Video: Oakmont's 15th, 16th, 17th & 18th
/I wanted to wait to see the closing holes again to comment on them.
The 15th is the longest par-4 at Oakmont and plays to a tilted landing area, but the fairway looked fairly ample to me. This gave up the fewest birdies of back nine hole in 2007.
This beautiful par-3 has some Redan elements and if played conservatively, can be parred quite a bit over four days. But, as temptation is at the heart of the Redan, this one seems to lure players into more aggressive plays at times, rarely with great results.
I forgot just how uphill this hole plays and how quietly the green tilts from front/center right to left. Devilish in all ways, the misses long are in big trouble.
The finishing hole is a classic straightaway two-shotter that plays downhill off the tee and uphill on the approach. Downwind it can play very short, but the green is so cruelly contoured that this one is tough to hit any approach close. Or, at all, given that the GIR rate in 2007 was 33%. I paced 26 yards for the width between fairway bunkers.