12-06-2025
US Open 2025: Three of the key holes to watch
8th Hole: par 3, 289 yards
This hole actually played to a length of 300 yards in the 2007 championship won by Angel Cabrera, and some players will be hitting driver to reach the putting surface which slopes from back to front. In 2016, the hole played to an average of 3.30 and ranked as the most difficult green to find, with an average of 36 per cent of players managing to keep their tee shots on the surface. The large bunker to the left of the green is likely to be a popular landing spot.
General view of the eighth hole at Oakmont Country Club. Photograph: Rick Stewart/Getty
9th hole: par 4, 472 yards
The tee-shot is blind to a fairway that slopes left to right and pinches in at 300 yards. It played as the second most difficult hole in 2016 – averaging 4.43 – when it gave up just 34 birdies to the field along with 167 bogeys and 28 double bogeys. A ditch is in play down the left-hand side of the fairway, while the right side is lined with a series of bunkers. Uniquely, more than half of the putting surface is taken up by the practice green in front of the clubhouse.
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A general view of the ninth hole at Oakmont. Photograph: Warren Little/Getty
15th hole; par 4, 507 yards
Another blind tee shot to a sloping fairway, it is important for players to find the fairway and avoid the large bunker that lines the left side, while a smaller but strategically located bunker is in play at 300 yards down the right. The approach is to an undulating green that is 58 yards deep, protected by a large bunker on the right and three smaller bunkers to the left of the green. In 2016, the hole averaged 4.38, when it played as the third most difficult in the tournament.
