Blame Miller for U.S. Open becoming most brutal test

After Johnny Miller won the 1973 U.S. Open at Oakmont with a final-round 63, the U.S. Golf Association toughened up its venues. In the years since, the U.S. Open has been transformed into a daunting, draining, unrelenting challenge.

OAKMONT, Pa. (PA) -- Everybody can blame Johnny Miller, really. It is all his fault that the U.S. Open has become golf's most brutal test.

When the 1973 event was staged at Oakmont -- its venue again this year -- nobody had ever scored 63 in any of the major championships. After a third-round 76 that left him six off the lead, Miller had no reason to think he would be the first.

But not only did he achieve the magic figure on Sunday, it swept him to his maiden major win and the U.S. Golf Association instantly gave the impression they were not going to let such a thing happen again.

The following year at Winged Foot, the winning score was 7 over par. Everyone got the message: You take a course apart, we'll make it harder for you to do it again.

The USGA has stood accused of overstepping the mark at times, most notably in recent years at the Olympic Club in 1998, Bethpage in 2002 and Shinnecock Hills in 2004. But the U.S. Open is what it is -- a daunting, draining, unrelenting challenge.

While there have been 21 more 63s in majors (still no 62s), just three of them have come in the U.S. Open and none of those three has matched Miller's performance. Jack Nicklaus and Tom Weiskopf (Baltusrol 1980) and Vijay Singh (Olympia Fields 2003) were playing on par 70s, while Oakmont played to a par of 71 for Miller.

Oakmont has played host twice more since Miller's feat. In 1983, Larry Nelson played the last 36 holes in what remains a record 10 under but still finished only 4 under, while in 1994 Ernie Els, Colin Montgomerie and Loren Roberts tied on 5 under before Els, just 24 at the time, eventually won a playoff in which he and Roberts shot 74 and Montgomerie a sad 78.

Now the world's greatest players return for the course's eighth staging of the championship -- itself a record -- and with the par-3 eighth stretched 39 yards to a massive 288 yards, the 12th to a monster 667 yards -- two more records -- and the club's usual lightning-fast greens, this will be no picnic yet again.

And it has been reduced to a par 70, with the ninth turned from a par 5 to a 477-yard par 4.

Oakmont was once considered the all-time penal test, with William Fownes, designer of the layout with his father Henry, saying: "Let the clumsy, the spineless, the alibi artist stand aside."

Around 5,000 trees have been taken out to restore the course to its original state and Mike Davis, the USGA's senior director of rules and competitions, states: "This really is the gold standard for championship golf. It doesn't get any better than Oakmont. This is just fantastic."

In among the fearsome holes are three par 4s -- the second, 14th and 17th -- which Davis intends to make drivable at times during the week. But do not mistake that for making them easy.

Oakmont has produced great champions, though. Gene Sarazen, Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, Nicklaus, Miller, Nelson and Els are all multi-major winners and have all tasted success at Oakmont. Nicklaus beat Arnold Palmer in a playoff for the first of his record 18 majors there in 1962.

Now Tiger Woods comes looking for his 13th, Els, Singh and Phil Mickelson for their fourth -- and Zach Johnson, of course, for the second leg of the Grand Slam.

The large European contingent is again hoping that one of them will end the barren spell in the majors dating back to Paul Lawrie's 1999 Open Championship triumph.

Last year, Kenneth Ferrie jointly led with Mickelson with a round to go, demonstrating that it is not only the leading lights who are capable of catching light. Then Padraig Harrington had a chance to win, but bogeyed the last three holes. And then Colin Montgomerie made a complete mess of the last after moving into contention for a first major at the age of 42.

An amazing afternoon was complete when Mickelson, heading for a third successive major, finished with a double bogey 6 as well, leaving Australian Geoff Ogilvy as the surprise winner.

And his winning score? Five over. Yes, Winged Foot played tough. As will Oakmont.

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