2025 U.S. OPEN PRE-CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES

Photo copyright: USGA/Fred Vucich

These notes were produced and compiled by the Elias Sports Bureau, then edited by ACES editor Dennis Miller.

• Oakmont Country Club is hosting the U.S. Open for a record 10th time, having previously hosted in 1927, 1935, 1953, 1962, 1973, 1983, 1994, 2007 and 2016. In addition, it has hosted three PGA Championships (1922, 1951 and 1978), two U.S. Women’s Opens and six U.S. Amateurs.

Most U.S. Opens hosted: Oakmont CC (10, including 2025), Baltusrol GC (7, most recently in 1993), Oakland Hills CC (6, most recently in 1996), Pebble Beach GL (6, most recently in 2019) and Winged Foot GC (6, most recently in 2020).

Most Major Championships hosted (other than Masters): St. Andrews Links (30), Prestwick GC (24), Muirfield (16), Royal St. George’s GC (15), Oakmont CC (13, including 2025 U.S. Open), Royal Liverpool GC (13).

• Oakmont CC has played as a par-70 over the last two U.S. Opens (2007 and 2016). During this time, only four players (out of 312) have scored under par for the week: Dustin Johnson (-4), Shane Lowry (-1), Jim Furyk (-1) and Scott Piercy (-1), all in 2016. Angel Cabrera won the 2007 edition with a cumulative score of plus-five.

• Here are the previous nine U.S. Open winners at Oakmont CC:

In addition, Gene Sarazen (match play), Sam Snead (match play) and John Mahaffey (276, -8) won a PGA Championship at Oakmont CC in 1922, 1951 and 1978, respectively.

• Of the 443 official rounds recorded at the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont CC, only one was bogey free. Dustin Johnson submitted a blemish-free scorecard in the first round (67, 3 birdies, 15 pars).

• Dustin Johnson made only 11 birdies (and no eagles) on his way to winning the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont CC. That is the second-fewest amount of par breakers made by a champion in any of the 101 major championships that have taken place since 2000. Geoff Ogilvy made just nine birdies (and no eagles) at the 2006 U.S. Open at Winged Foot GC.

• The field scoring average at the 2007 U.S. Open at Oakmont CC was 75.705 (or +5.705 in relation to par), which is the highest scoring average relative to par for any U.S. Open over the last 50 years.

In fact, the only major championship with a higher field scoring average in relation to par over that time was the 1999 Open Championship at Carnoustie (+5.816). That year, Paul Lawrie defeated Jean van de Velde and Justin Leonard in playoff after all three players were tied after 72 holes with a cumulative score of 290 (+6).

• The field scoring average has been at least two strokes over par in every U.S. Open round played at Oakmont CC, dating back to 1927.

• International players won eight of the 11 U.S. Open championships held between 2004 and 2014. Players representing the United States have won eight of the 10 U.S. Open championships held since then. The recent exceptions are Jon Rahm (2021 at Torrey Pines) and Matthew Fitzpatrick (2022 at The Country Club). From 1928 to 1964, Americans won 33 consecutive U.S. Opens.

• The only player to win the U.S. Open while ranked No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking is Tiger Woods, who did so in 2000 (Pebble Beach), 2002 (Bethpage) and 2008 (Torrey Pines). This will be fourth year in a row that Scottie Scheffler enters the U.S. Open as the world’s top player. He finished T-2 in 2022 (The Country Club), 3rd in 2023 (Los Angeles Country Club) and T-41 last year (Pinehurst No. 2).

The only other player  who has entered the U.S. Open ranked No. 1 in the OWGR more than two years in a row is Tiger Woods, who did it 11 consecutive years from 2000 through 2010.

• Scheffler will most likely enter U.S. Open week as the No. 1 golfer in the world for the 108th week in a row. The only other player to spend as long as 100 consecutive weeks as the top player in the world was Tiger Woods, who had separate streaks of 281 (2005-2010) and 264 weeks (1999-2004).

• Overall, this will be the ninth consecutive major championship in which Scheffler will appear as the No. 1 golfer in the world. That is the third-longest streak in the OWGR era (since 1986). Tiger Woods played 21 consecutive majors as the No. 1 golfer, from 2005-2010; and played 20 consecutive majors as the No. 1 golfer from 2000-2004. Scheffler breaks out of a tie for third with Greg Norman, who played eight consecutive majors as the top-ranked golfer, from 1995 to 1997.

• Over the last 16 majors, the eventual winner was ranked among the top five in the world (OWGR) nine times, including in four of the last five majors: Scheffler (No. 1, 2024 Masters), Schauffele (No. 3, 2024 PGA Championship), Schauffele (No. 3, 2024 Open Championship), McIlroy (No. 2, 2025 Masters) and Scheffler (No. 1, 2025 PGA Championship). The only exception since the start of 2024 is Bryson DeChambeau, who was No. 38 in the world when he won last year’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2.

• Only one of the last 53 major championships (since and including the 2012 Masters) was won by a player ranked outside the top 50 in the OWGR at the time: Phil Mickelson in the 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island’s Ocean Course (ranked No. 115).

• Scottie Scheffler has 16 official PGA Tour wins, all since 2022. Next on the list of most wins since 2022 are Rory McIlroy (10), Xander Schauffele (5), Viktor Hovland (5), Jon Rahm (5) and Hideki Matsuyama (5).

• Scottie Scheffler has three PGA Tour wins in 2025, each by at least four strokes: THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson (by 8 strokes), the PGA Championship (by 5 strokes) and the Memorial Tournament (by 4 strokes). He is the first player to have three such official victories in one season since Tiger Woods in 2003 (Buick Invitational by 4 strokes, Bay Hill Invitational by 11, Western Open by 5). Tiger is also the last player to win four or more Tournaments in one season by 4+ strokes, having done so five times in 2000, including a 15-stroke victory at the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.

• Both Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy have three victories this season. This is just the third time in the last 20 years that a pair of players will enter the U.S. Open with at least three PGA Tour victories each to that point in the year. That last time that occurred was in 2017 and 2020. In both cases it was Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas with the ‘pre-U.S. Open hat tricks.’ At the 2017 U.S. Open at Erin Hills, Johnson missed the cut while Thomas finished T-9; at the 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot, Johnson and Thomas finished T-6 and T-8, respectively.

• Bryson DeChambeau, who won the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2, is one of five players to win multiple major championships this decade (since the start of 2020), along with Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele.

The 2020s is the first decade to have five different players win multiple majors through the first five years (2020-2024).

• DeChambeau, who also won the 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot, is the 16th player whose first two majors were won at the U.S. Open. The only other examples since 2000 are Retief Goosen (2001 & 2004) and Brooks Koepka (2017 & 2018). Only two players won each of their first three major championships at the U.S. Open: Willie Anderson (1901, 1903, 1904) and Hale Irwin (1974, 1979, 1990).

• Bryson DeChambeau will attempt to become the eighth player to win the U.S Open in consecutive years and would join Willie Anderson (1903, 1904, 1905), John McDermott (1911, 1912), Bobby Jones (1929, 1930), Ralph Guldahl (1937, 1938), Ben Hogan (1950, 1951), Curtis Strange (1988, 1989) and Brooks Koepka (2017, 2018).

Dating back to 1990, the only U.S. Open champions to finish among the top 10 in their title defense the following year are Koepka (winning in 2017 and 2018, finishing second to Gary Woodland at Pebble Beach in 2019) and Tiger Woods (finished T-6 at Bethpage in 2009).

• Rory McIlroy finished runner-up to Wyndham Clark at the 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club, then to Bryson DeChambeau last year at Pinehurst. He is only one of four players to finish second at the U.S. Open in consecutive years, along with Bobby Jones (1924 & 1925), Ben Hogan (1955 & 1956), Arnold Palmer (1962 & 1963, 1966 & 1967) and Jim Furyk (2006 & 2007).

Last year marked just the second time in the last 25 years that a player lost the U.S. Open by one stroke after making bogey (or worse) on the 72nd hole. Jim Furyk bogeyed the 18th in 2006 at Winged Foot, while Phil Mickelson and Colin Montgomerie double bogeyed it, leading to Geoff Ogilvy’s onestroke victory.

• Rory McIlroy is riding an astonishing streak of six consecutive top 10s in the U.S. Open, starting in 2019 (T9, T8, T7, T5, 2nd, 2nd). The only players to earn a top-10 in each of seven or more consecutive U.S. Open appearances are Ben Hogan (12 consecutive top-10 finishes, from 1940-1956), Bobby Jones (seven, 1920-1926) and Stewart Gardner (seven, 1900-1906). The last player before McIlroy with a top-10 finish in each of six consecutive U.S. Open appearances was Jack Nicklaus, who did that during the stretch from 1977 to 1982.

• McIlroy won his sole U.S. Open 14 years ago at Congressional CC. Only three players have gone 10 or more years between two U.S. Open victories: Julius Boros (11 years, 1952-1963), Hale Irwin (11 years, 1979-1990) and Gene Sarazen (10 years, 1922-1932).

• Most rounds in the 60s at the U.S. Open since 2020: Rory McIlroy (12), Bryson DeChambeau (10), Collin Morikawa (8), Hideki Matsuyama (7), Jon Rahm (7) and Xander Schauffele (7).

• Most top-five finishes at the end of a U.S. Open round, including the final round, since 2020: Rory McIlroy (13), Bryson DeChambeau (8), Louis Oosthuizen (7), Harris English (6), Xander Schauffele (5) and Jon Rahm (5).

• Nine of the last 11 U.S. Open champions were among the top 10 on the leaderboard at the end of the first round, including Bryson DeChambeau last year (T-4). However, none of the last 10 U.S. Open champions had a share of the first-round lead. The last champion to hold at least a share of the lead at the end of the first round was Martin Kaymer in 2014 at Pinehurst No. 2.

Each of the last three champions at Oakmont were in second place (outright or tied) at the end of the first round: Ernie Els in 1994 (T-2), Angel Cabrera in 2007 (2nd) and Dustin Johnson in 2016 (T-2).

• Phil Mickelson will be competing in his fourth U.S. Open at Oakmont. He finished T-47 in 1994 and missed the cut in 2007 and 2016. The only other players who appeared in four or more U.S. Opens at Oakmont are Arnold Palmer (five appearances, 1953, 1962, 1973, 1983, 1994) and Jack Nicklaus (four appearances, 1962, 1973, 1983, 1994).

Three other players will be appearing in their third U.S. Open at Oakmont in 2025: Lucas Glover (missed the cut in both 2007 and 2016), Justin Rose (T-10 in 2007, missed the cut in 2016) and Adam Scott (missed the cut in 2007, T-18 in 2016).

• The final score in relation to par for each of the last six U.S. Open winners was six-under or lower, including Bryson DeChambeau’s six-under score at Pinehurst No. 2 last year. It is the longest such streak in the history of this championship. Immediately prior to this stretch, seven of 14 previous U.S. Opens were won with a final cumulative score of even par or higher (2005—2018).

• Each of the last six majors was won by a player who today has multiple majors on their resume (Scheffler, Schauffele, DeChambeau, Schauffele, McIlroy and Scheffler). It is the longest streak since that happened in each of seven consecutive majors during the years of 2014 and 2015 (Bubba Watson, Martin Kaymer, Rory McIlroy (back-to-back), Jordan Spieth (back-to-back) and Zach Johnson.

• In reference to Scottie Scheffler, the last player to win consecutive majors is Jordan Spieth in 2015 (Masters and U.S. Open). Thirty-nine majors have been competed for since then and no player has managed to win consecutive major titles.

It is the longest drought without a consecutive major winner since a void that started when Tom Watson won the 1982 U.S. Open and Open Championship and ended with Nick Price’s 1994 Open Championship and PGA Championship victories (47 championships between those two streaks).

• During the last few years since the PGA Championship has been contested before the U.S. Open (since 2019), here is how the reigning PGA Championship winner has fared at the U.S. Open:

• Brooks Koepka, 2nd in 2019 at Pebble Beach
• Collin Morikawa, MC in 2020 at Winged Foot ➢ Phil Mickelson, T-62 in 2021 at Torrey Pines
• Justin Thomas, T-37 in 2022 at The Country Club
• Brooks Koepka, T-17 in 2023 at Los Angeles Country Club
• Xander Schauffele, T-7 in 2024 at Pinehurst No. 2

• A player has won the Masters and the U.S. Open in the same season seven times: Craig Wood (1941), Ben Hogan (1951, 1953), Arnold Palmer (1960), Jack Nicklaus (1972), Tiger Woods (2002) and Jordan Spieth (2015). Here is how the reigning Masters champion has fared at the U.S. Open in recent years:

• Hideki Matsuyama, T-26 in 2021 at Torrey Pines
• Scottie Scheffler, T-2 in 2022 at The Country Club
• Jon Rahm, T-10 in 2023 at Los Angeles Country Club ➢ Scottie Scheffler, T-41 in 2024 at Pinehurst No. 2

• During the PGA Championship’s stroke play era (since 1958), only three players have won the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open in the same year: Jack Nicklaus (1980), Tiger Woods (2000) and Brooks Koepka (2018).

• Xander Schauffele, who finished T-7 at last year’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2, has finished among the top 15 in each of the last eightS. Opens (T-5 at Erin Hills in 2017, T-6 at Shinnecock Hills in 2018, T-3 at Pebble Beach in 2019, 5th at Winged Foot in 2020, T-7 at Torrey Pines in 2021, T-14 at The Country Club in 2022, and T-10 at Los Angeles Country Club in 2013). The only players with a longer streak than Schauffele’s since 1920 are Jack Nicklaus (12, 1971-1982), Ben Hogan (12, 19401956), Bobby Jones (11, 1920-1930) and Sam Snead (9, 1947-1955).

• Three amateurs made the cut at Pinehurst No. 2 last year (Neal Shipley T-26, Luke Clanton T-41 and Gunnar Broin T-70). Four amateurs made the cut in 2023 and in 2022, respectively. If three or more amateurs make it to the weekend this year, it will mark the first time that three or more amateurs made the cut at the U.S. Open in each of four consecutive years since a 14-year streak from 1946 to 1959. Notable amateurs to make the cut in those years include Charles Coe, Jack Nicklaus, Bobby Nichols,

Harvie Ward Jr., Ken Venturi, Billy Joe Patton, John Dawson, Frank Stranahan, Skee Riegel and Dick Chapman.

• Hole No. 17, played the easiest, statistically, for the week during the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont at 55 strokes under par (3.88 scoring average). It conceded the most birdies (129) and eagles (6). Meanwhile, the two par-5s conceded a total of six eagles combined in 2016.

• The par-4 first hole played as the most difficult hole, statistically, at the 2016 U.S. Open at 200-strokes over par. There were 33 double bogeys or worse in 2016, the highest total for any hole.

• The most difficult stretch of the golf course in 2016 was from holes 7 through 10 (the 5th, 8th, 2nd and 4th-most difficult holes, statistically). Only two players played this sequence of holes under par over four rounds: Graeme McDowell (-1, finished T-18) and Branden Grace (-1, T-5).

Scottie Scheffler, who was making his major championship debut as a 19-year-old amateur at the 2016 U.S. Open, played that stretch of holes at one-under par over the first two rounds before missing the cut.

• Dustin Johnson, the 2016 U.S. Open champion at Oakmont, was the only player to shoot par or better on the par-3s (-2), par-4s (-1) and par-5s (-1). No other player played the par-4s under par.

• Nobody played the par-5s as well as Jason Day at the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont, having shot sixunder on those holes for the week. Next best: Martin Kaymer (-4), Louis Oosthuizen (-4) and Shane Lowry (-4). Day finished T-8 for the week.