KEY POINTS:
The Oakmont Country Club has hosted the US Open more than any other course. The year's second major is in the suburbs of Pittsburgh this week for the eighth time.
It's as if Oakmont were built specially to host this most penal of events. In 1903, the man who designed it, Henry Fownes, set out to construct the toughest golf course in the world. Fownes adopted the mantra that "a poorly played shot should be a shot irrevocably lost."
It was an extraordinary approach and nobody imitated his style. When Oakmont was first laid out there were, according to the history books, 350 bunkers - nearly 20 a hole. Only 180 of them remain, although they include the famous "Church Pews" between the 3rd and 4th holes. This famous landmark is 50m long, up to 35m wide and traversed by eight grass- covered islands a metre high. It's best not to hook one's drive on those holes.
But as the stars of 2007 start making pre-tournament comments about the course and its difficulty - Vijay Singh and Stuart Appleby tossed around potential winning scores as high as 10 over par - it's worth reflecting that Oakmont once succumbed to the lowest score in US Open history.
It was 1973. Johnny Miller was in his prime and had a top 20 finish in every major that year, three of them in the top 10. But at Oakmont after three rounds of the US Open, he was tied for 13th, six shots behind joint leaders Arnold Palmer, John Schlee, Jerry Heard and Julius Boros. Bob Charles was in contention too, just a couple of shots back after 54 holes.
The course was wet. Some reports say it rained on 27 days in May that year in Pittsburgh. So the greens were soft, holding and slower than tournament officials wanted.
Miller's performance that day was nothing short of staggering. He hit 18 greens in regulation, ten within 5m of the hole. He made nine birdies, three-putted the par-three 8th and signed for 63, the par that year being 71.
Nobody could match his five-under-par total of 279 and he beat Schlee by a shot.
It was the first time anybody had been so low in a major championship. Even though the number has been equalled a few times since, it's never been bettered and is regarded as the best final round of any major.
Miller says it was the greatest round of his life "by a mile." Jack Nicklaus, who won his first US Open at Oakmont in 1962 and who was fourth in 1973, calls it "one of the finest rounds of championship golf ever."
The reaction from the USGA tournament committee was quite extraordinary. For the following year's US Open at Winged Foot in New York, the course was set up so hard with deep rough and hard, fast greens, Hale Irwin's winning score was seven over par. The US Open has become battle of attrition ever since where even par for 72 holes often wins.
So Miller holds a unique place in US Open history. He could be called the catalyst for the tournament's famously difficult course setups.
This week he's a TV commentator on a US Open at Oakmont for the first time.
Some of the best viewing should be the flashbacks of his famous round 34 years ago, because it sure sounds like this year's competitors won't be having as much fun as Miller did that day.
