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00:00The toughest test in golf, the third major championship of the year,
00:05the 125th United States Open.
00:08This week, outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
00:11that's where we find Keith Stewart on this Wednesday morning,
00:14on the eve of the 2025 U.S. Open,
00:18live right there inside the media center at Oakmont Country Club.
00:23Keith, we appreciate your time.
00:24Thank you for joining us bright and early on this Wednesday,
00:28the final day of preparations ahead of the United States Open.
00:32Ben, Donnie, it's great to be with you in the audience.
00:35Welcome out to Soakmont.
00:37That's right.
00:38It's been a little wet out here.
00:40The weather's been beautiful yesterday, today,
00:42but we're going to get a little more rain over the weekend.
00:44It's going to be interesting how this all plays out.
00:47I saw a lot of very gnarly-looking, very dark gray clouds early on this Wednesday.
00:53We saw Rory McIlroy out on the course for his final practice round
00:57as the sun was rising in the Steel City to get those final preparations.
01:03We'll talk about the Masters winner, who is struggling in just a matter of moments.
01:08But, Keith, let's start with the actual golf course.
01:10Let's start with the conditions at Oakmont.
01:13The USGA takes a great amount of pride in making the U.S. Open the toughest test in golf.
01:20We have seen the length of the rough.
01:22We have seen golf liners drop a golf ball in the rough and see it disappear.
01:27We have heard from the players themselves.
01:30Call Oakmont right now.
01:31More than likely, the hardest golf course in the world.
01:36Just how difficult of a test will Oakmont provide at the 2025 United States Open?
01:41As difficult as it's going to get.
01:44I mean, this is a perfect marriage between the USGA and the Oakmont membership
01:48because they both just love carnage.
01:51And that's why we've come here for the 10th time.
01:54There have been nine previous U.S. Opens here.
01:56Over 1,300 participants overall have played in a national championship here.
02:01And less than 2% have ever finished the tournament under par.
02:05The place just absolutely annihilates people.
02:08It's a par 70, 7,300-yard track that's got 168 bunkers.
02:13I mean, as if 167 weren't enough.
02:17They're probably adding one right now.
02:18The rough, it is so severe.
02:20I mean, if it was three inches long, it's so dense and thick.
02:23I mean, these guys out here in Pittsburgh, we know this in New York,
02:26we've had a ton of rain this past May.
02:28They've had 13 inches of rain in the last 10 weeks here.
02:32The place is, I joked in the opening, it's Sokmont.
02:35It is absolutely so wet in this long grass and everything.
02:39It's thick.
02:39It's dense.
02:40It's, and the playing surfaces are absolutely perfect.
02:44The fairways, the greens, and the greens themselves,
02:47the average green size is over 8,500 square feet.
02:50There's so many little tests to this place.
02:53Over the course of 18 holes, over 72 holes,
02:56just to shoot even par will probably make you the national champion.
02:59It'll be so much fun to watch because it's such a difference of, okay,
03:0313, 14, 15, 20 under wins a golf tournament.
03:06Now you might be looking at par wins a golf tournament.
03:09Let me ask you this question before you get to your keys and who can win this
03:11thing.
03:12Is there an option of like a good player, Keith,
03:14in your mind that can't win this thing just based on mindset and how this
03:17course sets up?
03:19Well, you mentioned his name earlier.
03:21It seems like Rory's been checked out since the pastors.
03:23He wins the career grand slam.
03:25I mean, the things that he was saying, you know,
03:28all these guys work with sports psychologists,
03:30the things that he was saying in the press room the other day were the exact
03:33polar opposite of,
03:35of what everyone else is saying as they self-talk and they try to build
03:38themselves up and get ready for this challenge.
03:40And Rory's like, well, you know, I think we'll figure out the driver.
03:43I think we'll do this.
03:43Like there's no thinking about this place.
03:45I mean, it is as hard as hard can be.
03:49Every single shot is tested.
03:51And as we break into the keys,
03:52the first thing that you need to know if for this week is that it's a
03:56first shot golf course.
03:57We hear this all the time.
03:58Like Augusta's a second shot golf course, blah, blah, blah.
04:01Oakmont is a first shot golf course.
04:02If you don't get the ball in play off the tee,
04:05you are dead because from there you are reeling for every single shot,
04:09finishing that one hole.
04:10And then you've got 17 more holes to play.
04:13So if you're not getting the driver in play and we've seen his struggles in
04:16Canada and at Quail Hollow, I mean,
04:18he's got to figure that out.
04:19And I just don't see how he magically does that between now and tomorrow.
04:23It's just not going to happen.
04:24The second key is that these greens are at there.
04:27They're humongous.
04:28They're like St. Andrews.
04:29It's like nothing you see over here in the States.
04:32They have all sorts of bumps and swales and plateaus.
04:34And in the recent renovation done by Gilhantz,
04:37they added 24,000 square feet of green space over 18 holes.
04:42You're going to see a hundred foot putts this week.
04:43You're going to see gravity take over for golf balls.
04:46If you cannot lag putt here, you've got no shot.
04:48And the third key is that if there was a theme song for this place,
04:52it'd be enter Sandman.
04:53I mean, cue the Metallica.
04:54Forget the Hokies.
04:55Forget Mariano.
04:56They have 168 bunkers here.
04:58You're going to run into trouble at some point.
05:00The church pews, the famous ones, it's 110 yards long and 40 yards wide.
05:04I mean, like if you can't play from the sand,
05:06if you don't have any around the green acumen, you are going to be toast.
05:09So, Keith, let's talk about some golfers that can win the United States Open.
05:15And, of course, when you go to the top of the odds board,
05:17you see a very familiar name, that being Scotty Scheffler,
05:20who has three wins in his previous four starts.
05:24And then the reigning U.S. Open champion in Bryson DeChambeau,
05:29who took home the major eight years ago at Pinehurst in North Carolina.
05:33Plus 280 on Scotty.
05:35That's where we always begin, Keith.
05:37Each and every week, it's the same story on Scheffler.
05:40If he is in the field, if he is playing the event,
05:43it is a drastically short number.
05:46What is your outlook for world number one this week at Oakmont?
05:50I mean, for Scotty, this is the perfect spot for him.
05:54Because, you know, we start these weeks and the handicappers always say,
05:57well, is it more of a power week or an accuracy week?
06:00And when you say both, well, then you say, well, geez,
06:02that really suits Scheffler.
06:03Over his last five starts, he's gaining over 14 strokes on average against the field.
06:0814 strokes.
06:09That's three and a half a round.
06:10I mean, how do you keep up?
06:11You can't.
06:12So when it comes to betting him, I'm going to have a lot of fun with it.
06:15I'm going to play props like low USA, low North American, you know,
06:19round three leader.
06:20And then I'm going to wait on the outright number until Sunday
06:23because there's a good chance he'll be probably even money come Sunday.
06:26And then you'd bet him with 18 holes to go, not 72.
06:29And as far as, you know, Bryson goes, I think it's really tough to defend here.
06:35He's won nine times in his career and he's never defended.
06:38So for me, Bryson, I mean, he's certainly a threat, but Scott, he's still the favorite.
06:43So, Keith, if I were to ask you quickly here, a number on the FanDuel Sportsbook,
06:48you mentioned the props, 278 and a half over under for the winning score at Oakmont this week
06:54for the U.S. Open champ, you going under or over?
06:59I'm going to go over that number, under that number.
07:03I'm going to, there's going to be more under par than they think.
07:06It's going to be soft and there's going to be better scoring.
07:09Under 278 and a half would be 278 at bare minimum.
07:13That would be two under for the entirety of the event.
07:16Keith, we appreciate the time.
07:18More on the early line next.