Oakmont's massive greens will be even bigger when the US Open returns next summer for a 10th time

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Oakmont's already massive greens will be even more daunting when the men's U.S. Open returns next summer for a record 10th time.

The club situated in the northern Pittsburgh suburbs has restored more than 24,000 square feet of green surface over the last two years as part of a renovation guided by golf course architect Gil Hanse.

Hanse initially was brought in to focus on the bunkers. During his trips to the course, he came across photographs from the 1920s and 1930s and noticed the greens used to be much larger before several factors — time and natural erosion most of all — began chipping away at them.

He talked to the club, whose membership enthusiastically agreed the renovations were a chance to make the notoriously fast greens even harder than they were when Dustin Johnson won his first major at Oakmont in 2016.

While the changes this time around won't be quite as visible as they have in the past — Oakmont has spent most of the last 30 years removing thousands of trees in hopes of returning to its wind-swept, links-style roots — the 155 players who will join defending champion Bryson DeChambeau could find pins tucked in places they've never been before during previous Open stops at the venerable course that opened in 1904.

“The greens are the No. 1 defense on the course,” grounds superintendent Mike McCormick said Monday. “Oakmont, in today’s world, it’s not a crazy long golf course. There are several holes out here the players will be hitting wedges into and it puts even more of an emphasis on (the greens).”

The course will play at 7,372 yards as a par 70 in 2025, a tick up from the 7,219 yards it played at in 2016.

One of the new pin options the expanded greens give the USGA is on the 182-yard, par-3 13th hole. Pin placement previously was limited to the left side of the green, with little wiggle room in terms of yardage. Now there are a variety of options, including a back-right pin that sits in the middle of a bowl, rewarding a good shot but almost inaccessible from other portions of the green, particularly the front right.

U.S. Open scores have trended lower of late. Only one of the last eight winners has posted a higher four-round total in relation to par than Johnson's 4-under 276, with the last six champions all finishing at 6-under or better.

Scott Langley, the USGA's senior director of player relations, thinks Oakmont remains one of the stiffest tests because it lacks the kind of shot options places like Pinehurst No. 2 (2024) or Los Angeles Country Club (2023) provide.

“You have strategic width (in those places), you can play the angles more,” Langley said. “There are spots here where you do that. But by and large, Oakmont is you hit a good shot or you don’t. And if you don’t, the penalty is pretty uniform.”

The more notable changes besides the greens are a new-look fairway on the 485-yard, par-4 seventh hole that offers players two choices: play it safe and short to the right but settle for a blind approach or aim left and try to carry a drive 320+ yards over a fairway bunker that if executed correctly lets you see the pin on your approach with a short iron.

Oakmont also rebuilt every hazard and revamped the course’s nearly 200 bunkers while updating the drainage system. The club was hit by nearly 3 inches of rain during the early rounds of the U.S. Open’s last visit, forcing the grounds crew and volunteers to get creative while bailing out the sand traps.

“The bunkers had deteriorated significantly from 2016 to 2022,” McCormick said. “There’s a lot of newer technology and ways to drain bunkers and hold sand and limit contamination. So the club had an opportunity to make sure that the performance of the playing surfaces (remained consistent).”

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

This is an overall photo of Oakmont Country Club, in Oakmont, Pa., on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

This is the Church Pew trap between the third fairway, top, and fourth fairway, bottom, at Oakmont Country Club, in Oakmont, Pa., on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

This is the tenth green at Oakmont Country Club, in Oakmont, Pa.,on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

This is the Church Pew trap between the third fairway, right, and fourth fairway, left, at Oakmont Country Club, in Oakmont, Pa., on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

This is the ninth green in front of the clubhouse at Oakmont Country Club, in Oakmont, Pa., on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

This is the eleventh green at Oakmont Country Club, in Oakmont, Pa., on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

This is the twelfth green at Oakmont Country Club, in Oakmont, Pa., on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

The thirteenth green gets mowed at Oakmont Country Club, in Oakmont, Pa., on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

This is the first green at Oakmont Country Club, in Oakmont, Pa., on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

This is the ninth green in front of the clubhouse at Oakmont Country Club, in Oakmont, Pa., on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

BALTIMORE (AP) — Mike Yastrzemski homered on the game's first pitch, Michael Conforto also hit a solo shot and the San Francisco Giants beat the sinking Baltimore Orioles 5-3 Wednesday night.

Baltimore has lost eight of 10 to fall 4 1/2 games behind the first-place Yankees in the AL East, pending New York's late matchup with Seattle. Before their current skid, the Orioles held a half-game lead.

For the second time in two nights, Yastrzemski put the Orioles in an immediate hole with a leadoff homer. On Tuesday, he did it on the second pitch. In this one, he hit Dean Kremer's initial offering into the right-field seats.

“That was pretty cool,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said. “He came in the dugout and said he had the same approach as he did last night, so I guess you stick with it, right? You don't see that often, two leadoff homers like that.”

Baltimore took a 2-1 lead in the third inning, but the Giants answered with a three-run fourth highlighted by a sequence that exemplified the Orioles' shortcomings of late. With the bases loaded and no outs, Grant McCoy hit a tapper in front of the plate. Kremer (7-10) grabbed the ball and flipped it to catcher James McCann in plenty of time for the force play — but McCann's foot was off the plate.

“That hurt,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “The catcher is wearing spikes and he's not really feeling the plate. He came out a half-inch too far.”

Casey Schmitt followed with a two-run single to put San Francisco ahead for good.

“In the big inning I didn't do a good job limiting damage,” Kremer said. “Balls got put in play and a little out of the reach of fielders. It's on me.”

Conforto hit his 17th homer leading off the sixth for a 5-2 lead. That was too much to overcome for the Orioles, who haven't scored more than five runs since Sept. 3.

Down by two in the seventh, Baltimore loaded the bases with two outs for Colton Cowser, who was retired on a flyball.

Baltimore stranded eight and went 2 for 10 with runners in scoring position.

Giants rookie Hayden Birdsong (4-5) gave up three runs and four hits over 5 2/3 innings to earn his first win in eight starts since July 27.

Ryan Walker, the fourth San Francisco reliever, worked a perfect ninth for his eighth save.

After coming to town with a four-game losing streak, the Giants are primed to sweep a team poised to reach the playoffs.

“They're fighting for a lot, and they're a real good team, too,” Melvin said. “To win the first two here, it's good.”

KIMBREL CUT

The Orioles bid farewell to struggling reliever Craig Kimbrel, designating him for assignment less than 24 hours after he gave up six runs in the ninth inning of a 10-0 loss to the Giants. The nine-time All-Star lost his job as closer in late July and had a 5.33 ERA with six blown saves.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Giants: 3B Matt Chapman was placed on the paternity list, and Schmitt was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento.

Orioles: 3B Jordan Westburg (hand) and INF Ramón Urías will begin rehab assignments with Triple-A Norfolk on Thursday.

UP NEXT

San Francisco's Logan Webb (12-10, 3.53 ERA) faces Zach Eflin (10-9, 3.55) in the series finale Thursday afternoon. Eflin is 5-2 with a 2.22 ERA since coming to Baltimore in a July trade with Tampa Bay.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB

Baltimore Orioles' Jackson Holliday (7) celebrates with Anthony Santander, left, after scoring on a groundout hit in by Cedric Mullins during the third inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Hayden Birdsong delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

San Francisco Giants' Heliot Ramos slides into home base to score in front of Baltimore Orioles catcher James McCann during the fourth inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Hayden Birdsong delivers during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Orioles' Gunnar Henderson (2) reacts after striking out on a foul tip during the third inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

San Francisco Giants' Mike Yastrzemski rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

San Francisco Giants' Michael Conforto (8) and Tyler Fitzgerald, right, celebrate after both scoring on a single hit in by Casey Schmitt during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)