From the pristine fairways and lightning-fast greens to the punishing bunkers and club-twisting rough, Oakmont Country Club is one of the toughest tests for even the world’s best golfers, who will descend upon Western Pennsylvania for the 125th U.S. Open from June 12-15.

TribLive is producing a hole-by-hole look at what makes Oakmont Country Club one of the most popular and anticipated stops for the USGA.

Hole 12 breakdown

Length: 632 yards, Par 5

Handicap: 10

2016 U.S. Open stroke average: 5.14

Description

The longest hole on the course and in U.S. Open history will be quite trek for players at Oakmont Country Club. But length is only part of the challenge with this par 5.

Playing between 630 and nearly 700 yards, No. 12 will require several well placed shots to find success.

Constructed in the center of the course, No. 12 features a downhill drive into a fairway that slants left to right. Deep bunkers are positioned on both sides of the landing zone, and drainage ditches are located along each side of the fairway further ahead where many will hit their second shots.

Players will want to stay on the high ground and avoid the bunkers, though the slope of the fairway will push balls toward trouble.

A large green slopes away from the fairway with high grass in the back, three bunkers to the left and two to the right.

Many will lay up and try to get their third shot close to the pin, but some might be tempted to attack the green in two, especially if there is a hole location in the front of the green.

In 2007, players only hit the green in regulation 44% of the time. In 2016, this hole saw 77 birdies as well as 102 bogeys and 21 double bogeys.

TribLive Tiger Woods tees off on the 12th hole at Oakmont Country Club on Sunday.  

Memorable moment from U.S. Open

En route to winning the 2007 U.S. Open, Angel Cabrera uncorked a 397-yard drive on the 12th hole. That positioning helped him par the hole and finish with a final-round 69 that gave him a winning score of 5-over-par for the tournament. Jim Furyk, who tied for second with Tiger Woods, bogeyed the 12th hole in the final round and lost by one stroke.

TribLive Angel Cabrera tees off on the 12th hole at Oakmont Country Club, en route to the 2007 championship.  

How the locals play it

Colleen Meyers has been a member at Oakmont Country Club since 2006, won the club’s women’s title in 2020 and senior club titles in 2020, ’21 and ’23. She also won the 2021 and ’23 WPGA Senior Amateur championships. Meyers coaches the Duquesne women’s golf team after also guiding programs at Oakland Catholic and Carnegie Mellon. She played the course earlier this month and got a peek at what the pros are in for at the U.S. Open.

“Twelve is probably my favorite hole on the entire course. It’s so much fun because you walk away with a par or a birdie, and you feel like you really conquered something. It’s probably going to be a bogey or double. You walk up to the tee so hopeful, which makes it so exciting.

“On 12, there’s a small speed slot. If you catch that speed spot with your tee shot, you are in good shape because you’ll have a good angle. It’s almost like you play the hole as a zig zag — left off the tee shot, a little right on the second shot and then keep it left on the third shot. It’s a classic hole at Oakmont that’s perfectly challenging and identifies any weakness in your game.”

Submitted by Colleen Meyers A winner of multiple club championships at Oakmont Country Club, Colleen Meyers is charged with building the Duquesne women’s golf team from the ground up.  

Around the U.S. Open

Spotlight

Shane Lowry

Nine years ago, Shane Lowry nearly conquered Oakmont Country Club. He led the 2016 U.S. Open by four strokes at 7-under-par after the third round, when he fired a 65.

The Irishman then had three straight bogeys on the back nine in the final round, which led to a score of 6-over 76 and a second-place finish to Dustin Johnson. Lowry shot 1-under-par 279 overall and was three shots back of Johnson, who finished at 4-under.

It was Lowry’s best finish at the U.S. Open in 12 appearances. Lowry’s next best at a U.S. Open was ninth place in 2015 at Chambers Bay. He finished tied for 19th last year at Pinehurst after shooting 4-over-par.

Lowry, 38, has three career wins on the PGA Tour, including the 2019 British Open at Royal Portrush, and four top-10 finishes this season. He’s ranked ninth in the FedExCup standings and 14th in the Official World Golf Ranking.

He was a member of the 2021 and ’23 European Ryder Cup teams and represented the Republic of Ireland in the Olympics in 2020 and ’24.

AP Shane Lowry hits onto the 10th green during the first round of the Memorial golf tournament Thursday, May 29, 2025, in Dublin, Ohio.  

By the numbers

65 — Shane Lowry’s score in 2016 is tied (with Larry Nelson, 1983, among others) for third-best in a U.S. Open third round

110 — Highest third round score in U.S. Open history, by O. McCammon in 1899

317.14 — Average driving distance for Dustin Johnson, tops in the field, at the 2016 U.S. Open

Quotable

“My coach was with me, and we teed off on 10. We got around to 14, which is up beside the clubhouse, and I walked in. And I sat there in the locker room going, ‘I have no idea how I’m going to play golf around this place.’ And then six days later, I had a four-shot lead going into the final round. We got a bit of rain that week, which helped us. I’m looking forward to seeing what it’s going to play like. I’m looking forward to the challenge of it.”

—Shane Lowry to reporters at the Memorial Tournament this week on the first time he played Oakmont just before the 2016 U.S. Open

Chaz Palla | TribLive Shane Lowry hits his shot from the fairway on Hole 2 during the third round of the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club, Saturday, June 18, 2016.  

Oakmont history

Here’s a look at the longest par 5s in U.S. Open history:

684 yards — No. 12, Oakmont Country Club, first round, 2016

681 yards — No. 18, Erin Hills (Wisc.), fourth round, 2017

676 yards — No. 18, Erin Hills (Wisc.), second round, 2017

674 yards — No. 12, Oakmont Country Club, third round, 2016

671 yards — No. 16, The Olympic Club (Lake Course), San Francisco, Calif., third round, 2012

667 yards — No. 12, Oakmont Country Club, first round, 2007

667 yards — No. 12, Oakmont Country Club, second round, 2007

667 yards — No. 12, Oakmont Country Club, fourth round, 2007

667 yards — No. 18, Erin Hills (Wisc.), third round, 2017

660 yards — No. 16, The Olympic Club (Lake Course), San Francisco, Calif., first round, 2012

Christopher Horner | TribLive Rickie Fowler watches his drive on Hole 12 during the first day of U.S. Open practice rounds Monday, June 13, 2016, at Oakmont Country Club.  

If you missed it

No. 1: U.S. Open hole by hole: No. 1 at Oakmont among world’s toughest opening tests

No. 2: U.S. Open hole by hole: Sloping green among challenges on No. 2 at Oakmont

No. 3: U.S. Open hole by hole: Church Pews a landmark hazard on No. 3 at Oakmont Country Club

No. 4: U.S. Open hole by hole: Birdie opportunity within reach on No. 4 at Oakmont

No. 5: U.S. Open hole by hole: Aggressive play can be rewarded on No. 5 at Oakmont

No. 6: U.S. Open hole by hole: Danger lurks on, around No. 6 green at Oakmont

No. 7: U.S. Open hole by hole: Players will face mental test with club selection on No. 7 at Oakmont

No. 8: U.S. Open hole by hole: Players will club up for No. 8 at Oakmont, 1 of the longest par 3s in world

No. 9: U.S. Open hole by hole: Players will enjoy the scenic view on No. 9 at Oakmont but not the hazards

No. 10: U.S. Open hole by hole: Players to encounter tight fairway, sloping green on No. 10 at Oakmont

No. 11: U.S. Open hole by hole: There is less sand on No. 11 at Oakmont, but other hazards will impact play

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