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)

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Tanzania and Tunisia secured the last two available spots in the Africa Cup of Nations last 16 on Tuesday, thanks to their 1-1 draw in Group C.

It wrecked Angola's hopes of squeezing through as one of the best third-place finishers with just two points from Group B. Angola’s goal difference was better than that of Comoros, the third-place finisher in Group A.

Feisal Salum’s equalizer for Tanzania sent the Taifa Stars through. While Tanzania and Angola both finished with two points and a goal difference of minus 1, the goal scored by Salum, who is commonly known as Fei Toto, took Tanzania's tally to three — one better than Angola's two goals.

All the other group stage survivors were decided already on Monday because of Angola and Comoros’ relatively low points total. It meant teams that already had more than two points and were already assured of at least third place in their groups could be certain of reaching the last 16.

The four best third-place teams from the six groups progress, along with the top two in each. Head-to-head results are the first determining factor if two teams finish with the same amount of points in a group.

Here's a look at which teams went through from the six groups:

Host nation Morocco progressed as the winner of Group A, followed by second-place Mali with just three points from three draws. Morocco next faces a third-place finisher from Groups C, D or E on Sunday. More importantly for the Atlas Lions, they will continue their run to the final in the almost 70,000-capacity Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, which will also stage the final on Jan. 18. Mali awaits Tunisia for a showdown in Casablanca on Saturday.

Seven-time champion Egypt won Group B to advance with South Africa in second, ahead of Angola. Egypt stays in Agadir and next faces a third-place finisher from Groups A, C or D on Jan. 5. South Africa faces a likely tough game against the runner-up in Group F on Sunday.

Nigeria was already sure of topping Group C before its 3-1 win over Uganda on Tuesday. The Super Eagles will remain in Fez for their first knockout game against a third-place finisher from Groups A, B or F on Jan. 5. Tunisia faces Mali in the last 16, and Tanzania progressed as the fourth-best third-place finisher.

In Group D, which had its final games later Tuesday, 2021 winner Senegal, Congo and Benin were all sure of progressing as they all had three points or more, and were already certain to finish above Botswana, which lost to Senegal and Benin before its final game against Congo. Even if Botswana beat Congo, it could not finish above Benin because of their head-to-head record.

Algeria is certain to win Group E before its final group games, and Burkina Faso and Sudan are certain to advance because they cannot finish below Equatorial Guinea, which lost both games against them. Algeria will play the second-place finisher from Group D on Jan 6. in the same Rabat stadium where it has played all its games so far.

Defending champion Ivory Coast, five-time winner Cameroon, and Mozambique are assured of progress from Group F. Gabon, sure to finish last, was already eliminated before the last round of group games on Wednesday, when the order of the top three teams will be decided. Ivory Coast plays Gabon and Cameroon faces Mozambique.

AP at the Africa Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-cup-of-nations

Morocco fans wait for the start of the Africa Cup of Nations group A soccer match between Zambia and Morocco in Rabat, Morocco, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

Tunisia's supporters wait for the start of the Africa Cup of Nations group C soccer match between Tanzania and Tunisia in Rabat, Morocco, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

A Moroccan fan waits for the start of the Africa Cup of Nations group A soccer match between Zambia and Morocco in Rabat, Morocco, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

A Moroccan fan waits for the start of the Africa Cup of Nations group A soccer match between Zambia and Morocco in Rabat, Morocco, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

Senegal fans support their national team during the Africa Cup of Nations group D soccer match between Senegal and DR Congo in Tangier, Morocco, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)