Billy Horschel enters Oakmont difficulty debate, dismisses Masters–US Open 2025 comparison

The 2025 US Open was held at Oakmont Country Club, and the tournament featured a 156-player field battling out harsh conditions on the course. Although Billy Horschel did not compete in the tournament, he has weighed in on the Masters-US Open difficulty debate, dismissing it.

The 2025 US Open came to an end on Sunday, June 15, and J.J. Spaun claimed the victory with a 1-under par score across 72 holes. Every other player finished at over par. Meanwhile, the Masters Tournament was held at Augusta National in April, and Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose scored 11-under 277 after 72 holes. Notably, McIlroy won a playoff against Rose and clinched the title.

Following the conclusion of the US Open, several debates have sparked online regarding the difficulty of the course. Golf Digest’s Jamie Kennedy shared a tweet on X comparing the number of putts at Augusta to those at Oakmont. The tweet read:

“How hard were the greens at Oakmont? There were 238 three-putts at The Masters. Home to some of the fastest, most undulating greens on earth. There were 536 at Oakmont…”

Eight-time PGA Tour winner Billy Horschel responded to Kennedy’s tweet, saying there were more players at Oakmont, so the comparison isn’t valid.

“US Open had 90+ more players over 2 days and 10–15+ more on the weekend. Give me a stat that takes that into account.”

Still yet to claim his first major championship title, Billy Horschel didn’t compete in the 2025 US Open, but he was in the field for the first two rounds of the 2025 Masters Tournament. He scored 5-over 149 after 36 holes and failed to meet the cut line of 2-over.

Last year, Horschel tied for 41st position in the US Open and second place in the Open Championship. He also competed in the 2024 PGA Championship and placed eighth.

So far, Billy Horschel’s best result at the US Open has come in the 2013 edition. He tied for fourth place after finishing with 5-over, four strokes behind Justin Rose, who claimed the title.

2025 US Open final leaderboard

J.J. Spaun clinched the 2025 US Open title, while Robert MacIntyre placed second at 1-over. In third place, Viktor Hovland scored 2-over, while Tyrrell Hatton tied with Cameron Young and Carlos Ortiz for fourth.

Here’s a look at the 2025 US Open final leaderboard (via PGA Tour):

WINNER – J. J. Spaun (-1)
2 – Robert MacIntyre (+1)
3 – Viktor Hovland (+2)
T4 – Cameron Young (+3)
T4 – Tyrrell Hatton (+3)
T4 – Carlos Ortiz (+3)
T7 – Sam Burns (+4)
T7 – Jon Rahm (+4)
T7 – Scottie Scheffler (+4)
T10 – Ben Griffin (+5)
T10 – Russell Henley (+5)
T12 – Xander Schauffele (+6)
T12 – Brooks Koepka (+6)
T12 – Chris Kirk (+6)
T12 – Christiaan Bezuidenhout (+6)
T12 – Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen (+6)
T12 – Thriston Lawrence (+6)
T12 – Adam Scott (+6)
T19 – Rory McIlroy (+7)
T19- Ryan Fox (+7)
T19 – Victor Perez (+7)
T19 – Emiliano Grillo (+7)
T23 – Collin Morikawa (+8)
T23 – Patrick Reed (+8)
T23 – Jordan Spieth (+8)
T23 – Thomas Detry (+8)
T23 – Jason Day (+8)
T23 – Sam Stevens (+8)
T23 – Matt Wallace (+8)
T23 – Max Greyserman (+8)
T23 – Nick Taylor (+8)
T23 – Chris Gotterup (+8)
T33 – Tom Kim (+9)
T33 – Aaron Rai (+9)
T33 – J. T. Poston (+9)
T33 – Keegan Bradley (+9)
37 – Maverick McNealy (+10)
T38 – Taylor Pendrith (+11)
T38 – Tony Finau (+11)
T38 – Matt Fitzpatrick (+11)
T38 – Marc Leishman (+11)
T42 – Hideki Matsuyama (+12)
T42 – Andrew Novak (+12)
T42 – Si Woo Kim (+12)
T42 – Trevor Cone (+12)
T46 – Niklas Norgaard (+13)
T46 – Daniel Berger (+13)
T46 – Rasmus Hojgaard (+13)
T46 – Jhonattan Vegas (+13)
T50 – Ryan McCormick (+14)
T50 – Michael Kim (+14)
T50 – Adam Schenk (+14)
T50 – Mackenzie Hughes (+14)
T50 – Ryan Gerard (+14)
T55 – Justin Hastings (a) (+15)
T55 – Laurie Canter (+15)
T57 – Sungjae Im (+16)
T57 – Denny McCarthy (+16)
T59 – Harris English (+18)
T59 – Brian Harman (+18)
T61 – Jordan Smith (+19)
T61 – Johnny Keefer (+19)
T61 – James Nicolas (+19)
T64 – Cam Davis (+22)
T64 – Matthieu Pavon (+22)
66 – Philip Barbaree Jr. (+24)