12th hole at Oakmont makes U.S. Open history

History was made on the first day of the 116th U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club. The 12th hole became the longest hole in the tournament’s history.

The 684-yard par 5 No. 12 bested the previous record by 13 yards. The longest hole had been No. 16 at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, also a par 5 that played 671 yards in 2012.

The distance was difficult on the players, but No. 12 was far from the most difficult hole of the day. That distinction went to No. 9, the 477-yard par 4 that yielded 22 bogeys and only two birdies on the day.

But No. 12 was challenging in many ways. Most par 5s are scoring opportunities, but no golfer had an eagle in the rain-shortened opening round and there were only five birdies. Not surprising, some of those came from players atop the leader board.

Lee Westwood, who is tied for fourth place, had one of them. So did Daniel Berger and Matthew Fitzpatrick, who are tied for eighth.

The wet conditions threw a curveball toward the players, who had played practice rounds in previous days under dry conditions. The par 5s on Thursday played even longer with softer fairways.

“Completely different golf course than we played in the practice round,” defending U.S. Open champion Jordan Spieth said. “I mean, night and day.”

Gerry Dulac looks back on a rain-soaked first day at Oakmont. (Video by Matt Freed)

Fitzpatrick’s approach shot on No. 12 rolled within four feet of the hole, and he easily tapped in for his birdie. Under dry conditions his approach might have rolled off the green, or at the very least well past the hole.

“It’s a completely different golf course,” Fitzpatrick said.

Twenty golfers bogeyed the hole. Only three other holes produced more bogeys in the opening round.

Scotland’s Russell Knox was one of the 20 players who ran into problems at No. 12. It was one of two bogeys in the round for him, and he finished the day in a tie for eighth place.

Danny Lee, who is in a tie for second at 2 under, had par on the hole, which was seen as a victory on this day.

“It definitely got softer,” Lee said. “I was actually surprised how soft it was playing out there. The ball was actually spinning back, and I would never imagine that was going to happen.”

Kevin Streelman, who is tied for fourth place at 1 under, said plenty of players will be making new game plans this morning before teeing off.

“It changes your preparation. That’s the hardest part,” Streelman said of the wet conditions. “You’ve got to be prepared for it. I don’t think it’s necessarily easier or harder. It’s just different. So it’s going to take someone who is a chameleon to be able to adjust and there’s going to be some birdies to be made, but the trouble is still out there.”

The birdies weren’t made on No. 12 Thursday, and there was plenty of trouble. How the players handle the longer holes today while the course is still wet should help determine who is in contention come the weekend.

Ray Fittipaldo: rfittipaldo@post-gazette.com and Twitter rayfitt1.