Regarded as one of the best players off the tee and currently ranking second on tour in driving accuracy percentage this season, Collin Morikawa seemed bewildered while standing on the tee of the 289 yard par 3 at Oakmont Country Club, as he prepared to take on the colossal hole with his driver.
The eight hole at Oakmont is one of the longest par 3s in the world and is certainly going to be a fierce test for the players teeing it up at the 125th edition of the US Open this week.
Entrenched with bunkers at the front of a downward sloping green, it would be of no surprise see many players recording big numbers at the troublesome hole when play gets underway on Thursday.
Partnered with Xander Schauffele in a practice round, Morikawa was heard saying in a DP World Tour clip: "I mean this just seems ridiculous", while holding driver on the eight tee.
Schauffele humorously replies stating to his partner: "You don't look very comfortable."
If Morikawa wasn't comfortable, then who will be this week?
The American isn't the only one to hit driver on the par 3 in a practice round before the tournament begins. Texas Children's Houston Open winner and heavily regarded as one of the longest hitters on tour, Min Woo Lee, jokingly posted on X about Oakmont getting the par wrong on the famous eight hole.
Hey @USGA, someone put a 3 instead of a 4. Driver Pin High 😂 #USOPEN2025 pic.twitter.com/meBoHVcnYLJune 9, 2025
Michael Kim also posted on X regarding the difficulty of the hole and said that he “hit driver into par 3 8th, no one in my group ever thought about 3wd. It was decently into the wind today.”
While it's a beastly hole for a par 3, Xander Schauffele says he will be playing it just to try and make the best score in whatever way possible - even if pulling driver will 'hurt a few egos.'
"It's just a golf hole. If you can peel a par away from it, you just figure out how best to make a score on it," Schauffele said.
"I think you might hurt a few egos if you see guys pulling driver or some long clubs in there, but at the end of the day, however you feel you're going to make the best score in there is how you should play it.
"Whether it's laying up with an iron out to the right and trying to wedge it close or being aggressive with the driver, however you feel like you can make a good score is how you should play the hole."
