Oakmont Country Club, Oakmont, Pennsylvania, 15 miles from downtown Pittsburgh, 7,255 yards, Par 70

Designer: Henry Fownes, 1903

Defending champion: Jordan Spieth, a one shot victory over Dustin Johnson. Spieth was -5 at Chambers Bay in Washington state in 2015.

Masters Champion, 2016: Danny Willett. This year’s Masters was about as riveting as a four hour Billy Joel concert. There was just no drama like every other year at Augusta National. Certainly not a typical Masters. The Masters is always stellar, but this year that was not the case. Felt bad for Spieth and his implosion, but Jack said it’s OK that Jordan struggled some. Jack said he went through the same thing at some majors and ended up winning 18. Not too bad. Jordan will be back in the major hunt and be capturing more majors, maybe one this weekend.

2007 champion at Oakmont: Angel Cabrera, +5

Best round maybe in the history of golf: Johnny Miller’s 63 at Oakmont in 1973. Miller beat out Arnie with his round for the ages. Johnny finished -5. 

Oakmont has hosted 12 majors; 9 U.S. Opens, including this year, and two PGA championships, most majors of any venue in the country.

Weather: A little questionable tomorrow for round one with t-storms, some heavy. Friday is better with some possible rain, but not major, and Saturday and Sunday are perfect, sunny 83, with relatively no wind. Friday is the windiest day with 10-15 MPH in the afternoon. Saturday and Sunday should be spectacular.

TV: FOX and FOX Sports 1: Thursday-Friday: FOX Sports 1: 10 AM-5 PM ET/9 AM-4 PM CT.  Thursday and Friday afternoons-evenings:FOX 5-8 PM ET/4-7 PM CT.

Saturday: FOX 11 AM-7 PM ET/10 AM-6 PM CT.

Sunday: 11 AM-7:30 PM ET/ 10 AM-6:30 PM CT.

Key holes

No 1, 482 yards Par 4

Welcome to Oakmont. The course says, “you’ll get nothing and like it,” and the players say “thanks for nothing.” One of the toughest starts in major championship golf. The narrow fairway is lined by bunkers on both sides, so accuracy and distance are at a premium, particularly accuracy. This is where guys like Spieth and Phil, who can struggle off the tee, could find some trouble on Sunday with the pressure on right from the start, if they’re in contention. The downhill approach is to a green that is partially blind and slopes away from the fairway. The ideal shot is to land the ball in front of the green and let it roll up. Have fun on hole No.1.

No. 4, 609 yards, par 5

There are deep bunkers on the right off the tee. A big drive by a Day, a Dustin, a Rory, a Bubba, or a Fowler, allows them to go for it in two. If you’re not one of those type bombers, laying up on the right side is the best approach. There are 210 bunkers at Oakmont and 17 are on No.4. Good luck avoiding one of those.

No. 8, 288 yards, par 3

Are you kiddin me? This is a driver, short game hole for some and a three wood, rescue for the guys mentioned above. A bunker juts out 80 yards before the green. Carry that and the ball will likely roll up to the green. The green is not as sloping as most of the other Oakmont greens. But chipping and putting are at a premium. In 2007, only 27 percent of the field hit the green off the tee.

No.12, 667, par 5

For the long hitters hitting the green is possible in two, but in 2007, only 44 percent of the players hit the green in regulation, meaning only 44 percent were putting for birdie. So par here is a good score.

No.16, 231 yards, par 3. Large green, but a deep bunker on the right, which will be trouble for an overcooked cut. Anything left is a tough up and down because the green slopes away to the right, meaning a bump and run or lob wedge could very well roll off the green, and could be very costly. Sunday here will be compelling drama.

No. 18, 484 yards, par 4

The closing hole was the hardest on this tremendously hard course in 2007. The tee shot must be long and straight, always a good thing on any course, but with the massive pressure here Sunday, guys like Day, Spieth, Rory, Rickie, Dustin etc.. will be challenged to make a par here. A birdie would be a massive bonus. The second shot is to an uphill green that only 30 percent of the field hit in 2007. I remember Angel chain smoking down the stretch, and playing some seriously clutch golf to beat out Tiger and Furyk by a shot.  Should be classic theater on this hole on Sunday.

Winner:

The United States Golf Association  can be about as fun sometimes as a dinner date with Rosie O’Donnell at a Cracker Barrel on a Saturday Night. In the latter case, you better order fast. But with the USGA, they want to make their courses as hard as possible, with the greens stimping at 14 to 14 1/2 to make them as close to impossible as they can get for the players. But Oakmont is a classic and this should be an epic Open as they always are. It’ll be a battle of attrition this week at Oakmont, as it always is at the United States Open, and I like the player who knows how to dig deep better than anyone else to capture the 116th Open. This 28 year old’s driver is electric, his iron game is stellar, and his short game is superb. I’ve studied this from a lot of angles and cannot see any reason why I shouldn’t go with this horse. I like the young stud from Queensland, Australia to capture his second major, and fourth title already this year, which includes the Arnie, the WGC Match Play and the Players. That’s a wow.

Jason Day