Preview & Picks: The 2025 U.S. Open
Plus: Greatest 1 Min Interview Ever, U.S. Open Trivia, and More.
Josey Orr
June 11, 2025
Good Morning. Fun Fact: Phil Mickelson is the only golfer who played in the 1994 U.S. Open at Oakmont that is in the field this year. The ageless wonder.
The Greatest 1 Min Interview Ever
The most chaotic day in sports history was June 17th, 1994.
In the midst of the madness of that day, Mark Rolfing pulled off the most emotional 1 minute interview with Arnold Palmer that we’ve ever seen.
It’s worth 3 minutes of your time to watch.
More Golf Videos:
Preview & Picks: The 2025 U.S. Open
Legends are made at Oakmont.
Jack Nicklaus won his first major here in 1962, beating Arnold Palmer in a playoff.
11 years later, Johnny Miller played one of the greatest final rounds in golf history, coming from behind with a U.S. Open record 63, to beat the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Gary Player, and Arnold Palmer.
The 1994 U.S. Open at Oakmont was held on one of the most insane days in sports history, with all of these things happening at the same time:
Arnold Palmers Final U.S. Open at Oakmont
OJ Simpsons Car Chase
1994 FIFA World Cup Kicked Off in Chicago
Game 5 NBA Finals Houston Rockets vs. NY Knicks
Rangers Stanley Cup Parade
Ken Griffey Jr ties Babe Ruths HR Record of 30 HRs before June 30th
In the event you haven’t seen it, ESPN has a 30 for 30 called June 17th, 1994.
It’s one of my favorite ones - Ernie Els won in a playoff that year, by the way.
The 2007 U.S. Open at Oakmont, with a winning score of 5-over 285, featured the highest cumulative scoring average of any U.S. Open this century.
2016 saw Dustin Johnson win his first major.
The point is, golf’s toughest test on golf’s toughest course tends to make the cream rise to the top. My expectations are high for this week.
Storylines…
Who’s Beating Scottie?
Oakmont requires both distance and accuracy off the tee. Scottie has pretty much been the top dog in both of those categories for three straight years. Of course, you’ve also got to be able to putt at Oakmont. Scottie has putted better this year than at any point in his career. There’s a reason why he’s the lowest odds favorite we’ve seen in a major since prime Tiger Woods.
What’s Rory’s Deal?
Rory has followed up his Masters win by being combative with the press, skipping The Memorial, and then missing the cut at the RBC Canadian Open last week.
You’d think he’d be happy, joyous, and free. Instead he seems more trapped by the bondage of self than ever. He’s a bit of a headcase it seems.
What About The LIV Guys?
Joaquin Niemann won again on LIV last week, but his performance in majors makes him difficult to bet. He’s gonna get one eventually though.
Bryson is pretty much an auto-bet in all majors until proven otherwise, the concern for him this week will be the iron play that has caused him trouble throughout the season and ended his Masters bid.
Jon Rahm is built for U.S. Opens, he’s already won one, and there’s just no way that the man never wins another major. In fact, he’s more likely to win multiple more majors than to win none. This could be the week Rahm reminds the world of just how good he is.
The Details
Previous Winners
How To Watch
USA Network and Peacock will have live action with these featured groups exclusively on Peacock. Friday is the same groups, but early / late times flip.
Shanks Picks
We almost hit back to back winners with Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns, but Sam couldn’t get it done for us at the Canadian Open. On to Oakmont.
Winner: Scottie Scheffler +280: Yes, the odds are crazy low. No, we don’t care. If you think it’s a boring pick, put more units on it, but we aren’t picking against Scottie.
Winner: Bryson DeChambeau +750: Bryson is just auto-bet in majors at this point, until proven otherwise, and golf is just more fun when he’s in contention.
Winner: Sepp Straka +4500: Sepp has proven he can compete - and win - against the strongest fields in golf. He’s 11th in driving accuracy this season and 2nd in SG: Total.
Top Twenty: Jordan Spieth +190If you’re not betting on Spieth, you aren’t even really gambling.
Top Twenty: Keegan Bradley +195: Captain Keegan has played very well this season and the biggest reason for that is his driver. He’s top 20 SG: OTT and top 15 in SG: APP.
Top Twenty: Nick Taylor +300: Nick is in the Top 20 for Driving Accuracy and his recent form is great - he finished T4 at The Memorial and T13 last week.
Make The Cut Parlay: Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Jordan Spieth, Aaron Rai, Shane Lowry, Daniel Berger, and Shane Lowry to all make the cut. +988
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Funny: How To Get Over A Bad Front Nine
Golf Trivia
Those who answer correctly enter a pool to win a golf shirt from Tipsy Elves
1,385 players have competed at Oakmont for a U.S. Open, what percentage of them have finished under par? |
Thing We’d Buy: U.S. Open Hat
I’ll be honest, it feels weird to buy a hat from an event you didn’t attend, but we’ve reviewed all of the hats for this years tournament and there’s really only two good styles.
This is the best of the two.
That’s A Wrap…
Before you go: just a few questions for ya.
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Until next week,
Caddyshanks team.
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