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Tiger Woods won’t be in the field this week at Oakmont Country Club for the 125th U.S. Open, but he knows exactly what these golfers are about to face Thursday during the opening round.
Woods, who has been rehabbing an Achilles he tore in March, finished tied for second at the famous course at the 2007 U.S. Open.
In partnership with his Sunday Red brand, Woods gave advice for those participating in the third major of the year.
Confidence in your game will be key.
“There is no faking about Oakmont,” Woods said in the video posted to Instagram. “The golf course is big, yes, but it’s just, there’s 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.”
There’s just one problem with those long-hit balls. They had better go straight.
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Golfers have laughed during practice rounds at just how thick the rough is on the Oakmont fairway and around the greens.
But, as Woods said, there is no faking the challenge Oakmont presents. It’s a matter of how well you trust your golf game.
If you can hit the ball long, Woods believes the scorecard will favor you instead of those who decide to club down to hit a straight ball.
“It just helps so much to be coming with shorter iron, to be able to sock the ball,” Woods, an exceptionally long hitter, explained. “It’s about missing the ball on correct spots … because if you don’t, it’s horrible!”
In addition to the rough presenting a challenge at Oakmont, some golfers have been discussing the treachery of the greens. One missed putt could lead the ball down a slippery slope well past the hole, making it critical to control spin with approach shots and speed with putts once you get on.
Holes can be extremely long, like the 289-yard par-3 eighth hole.
There are a few golfers who can hit the ball long and straight, Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau among them, who could make a run this week.
DeChambeau is the reigning U.S. Open champion after defeating Rory McIlroy at Pinehurst No. 2 last year. But Scheffler remains red hot after his PGA Championship win at Quail Hollow Club last month.
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