The 125th US Open golf tournament starts Thursday, and there are a handful of former Georgia Bulldogs in the field.
Billed as the most meritocratic golf tournament in the world, the 156 man field has very few exemptions and players for the most part earned their way based on recent play. That can be from current rankings, winning something lately, or advancing through the qualifying process (which can include several stages based on your status).
The locale is Oakmont, famous for being the home of Arnold Palmer. An old school test from the earliest days of the 20th century, it has withstood the test of time and is now a US Open “anchor site” – meaning the US Open returns every 7-8 years for the foreseeable future (along with Pinehurst and Pebble Beach).
Of the 9 previous US Opens held at Oakmont, the lowest score to par is only 5 under. 3 of the winners finished over par, including Angel Cabrera at +5 as recently as 2007. The greens are lightning fast, probably rolling over 14 on the stimp meter (that’s Augusta or faster for reference), and the rough will mostly dictate a “hack it out” strategy.
It is home to 168 bunkers (divide that by 18 holes and you get an idea). The most famous of which are the “church pews” between the 3rd and 4th holes, and a smaller set on the 15th. If you find your ball in these church pews, you should probably take a few moments of reflection and prayer.
Oakmont has a mix of short and long par 4s, but the short ones have tiny greens and narrow fairways. What always gets me, and you’ll see this on the coverage a lot, is the par three 8th hole. It measures 289 yards, and will likely be over 300 yards at least one day of the tourney thanks to tees used and pin placements. There is a chance it will be longer than the 17th hole, which is a short par 4. It is jokingly referred to as the only hole where you can hold both a long drive and closest-to-the-pin contest.
2025 will probably be Phil Mickelson’s last US Open. He doesn’t have past champion status like he does at the 3 other majors, and his exemption from the 2019 PGA Championship expires this year. Famous for six 2nd place finishes at this major, he will be turning 55 years old on Monday and his play on the LIV Tour the last few years shows it.
Can Rory bounce back from a horrid Canadian Open start last week? It doesn’t look like skipping the Memorial was the right call (and apparently did not inform host Jack Nicklaus beforehand).
Will Bryson DeChambeau repeat his heroics from 2024 at Pinehurst? You could say McIlroy handed it to him with 2 very short missed putts on the last 3 holes, so pick your narrative. Yet there is no doubt Bryson is showing up for the majors.
Scottie Scheffler is riding an early 2000’s Tiger-like wave of success with 16 wins and 3 majors by the age of 28. His last 40 months of professional golf is truly comparable to the 2 or 3 best stretches by anyone ever.
You’ve got your Xanders, your Brooks’, your Morikawas and Abergs. But you’re visiting Dawg Sports, so let’s skip all that crap and focus on the ones we know you’re really rooting for.
Will Chandler is making his first Open appearance, thanks to great play at the Atlanta qualifying tournament.
Harris English gets in thanks to a top 60 world ranking. He’s played 10 Opens before and has actually made the cut every time. Plus 3 top 10 finishes the last 5 years (2020-4th, 2021-3rd, 2023-8th).
Brian Harman has not only played in 7 of the last 8 US Opens, but also made the cut in each and never worse than 41st. Weirdly, he finished 2nd in 2017 at the super long Erin Hills. Harman is playing thanks to top 60 ranking and an exemption from the 2023 Open Championship win.
Russell Henley also played well at Pinehurst last year with a 7th place finish. He qualified this year thanks to that and the top 60 ranking. It was just a few weeks after Pinehurst 2024 that his father, Dr. Chapin Henley, passed away (personal note: my father really enjoyed their Rotary Club lunches with Dr. Henley).
Though Chris Kirk is now the oldest of the former Bulldogs on the PGA Tour, he’s had mixed results at this major championship. He’s only qualified 7 previous times, has missed the cut 3 times, and doesn’t have a top 25 finish. Probably not the best pick on FanDuel this week.
A name you might not be familiar with is Trent Phillips, though he was a 4-time All-American playing golf for Coach Chris Haack in Athens. He’s been on the mini-tours of late, but he played in the Open qualifier at Duke (Durham, NC) last week and snagged one of the 7 available spots. This will be a major debut for Phillips, and he might have his brother and fellow Bulldog golfer Trevor as caddie.
Sepp Straka is a top 10 player in the world, has won twice in 2025, and qualifies for the US Open by several means. Straka has only appeared in 4 other Opens, missing the cut twice and forgettable finishes the other 2 times. But he’s in better form this season, and watch out if he can find fairways. If not, he’s already earned over $9 million this season to fall back on.
Davis Thompson missed the cut in his first two US Open appearances, but he tied for 9th at the difficult Pinehurst test last June. Thompson’s 2025 season has been mostly average, yet with bright spots making the cut at the Masters and a top 10 at the Players.
That’s 8 players you can get behind. The extremely tough USGA setup might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I personally like seeing the carnage every now and again. And Oakmont is just the type of course to provide it.
An early happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there, I hope you get to spend time with those you care about, and as always…
GO ‘DAWGS!!!