It’s a major championship week, and preparations for the 2025 U.S. Open are underway. Being hosted at Oakmont Country Club after nearly a decade, players are ready to witness many changes to this course after it underwent renovation in 2023. While the main tournament begins on June 12, several players are arriving early to get an idea of the course, which is living up to its reputation of being golf’s toughest test. Among those players was also World No.1 Scottie Scheffler, who arrived on Sunday to make up for his mistake last year at the U.S. Open.

The last time the U.S. Open was hosted at Oakmont was in 2016, when Dustin Johnson claimed the title. Scottie Scheffler also played the tournament, but as an amateur, and he missed the cut. At the U.S. Open, he is yet to claim this title. Last year, Scheffler had a phenomenal season with 9 wins, including the Masters, an Olympic gold medal, FedEx Cup winner, and claimed the PGA Tour Player of the Year for the third consecutive time.

Despite being in form, Scheffler finished a disappointing tied 41st at the 2024 U.S. Open, which was held at Pinehurst No.2, and it was the first time in his career that he had finished all four rounds over par at a major championship. “It was a long week. Obviously didn’t play my best. A bit frustrating to end,” Scheffler said, looking seemingly exhausted and blaming a lack of rest before the tournament for his disappointing finish.

But this time, Scottie Scheffler decided to be smarter about his preparation at the 2025 U.S. Open. He was seen doing his homework on course early this Sunday, about three days before the main event commencing as posted by Todd Lewis. This year, the PGA Tour schedule decided to go back to its old schedule, where the RBC Canadian Open was held between the Memorial and the U.S. Open, allowing players to rest between the two important events, given that most players skip the RBC Canadian Open. Scheffler, too, skipped the 2025 RBC Canadian Open post his win at the Memorial, allowing him to get enough rest before the major championship at Oakmont this week.

Last year, Scheffler blamed his putting too for his finish at Pinehurst No.2, apart from the lack of rest — “I couldn’t hole anything. I could not see the break on these greens. The greens this week kind of had my number. I felt like I hit a lot of really good putts that did weird things at the cup that I was not expecting them to do.” But this is a mistake he cannot repeat at Oakmont if he wants to claim his first U.S. Open title and take home the jaw-dropping check of $4.3 million. Given the renovation and being one of the toughest courses, Oakmont will need players to display their best skills on the course.

Scottie Scheffler’s skills will be tested at Oakmont

Scottie Scheffler has come close to claiming the U.S. Open title when he finished tied 2nd and solo third in 2022 & 2023, respectively. But both times, the major championship was held at courses different from Oakmont. Now, the course has undergone significant changes from the last time (2016), including green expansions, the addition of bunkers, and lengthening of the course by almost 200 yards.

Players will also witness new hole locations on the greens that look similar to tabletops, and which are notorious for their extremely fast and undulating complexes. Scheffler, who is the best player in the world, will need to be wary of his errors on the greens as making three-putts can be a possibility.

While his fellow players, like Sepp Straka, might be in awe of his long game and his shot-making skills, “The way that he can control his distances with different trajectories, different shapes, I think that’s pretty impressive.” Scheffler still needs to be conscious of his errors in putting. The world no.1 hasn’t been as dominant as he is now, but he will have to put his mental endurance to the test if he wants to claim his first U.S. Open title and pass golf’s toughest test at Oakmont.