbet’s quirky video asking players, “Would you want to take even par at Oakmont and stay at the clubhouse, or would you want to play for the week?”. Well, most players chose the first option, and those players have been proven to be right over the course of the last two days.

Oakmont’s reputation as an unrelenting golf course is quite well-known in the golfing community. Therefore, the high scores are not so much of a surprise.  Two former US Open winners feel that the answer to getting the course under control is easy to find. Speaking to the press during the 2025 US Open, Jack Nicklaus believed that being patient is very important in a tough course like Oakmont. Johnny Miller had another thought: “Just get it in the fairway,” he said.

Jack Nicklaus was quick to dismiss a few golfers he felt lacked the fortitude to come through at a tough course like the Oakmont Country Club. “Most guys went ahead and drove it and hit it in the rough, right?” Nicklaus stated, speaking as if they had committed the cardinal sin in golf. One of those guys who was incessantly missing the fairway was the defending champion, Bryson DeChambeau. The LIV golfer finished Day 1 in the mix, carding 3 under par. But day 2 was a bogey-filled endeavor as the two-time US Open winner finished with a total of 10 under par and ended up missing the cut by three strokes. This one will hurt DeChambeau a lot, considering he was one of the favorites going into the major championship.

Another former winner, Johnny Miller, gave a bit more context to the need for hitting the fairway, especially at a major where even the tiniest bit of margins count. “When you can get the ball in the fairway you can work the ball if you need to, and you eliminate so many mistake upon mistakes. If you hit it here in this rough and you try to get too much out of the lie, you get in even more trouble.”

He was not as subdued as Jack Nicklaus, dropping names he felt had not been very efficient with their shots. “It’s still all about hitting that ball in the fairway. You see the guys that don’t — like Bryson DeChambeau, he was living in the rough there this last couple days. Of course he gets to watch it on TV today.” Miller stated not so subtly. In fact, in the second round, DeChambeau only managed to hit 5 out of 14 fairways, leading to his eventual exodus from the event.

His popularity is his bane in this case, as the American golfer is likely to be further criticised for his lackluster performance. However, DeChambeau is not the only former winner who is on the sidelines during the weekend, though.

Former champions put forth disappointing performances at Oakmont

DeChambeau is one of six former US Open Champions who failed to make the cut line of 7 over par. Alongside two-time winner DeChambeau is the 2023 edition winner Wyndham Clark, who shot a disappointing 8 over par. 2019 champion Gary Woodland is also among the other former titleholders who did not make the cut. Justin Rose and Lucas Glover are also part of the unfortunate list.

Oakmont has indeed proved to be a treacherous terrain. Dustin Johnson, who won the 2016 US Open in the very same venue, had struggled mightily this time around. Johnson could not score beyond 5 over par across both days, displaying unwanted consistency with high scores. He finished equal on terms with DeChambeau but a failed cut here means that the 24-time PGA Tour champion has missed the cut at the last three majors he took part in.

Do you think the lack of preparation affected the former champions, or is it just that Oakmont is a very hard course to tame?