How To Watch The U.S. Open, And What To Expect At Golf’s Third Major

Amid intrigue about the carnage that Oakmont Country Club’s near-impenetrable rough and notoriously fearsome greens might dish out to the game’s top players at the U.S. Open, Scottie Scheffler enters the golf season’s third major championship as a heavy favorite after wins in three of his past four starts, including a four-shot win at last month’s PGA Championship.

The world’s No. 1-ranked golfer, Scheffler heads a field of 156 players teeing it up this week just outside Pittsburgh at the nation’s first golf course to be recognized as a National Historic Landmark. Oakmont originally opened in 1903, designed by Henry Fownes on farmland he acquired adjacent to the Allegheny River Valley, and is one of the game’s most challenging and uncompromising layouts.

Pennsylvania-based golf architect Gil Hanse, who completed a restoration of the course in October 2023, describes Oakmont as “unapologetically difficult.” That pedigree of pain is a prime reason why the U.S. Open is back at Oakmont for a record-extending 10^th time – three more than any other host venue. It’s the 18^th USGA championship for the club, second only to Merion Golf Club’s 19 in total.

“I don’t think people turn the TV on to watch some of the guys just hit like a 200-yard shot on the green,” said world No. 3 Xander Schauffele. “I think they turn on the U.S. Open to see a guy shooting 8-over and suffer. That’s part of the enjoyment of the U.S. Open for viewers.”

The U.S. Open was previously contested at Oakmont in 1927, 1935, 1953, 1962, 1973, 1983, 1994, 2007 and 2016. In the most recent edition, just under a decade ago, Dustin Johnson won by three shots at 4-under par. Only three others in the field broke par that week.

The 125^th playing of the national championship is scheduled for June 12-15 and can be watched via a mix of broadcast television and streaming services, with extensive coverage spread across multiple networks throughout all four days of the tournament.

How to Watch the U.S. Open

The championship will receive more than 45 hours of live coverage on NBC, USA Network and Peacock.

Beginning Monday, June 9, Golf Channel will surround the championship with live pre- and post-game coverage on Golf Central Live From the U.S. Open. With featured groups, featured holes, U.S. Open All Access and additional coverage, the total will reach nearly 300 hours.

U.S. Open Favorites And Featured Groups

Scheffler, coming off his $4 million win two weeks ago at the Memorial Tournament, is listed as the 11-4 favorite to win the U.S. Open by the Las Vegas Westgate Superbook. The best previous finish at a U.S. Open for the three-time major winner was a tie for second at the 2022 tournament at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, where he finished one shot behind Matt Fitzpatrick.

Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau, who also won the U.S. Open in 2020 at Winged Foot in New York before his victory at Pinehurst last year, is the second favorite with 15-2 odds. DeChambeau and fellow former champions Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm and Johnson are among 14 LIV Golf players in this year’s 156-golfer field.

Rory McIlroy, aiming to join Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth as just the third golfer in the past five decades to win the Masters and the U.S. Open in the same year, has 12-1 odds of winning.

U.S. Open Odds (Las Vegas Westgate Superbook)

• Scottie Scheffler 11/4
• Bryson DeChambeau 15/2
• Rory McIlroy 12/1
• Jon Rahm 14/1
• Collin Morikawa 20/1
• Xander Schauffele 20/1
• Ludvig Aberg 25/1
• Shane Lowry 25/1
• Joaquin Niemann 30/1
• Tommy Fleetwood 30/1
• Justin Thomas 35/1
• Patrick Cantlay 40/1
• Sepp Straka 40/1
• Viktor Hovland 50/1
• Hideki Matsuyama 50/1
• Brooks Koepka 60/1
• Sam Burns 60/1
• Tyrrell Hatton 60/1
• Corey Conners 60/1
• Ben Griffin 70/1
• Russell Henley 70/1
• Matt Fitzpatrick 70/1
• Jordan Spieth 60/1
• Harris English 80/1
• Tony Finau 80/1
• Cameron Young 80/1
• Keegan Bradley 90/1
• Daniel Berger 100/1
• Jason Day 100/1
• Sungjae Im 100/1
• Robert MacIntyre 100/1
• Patrick Reed 100/1
• Aaron Rai 125/1
• Justin Rose 125/1
• Si Woo Kim 125/1
• Maverick McNealy 125/1
• Akshay Bhatia 125/1
• Taylor Pendrith 125/1
• Byeong Hun An 150/1
• Wyndham Clark 150/1
• Denny McCarthy 150/1
• Thorbjorn Olesen 150/1
• Adam Scott 150/1
• Cameron Smith 150/1
• Tom Kim 150/1
• Davis Thompson 150/1
• Brian Harman 150/1
• Nick Taylor 150/1
• Andrew Novak 150/1
• J.J. Spaun 150/1
• Lucas Glover 200/1
• Rasmus Hojgaard 200/1
• Dustin Johnson 200/1
• Marc Leishman 200/1
• J.T. Poston 200/1
• Gary Woodland 200/1
• Phil Mickelson 250/1
• Niklas Norgaard 250/1
• Matt Wallace 250/1
• Erik van Rooyen 250/1
• Bud Cauley 250/1
• Max Greyserman 250/1

Phil Mickelson, who turns 55 on June 16 (a day after the championship’s final round) has the most experience of any player in the field, making his 35^th U.S. Open appearance.

Adam Scott (24) and Justin Rose (20) are the only other golfers who have played in the U.S. Open at least 20 times.

There are 44 players in the 2025 championship field who are playing in their first U.S. Open. Among them is Ben Griffin, who tied for eighth in this year’s PGA Championship and has won twice on the PGA Tour in 2025.

The starting field of 156 golfers will be cut after 36 holes to the low 60 scorers and ties.

What to Expect From Oakmont

Hanse said the 32 players in the field who also tackled the course at the 2016 U.S. Open will likely notice the expansion of Oakmont’s vaunted greens as the biggest change.

“There’s going to be a lot of new hole locations,” said Hanse, who has had a hand in restoration and renovation projects at many of the game’s most celebrated venues, including recent U.S. Open sites Winged Foot, The Country Club at Brookline, Los Angeles Country Club, and future venues such as Baltusrol, Merion, and Oakland Hills.

“The edges of the greens now are more like tabletops as opposed to having build-up along the edges. I think they are going to feel a little bit more difficult to hit into. We’ve managed to find a little bit more length (approximately 250 yards), so I think they’re going to feel that as well.”

The fairways at Oakmont aren’t particularly wide – 28 yards on average – and the landing zones are often fiercely protected by challenging bunkers like the club’s famous “church pews.” Even more unforgiving, however, is the 4 inch to 5 inch-deep rough that’s been grown and cut repeatedly to have it stand up straighter and thicker – to the point where hand mowers are needed to manage the height.

“It just puts an emphasis on hitting the fairway and hitting greens. If you’re a premier ball striker, you’ll be licking your chops,” said world No. 3 Xander Schauffele, who hasn’t finished outside the Top 15 in his eight career U.S. Open starts. “It’s pretty hard to be in the bunkers and have an open shot to the green, so you’re just kind of taking your medicine. If you’re in the rough, it’s very lie dependent.”

And then there are the super slick greens on this inland links-style course.

Wicked green speeds have always been a hallmark at Oakmont, which are perhaps the most closely-mown of any championship course, leading to putting surfaces that not only roll fast but roll out a significant distance.

Oakmont Country Club will be set up at 7,372 yards and will play to a par of 35-35–70. The yardage for each round of the championship will vary due to course setup and conditions, with players teeing off on the first and 10^th tees on Thursday and Friday.

“It seems like it’s tougher this time around, but that’s just maybe with the little bit of added length,” said Johnson. “It’s going to make it a little more difficult.”

Oakmont’s History

The course is historic, and tournament tested. This will be the 10^th U.S. Open at Oakmont, three more than the second-most frequent host.

• 10 – Oakmont Country Club (1927, 1935, 1953, 1962, 1973, 1983, 1994, 2007, 2016, 2025)
• 7 – Baltusrol Golf Club, N.J. (1903, 1915, 1936, 1954, 1967, 1980, 1993)
• 6 – Oakland Hills Country Club, MI (1924, 1937, 1951, 1961, 1985, 1996)
• 6 – Pebble Beach Golf Links, CA (1972, 1982, 1992, 2000, 2010, 2019)
• 6 – Winged Foot Golf Club (West Course), N.Y. (1929, 1959, 1974, 1984, 2006, 2020)

“Being perfectly honest and very selfish, I hope it psyches a lot of players out,” Justin Thomas, who’s currently 5^th in the world rankings, said of Oakmont. “It’s a part of the preparation, like trying to go hit wedges or trying to get the speed of the greens or anything. It’s getting a game plan for how you’re going to approach the course mentally and strategically.”

U.S. Open Economics

Just over 50 years ago, Johnny Miller received $35,000 for his win at the 1973 U.S. Open, when he shot a final-round 63 at Oakmont. The total tournament purse that year was just over $219,000.

When Ernie Els won the 1994 U.S. Open at Oakmont just over two decades later, he pocketed $320,000 for the playoff victory.

Johnson’s 2016 U.S. Open title at Oakmont earned him $1.8 million of the $10 million prize purse.

While this year’s prize money hasn’t been set, it will likely rival or surpass the $21.5 million awarded at last year’s U.S. Open in Pinehurst, where DeChambeau took home $4.3 million.