Nine Junes ago, Dustin Johnson captured his first major when he solved Oakmont Golf Club better than anyone else to claim the 2016 U.S. Open.
As the Open returns to Oakmont for the first time since Johnson’s triumph, the 40-year-old squints at the rugged layout in western Pennsylvania and sees a monster. He played the front nine Monday in preparation for Thursday’s opening round.
“The course is just as hard as I remember, if not harder,” said Johnson, who finished at 4-under-par 276 in 2016 to defeat Jim Furyk, Ireland’s Shane Lowry and Scott Piercy by three shots.
When asked where Oakmont ranks on his list of hardest courses, the two-time major champion didn’t hesitate.
“Probably this one,” he said. “I’ve played some hard courses, but it all depends on the conditions. This one’s hard no matter what — soft, firm, windy, no wind.”
Oakmont played at 7,219 yards in 2016, but the course has been lengthened to 7,372 yards for this season’s third major.
“It seems like it’s tougher this time around, but that’s just maybe with the little bit of added length,” Johnson said. “But yeah, somehow I figured out a way to get it under par. It was mostly the driving. Obviously even driving it in the fairway here, it’s still really difficult. But I hit a lot of good drives and a lot of good iron shots.”
As one of the first prominent players to jump to LIV Golf in June 2022, Johnson generally faces PGA Tour players only in majors. He has missed the cut in five of his last seven majors, which includes this year’s Masters and PGA Championship — though he might put asterisks next to those two.
“Last two holes (at the Masters), bogey, double (bogey), to miss (the cut) by a shot, I think,” Johnson said.
At last month’s PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, Johnson fired rounds of 78 and 76 to miss the cut by 11 shots.
“I know my score didn’t reflect it at the PGA, but I actually played way better than the score,” Johnson said. “I just struggled a little bit on the greens. Well, maybe that’s an understatement. I struggled really bad on the greens.”
But his putter likely won’t determine how well Johnson fares this week at Oakmont. Instead, it’ll be his driver.
“I have confidence in this golf course because I know I played well,” Johnson said. “But obviously this week puts a lot of pressure on the driver. I feel like I’m driving the ball really good right now.”
Johnson is coming off a T10 finish at LIV Golf Virginia, his third top-10 showing of the season. He has three wins on that tour, most recently at Las Vegas in February 2024.
–Field Level Media
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