How old are Oakmont's iconic Church Pews? Origin of the unique bunker explored

The 2025 U.S. Open venue, Oakmont Country Club’s iconic century-old Church Pews were placed as individual bunkers in 1903 when it opened in the Pennsylvania borough. Between the 1927 and 1935 U.S. Open, they were converted into pews.

Before the 1962 Major, the clubhouse added another pew, totaling seven. Between the 1994 and 2007 U.S. Open, it added four more, and the 2025 edition will have 13 after architect Gilbert Hanse's renovation. They are located between the third and fourth fairways. The bunker is 109 yards long and 42 yards wide.

The field this year is headlined by Bryson DeChambeau, who triumphed by a shot over Rory McIlroy last year. It will also have Wyndham Clark, Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth, and Dustin Johnson.

Who is playing at the U.S. Open in Oakmont?

Here is the 2025 U.S. Open field:

Bryson DeChambeau
Wyndham Clark
Matt Fitzpatrick
Jon Rahm
Gary Woodland
Brooks Koepka
Dustin Johnson
Jordan Spieth
Rory McIlroy
Patrick Cantlay
Tony Finau
Matthieu Pavon
Hideki Matsuyama
Russell Henley
Xander Schauffele
Sam Burns
Corey Conners
Davis Thompson
Richard Bland
Jose Luis Ballester (a)
Noah Kent (a)
Trevor Gutschewski (a)
Evan Beck
Scottie Scheffler
Justin Thomas
Phil Mickelson
Brian Harman
Cameron Smith
Collin Morikawa
Sahith Theegala
Adam Scott
Sungjae Im
Shane Lowry
Viktor Hovland
Taylor Pendrith
Ludvig Åberg
Robert MacIntyre
Tommy Fleetwood
Keegan Bradley
Byeong Hun An
Aaron Rai
Akshay Bhatia
Chris Kirk
Sepp Straka
Christiaan Bezuidenhout
Tom Hoge
Matt McCarty
Maverick McNealy
Harris English
Justin Rose
Tyrrell Hatton
Daniel Berger
J.J. Spaun
Min Woo Lee
Thomas Detry
Jason Day
J.T. Poston
Andrew Novak
Lucas Glover
Denny McCarthy
Nick Taylor
Stephan Jaeger
Tom Kim
Max Greyserman
Mackenzie Hughes
Jhonattan Vegas
Nico Echavarria
Ben Griffin
Davis Riley
Michael Kim
Patrick Reed
Nick Dunlap
Si Woo Kim
Joe Highsmith
Jacob Bridgeman
Ryan Gerard
Sam Stevens
Brian Campbell
Cam Davis
Rasmus Højgaard
Thriston Lawrence
Laurie Canter
Joaquin Niemann
Michael La Sasso (a)
Justin Hastings (a)
Yuta Sugiura
Scott Vincent
Jinichiro Kozuma
Jordan Smith
Joakim Lagergren
Guido Migliozzi
Frederic LaCroix
Sam Bairstow
Edoardo Molinari
James Kruyswijk
Andrea Pavan
Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen
James Hahn
Adam Schenk
Lance Simpson (a)
Cameron Tankersley (a)
Carlos Ortiz
Johnny Keefer
Erik van Rooyen
Bud Cauley
Lanto Griffin
Justin Lower
Cameron Young
Zac Blair
Chris Gotterup
Roberto Diaz
Ben James (a)
Kevin Velo
Niklas Norgaard
Matt Wallace
Thorbjorn Olesen
Mark Hubbard
Victor Perez
Emiliano Grillo
Ryan McCormick
Trevor Cone
Bryan Lee
Marc Leishman
Zach Bauchou
Alistair Docherty
Chandler Blanchet
Alvaro Ortiz
Emilio Gonzalez
Trent Phillips
Tyler Weaver (a)
Jackson Koivun (a)
Will Chandler
Preston Summerhays (a)
Justin Hicks
Harrison Ott
Grant Haefner
George Duangmanee
Max Moldovan
James Nicholas
George Kneiser
Mason Howell (a)
Jackson Buchanan
Matt Vogt (a)
Brady Calkins
Riley Lewis
Zachery Pollo (a)
Joey Herrera
Philip Barbaree Jr.
Frankie Harris (a)
Austen Truslow

About the author

Suchita Chakraborty is a senior golf writer at Sportskeeda. She did her post-graduation at St. Xavier's University. For a year now, she has developed a riveting inclination toward golf, with Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy being her top-tier motivational figures to indulge in the sport. She even lives by the words of the Hall of Famer, "You can always become better", which impels her to excel every day. Her strong suit in golf is covering the LPGA Tour, especially the nooks and crannies of the international event, the Solheim Cup. As a pastime amusement, Suchita also engages herself in reading about golf controversies. Her favorite pick is ‘LIV and Let Die’ by Alan Shipnuck, which covers the PGA-LIV beef.

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Edited by Aayush Kapoor