WATCH: Justin Thomas, Bryson DeChambeau, and others predict what an 18-handicap would shoot at Oakmont ahead of US Open 2025

The 2025 US Open is just around the corner, and some of the best golfers in the world are at Oakmont Country Club, gearing up to tee off in the event. Ahead of the tournament, several golfers took turns guessing how an 18-handicap player would perform against the rough conditions at Oakmont.

Established in 1895, the US Open is the third of the four major championships in a year. Last year, American golfer Bryson DeChambeau won the tournament with a 6-under 274 score, beating Rory McIlroy by one stroke.

When asked to predict what an 18-handicap would score at Oakmont, defending champion DeChambeau stated that they would probably shoot a 100 on the front nine alone. On the other hand, 16-time PGA Tour winner and two-time major champ Justin Thomas replied by saying:

“If they finish? It’s got to be 110-120.”

Watch the video here:

Three-time European Tour winner Min Woo Lee agreed with Thomas, saying that an 18-handicap would score 120 if they were to play in the US Open at Oakmont. He said:

“I mean, the greens are so slick. And slopey. And the rough is… I mean, we can barely get out of the rough, so… I don’t think an 18-handicap would be able to get out of the rough… I don’t know if that’s ridiculous or generous. Hopefull,y someone can experiment and average it out for us, but it’s a lot.”

Jason Day’s guess was 150. He pointed out that an 18-handicap would definitely struggle because the rough is brutal and due to their inexperience, they won’t have “the greatest control off the tee box.” Meanwhile, other golfers predicted that a golfer with such experience would not even get to finish their round, given the nature of the course.

Notably, the US Open’s first round will kick off on Thursday, June 12. The field will feature 156 players competing in 72 holes of stroke play.

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Featured groups for the 2025 US Open, Round 1

Here’s a look at the tee times and groupings for the first round of the US Open (via PGA Tour):

1st hole

• 6:45 a.m. - Matt Vogt (a), Kevin Velo, Trent Phillips
• 6:56 a.m. - Chandler Blanchet, Alvaro Ortiz, Doug Ghim
• 7:07 a.m. - Evan Beck (a), Maxwell Moldovan, Justin Hicks
• 7:18 a.m. - Harris English, Tommy Fleetwood, Keegan Bradley
• 7:29 a.m. - Xander Schauffele, Jose Luis Ballester, Bryson DeChambeau
• 7:40 a.m. - Matt Fitzpatrick, Wyndham Clark, Gary Woodland
• 7:51 a.m. - Akshay Bhatia, Matt McCarty, Robert MacIntyre
• 8:02 a.m. - Cam Davis, Davis Thompson, Thomas Detry
• 8:13 a.m. - Richard Bland, Trevor Gutschewski (a), Lanto Griffin
• 8:24 a.m. - Edoardo Molinari, Sam Stevens, Ryan Gerard
• 8:35 a.m. - Thriston Lawrence, Noah Kent (a), Thorbjørn Olesen
• 8:46 a.m. - Jinichiro Kozuma, Cameron Tankersley (a), Chase Johnson
• 8:57 a.m. - Philip Barbaree Jr., Riley Lewis, Brady Calkins
• 12:30 p.m. - Frederic Lacroix, Emiliano Grillo, Sam Bairstow
• 12:41 p.m. - Byeong Hun An, Joe Highsmith, Ryan Fox
• 12:52 p.m. - Victor Perez, Jacob Bridgeman, Adam Schenk
• 1:03 p.m. - Min Woo Lee, Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka
• 1:14 p.m. - Sam Burns, Nico Echavarria, Denny McCarthy
• 1:25 p.m. - Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler
• 1:36 p.m. - Corey Conners, Jason Day, Patrick Reed
• 1:47 p.m. - Joaquin Niemann, Bud Cauley, Daniel Berger
• 1:58 p.m. - Mackenzie Hughes, Tony Finau, Chris Kirk
• 2:09 p.m. - Benjamin James (a), Rasmus Højgaard, Stephan Jaeger
• 2:20 p.m. - Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Justin Hastings (a), Laurie Canter
• 2:31 p.m. - Frankie Harris (a), Emilio Gonzalez, Roberto Díaz
• 2:42 p.m. - Grant Haefner, Joey Herrera, George Kneiser

10th hole

• 6:45 a.m. - Zac Blair, Scott Vincent, Alistair Docherty
• 6:56 a.m. - Jacques Kruyswijk, Jordan Smith, Eric Cole
• 7:07 a.m. - Tom Kim, JJ Spaun, Taylor Pendrith
• 7:18 a.m. - Ludvig Åberg, Adam Scott, Hideki Matsuyama
• 7:29 a.m. - Ben Griffin, Andrew Novak, Maverick McNealy.
• 7:40 a.m. - Shane Lowry, Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy
• 7:51 a.m. - Patrick Cantlay, Si Woo Kim, Lucas Glover
• 8:02 a.m. - Cameron Smith, Brian Harman, Phil Mickelson
• 8:13 a.m. - Niklas Norgaard, Brian Campbell, Justin Lower
• 8:24 a.m. - Davis Riley, Jackson Koivun (a), Johnny Keefer
• 8:35 a.m. - James Hahn, Mark Hubbard, Michael La Sasso (a)
• 8:46 a.m. - Joakim Lagergren, Mason Howell (a), Chris Gotterup
• 8:57 a.m. - Zach Bauchou, Jackson Buchanan, Lance Simpson (a)
• 12:30 p.m. - Will Chandler, Andrea Pavan, Takumi Kanaya
• 12:41 p.m. - Bryan Lee (a), Guido Migliozzi, Preston Summerhays
• 12:52 p.m. - Erik van Rooyen, Max Greyserman, Matt Wallace
• 1:03 p.m. - Russell Henley, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Nick Taylor
• 1:14 p.m. - Jordan Spieth, Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson.
• 1:25 p.m. - Tyrrell Hatton, Sungjae Im, Sepp Straka
• 1:36 p.m. - Cameron Young, Tom Hoge, J.T. Poston
• 1:47 p.m. - Jhonattan Vegas, Michael Kim, Matthieu Pavon
• 1:58 p.m. - Marc Leishman, Aaron Rai, Nick Dunlap
• 2:09 p.m. - Matthew Jordan, Yuta Sugiura, Carlos Ortiz
• 2:20 p.m. - Ryan McCormick, Trevor Cone, Zach Pollo (a)
• 2:31 p.m. - James Nicholas, Tyler Weaver (a), Riki Kawamoto
• 2:42 p.m. - Austen Truslow, Harrison Ott, George Duangmanee