Tiger Woods has offered some insight into the challenge that awaits at Oakmont Country Club, and it’s good news for Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau
12:06 ET, 11 Jun 2025Updated 14:49 ET, 11 Jun 2025
Woods is battling injury and will miss the U.S. Open(Image: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Tiger Woods slammed the “horrible” Oakmont as potentially advantageous for big hitters like Rory McIlroy and title defender Bryson DeChambeau at the U.S. Open.
Had it not been for a ruptured left Achilles sustained during training in March, Woods might have been gearing up to play in the 125th U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club this week. Despite being sidelined, the three-time U.S. Open champ Woods has weighed in on what to expect from the notoriously challenging venue in a video which had fans commenting on his appearance.
It comes after Woods’ teenage son Charlie claimed ‘I’m broke’ after a trust fund revelation.
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Talk before the U.S. Open has often revolved around the punishingly deep rough and the course’s daunting distance. The eighth hole, a par-three, is notably one of the globe’s lengthiest, stretching just past 300 yards.
The arduous nature of Oakmont is already fulfilling its reputation. Complaints echo among players disgruntled by their battles with the dense rough, tricky bunkers, and slick greens.
On Tuesday, utilizing his Sun Day Red social media platform, Woods shed light on the course’s quirks—encouraging McIlroy to keep his hopes up for clinching a sixth major win, despite a tricky practice session. Woods declared: “There is no faking about Oakmont.
“The golf course is big, yes, but it’s just-there is no way around it. You just have to hit the golf ball well. And it favors longer hitters, just because of the degrees, the complexes.
“It just helps so much to be coming with shorter iron, to be able to sock the ball. It’s about missing the ball on correct spots… because if you don’t, it’s horrible!”.
Woods’ comments will be music to the ears of Rory McIlroy(Image: Getty Images)
Woods’ mention of “complexes” harks back to his own experiences at the 2007 U.S. Open at Oakmont, where he fought hard to finish six-over par – a mere stroke behind victor Angel Cabrera.
McIlroy and powerhouse DeChambeau might find encouragement in Woods’ insights. Both are among the game’s most formidable drivers and will likely have high hopes for a tournament that’s anticipated to yield hefty scores.
The Northern Irish golfer has seen some struggles since his Masters triumph and the completion of a career Grand Slam, becoming only the sixth player to do so. McIlroy is convinced that to contend at the U.S. Open, especially after last year’s tough defeat to DeChambeau at Pinehurst No.2, he needs to put his remarkable Masters win out of mind.
“I think it’s trying to have a little bit of amnesia and forget about what happened six weeks ago,” McIlroy shared with the press. “Then just trying to find the motivation to go back out there and work as hard as I’ve been working.
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“I worked incredibly hard on my game from October last year all the way up until April this year. It was nice to sort of see the fruits of my labor come to fruition and have everything happen.
“But at the same time, you have to enjoy that. You have to enjoy what you’ve just accomplished. I certainly feel like I’m still doing that and I will continue to do that.
“At some point, you have to realize that there’s a little bit more golf left to play this season, here, Portrush, Ryder Cup, so those are obviously the three big things that I’m sort of looking at for the rest of the year.
“But I think weeks like Quail Hollow or even weeks like last week, it makes it easier to reset in some way, to be like, okay, I sort of need to get my stuff together here and get back to the process and sort of what I’d been doing for that seven months from October last year until April this year.”
