News
2025 U.S. Open Golf: Countdown to Oakmont Intensifies with Local Qualifying
The greater Pittsburgh area has waited nearly nine years for the men’s U.S. Open to return to Oakmont Country Club, so what’s another seven weeks?
Rory McIlroy’s historic win at the Masters gave major season an incredible jumpstart, with that electricity sure to build in the coming 50 days as we work our way toward the 10th Oakmont Open.
The feeling when the U.S. Open is only 50 days away.
Not long now…. pic.twitter.com/9gfEWj8XZM
— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) April 23, 2025
While men’s pro golf remains in a fractured place with no end in sight, the four weeks of the year that feature all of the top players continue to hold massive significance.
That’s why we at Pittsburgh Golf Now will feature extensive coverage of the run-up to the U.S. Open, including the upcoming media day early next month courtesy of our own Zac Weiss and Mike Darnay.
Generally speaking, we’ll aim to hit all the relevant regional angles, which includes a pair of upcoming 18-hole local qualifiers within reasonable driving distance of Pittsburgh. Of the 154 slots in the Open, just over half will come from the qualifying system, which consists of local and final qualifying tournaments.
On Tuesday, May 6, the Pines Country Club in Morgantown, West Virginia, hosts a local qualifying tournament, with Midway’s own Quicksilver Golf Club following suit the next Tuesday, May 13. Four spots will be up for grabs at the Pines; five will be available at Quicksilver.
(Ironic that Quicksilver has taken the ‘church pews’ out of its 18th-hole fairway bunker just before serving as a stop on the road to the most famous ‘pews’ in the golf world. (EDIT: PGN has learned the club is merely reconstructing the pews, not removing them. I regret the error.)
The final 36-hole qualifiers begin shortly thereafter, with 10 locations in the United States. The closest of those to Pittsburgh will be in Columbus, Ohio, with the Kinsdale Golf & Fitness Club sharing hosting duties with the Lakes Golf & Country Club on Monday, June 2.
Among the notable hopefuls for our interests include James Piot, who won the 2021 U.S. Amateur at Oakmont, a tournament we at PGN covered stem to stern. Coraopolis native and current New York Rangers forward J.T. Miller is also entered in a local qualifier, as are two of Arnold Palmer’s grandsons, Sam Saunders and Will Wears. Recent Korn Ferry Tour winner Neal Shipley of Mt. Lebanon is exempt into final qualifying.
The USGA reports it received a record 10,202 entries for qualifying this year; players must have had an 0.4 handicap index in order to be eligible, or be a professional golfer.
The last time a qualifier won the U.S. Open was in 2009, when Lucas Glover prevailed at a soggy Bethpage Black on Long Island — although he was exempt into the final qualifying stage. The last time a local qualifier snagged the trophy was Orville Moody in 1969. A qualifier has never won at Oakmont in nine previous Opens.
The 125th U.S. Open will take place June 12-15.
