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Eric Church Makes His Prediction On Who Will Win The U.S. Open At The Notoriously Difficult Oakmont Country Club
Eric Church knows ball. More specifically, golf ball. The country music superstar is a fan of the sport, and he’s an avid golfer himself. His status as one of the biggest country stars on the planet has afforded him some cool opportunities in the golf world, like playing the historic Oakmont Country Club in Plum, Pennsylvania – where this year’s U.S. Open is taking place. But Church’s history with the course doesn’t just start in 2025. Way back in 2016, […] The post Eric Church Makes His Prediction On Who Will Win The U.S. Open At The Notoriously Difficult Oakmont Country Club first appeared on Whiskey Riff.
Eric Church knows ball.
More specifically, golf ball. The country music superstar is a fan of the sport, and he’s an avid golfer himself. His status as one of the biggest country stars on the planet has afforded him some cool opportunities in the golf world, like playing the historic Oakmont Country Club in Plum, Pennsylvania – where this year’s U.S. Open is taking place.
But Church’s history with the course doesn’t just start in 2025. Way back in 2016, when Oakmont last hosted the U.S. Open (the course in on a rotation for the major tournament), the “Talladega” singer spoke with Bob Ford, the head pro of Oakmont CC, and correctly predicted the winning score for the tournament, as he explained in a recent interview with SiriusXM:
“Bob Ford and I were doing an interview, and we talked about what the winning score (of the U.S. Open) would be. And I said at that time – and I just threw out a number because I had just played the course – but I said 4-under par. And Bob scoffed at me and ridiculed me and thought it would be many over par. It ended up being 4-under par. I got to make him eat a little crow on that and I still have bragging rights.”
Put a little respect on Eric Church’s name… he evidently knows golf courses and how pros will play them better than anyone else.
As the country star’s conversation continued with PGA Tour Radio, the focus shifted to this year’s tournament, which is currently taking place at the aforementioned Oakmont Country Club. And Church was once again asked to give his prediction for a winning score for the U.S. Open, which typically acts as the toughest test on the major schedule.
Here’s what Eric had to say:
“In this day and time, these players are so good that they understand when you show them a course for four days in a row, they’re so good that they know day one might be ugly. But by the fourth day, they’re gonna figure out a way to work their way around that course. So my prediction this year is 2-under par.”
Run to the nearest sports book and hammer that… or don’t. I am not a sports betting analyst, nor a financial advisor.
Once Eric Church had given his winning score prediction, the SiriusXM host doubled down and asked if Church would try and guess who will win the tournament. The country music star danced around that question a bit:
“I don’t know that. That’s the thing about the U.S. Open that’s so great. You can have guys who aren’t normally maybe your top 10 golfers, but can control their golf ball and can keep it out of that rough and can maybe keep the ball on the ground. There’s a lot at Oakmont where… even Hole 1, you can putt on Hole 1 from 120 yards from the green.”
That’s true, as you can see in this practice round footage:
Eric Church was also able to say that from experience, as he hilariously elaborated on later:
“You can putt it down that hill. (When I played the course), it was on my fifth shot, but I did putt that. There’s so many ways to play it with guys keeping the ball on the ground, you can manipulate it.”
And finally, Eric Church named one player that he thinks could stand atop the U.S. Open leaderboard at the end of the week. It’s not exactly a hot take, or a controversial pick, and that’s okay. The Chief seems to be playing it safe (much like the players will have to do at Oakmont) with his player prediction… since he chose the No. 1 player in the world:
“I think that you’re gonna find here that the best players… Scottie Scheffler will definitely be a favorite the way he is playing. He’s a cerebral golfer. I think the U.S. Open is such a great test because you have to think your way around the golf course.
You cannot lose your mind if you make a double bogey. They’re gonna make double bogeys. It’s gonna happen. You have to be able to look at the four days and work your score.”
"My prediction this year is…"
Country music superstar, @SIRIUSXM host and golf fanatic @ericchurch gives his prediction for the winning score at the @usopengolf
