Maginnes: Many Oakmont champs share similarities

Jack Nicklaus, Johnny Miller and Ernie Els all earned their first major titles at Oakmont as young men. Now, John Maginnes wonders, can Aaron Baddeley, Paul Casey or another youngster take a first step toward major immortality?

By John Maginnes, PGATOUR.com Contributor

OAKMONT, Pa. -- In the modern era of golf, no other venue has defined more careers than Oakmont Country Club. No other course has generated so much drama and heartbreak.

Quantifying difficulty is an inexact science. It has been argued that Oakmont is the toughest U.S. Open test, but we tend to say that every year. Winged Foot can certainly make its case, too. Each U.S. Open venue is unique, though. The confounding greens at Oakmont with their repellent slopes are unlike any the players ever see.

While those arguments are compelling, they only tell part of the story. On Sunday, Oakmont will crown its eighth national champion. Three of the previous four champions share some eerie similarities. Jack Nicklaus, Johnny Miller and Ernie Els are all multiple major champions who earned their first here at Oakmont. The fourth, Larry Nelson, won the PGA Championship two years prior to his 1983 U.S. Open victory.

Jack and Ernie both went on to add the Open Championship at Muirfield to their impressive legacies. Johnny Miller also won the British Open, three years after his miraculous final round in the 1973 U.S. Open at Oakmont.

No conversation about Oakmont is complete without the inclusion of the man who embodies the spirit and work ethic of western Pennsylvania. No other major championship course is so closely linked with a champion as Oakmont is with Arnold Palmer. Although he never won here, he was an integral part of two of those championships and a major story in another.

In 1963, Jack Nicklaus broke the hearts of all of Pennsylvania when he defeated Palmer, its hero, in an 18-hole playoff and captured the first of his 18 majors.

Eleven years later, Johnny Miller was paired with Arnie in the first two rounds. Arnie was a factor all week but that has been forgotten. He was once again upstaged in his own back yard, this time by the greatest round in U.S. Open history. Johnny's 63 remains the lowest final round in major championship history.

Arnie played his final U.S. Open at Oakmont in 1994, when a young South African announced his presence on golf's largest stage. Like the 1962 Open, 72 holes were not enough. Colin Montgomerie and Loren Roberts joined Ernie Els in a playoff on Monday and even those 18 didn't produce a champion. Tied after 74s, Ernie and Loren needed two more holes before the South African earned his first U.S. Open title.

Tiger Woods has changed historical trends throughout his career. He has broken the spirits of some of the best players in the world while breaking the records of history's greatest players. He will have to dash the hopes of younger men on Sunday if he is to earn his 13th major.

Jack, Johnny and Ernie were all lads in their 20s when they won here. Perhaps Oakmont can only be tamed by the young and courageous. The twentysomething set has certainly put themselves in position. Aaron Baddeley, Justin Rose, Bubba Watson and Paul Casey are young bucks looking to etch their names in history.

If history tells us anything, it's that if one of those kids finds his way home in this U.S. Open, he will undoubtedly prevail again. Jack, Johnny and Larry are all in the World Golf Hall of Fame. Ernie will certainly be enshrined there some day.

Oakmont creates true champions. It has done that for nearly a century dating back to 1927 when the Silver Scot, Tommy Armour, won the first U.S. Open played at Oakmont. And oh, by the way, that was his first major championship, too.