The last eight Major golf tournaments won in over par – could the 2025 U.S. Open be next?

Archie Starkey 28 May 2025

Webb Simpson, Brooks Koepka and Angel Cabrera all won a Major with a score over par.

The third Major tournament of the year is approaching, with the 2025 U.S. Open set to take place at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania.

Favourites and respective 2025 Masters and PGA Championship winners, Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler, will face a tough test if they want to become multiple Major winners this season.

The host venue was established in 1903 and is regarded as the “oldest top-ranked course” in the USA.

Officials at Oakmont have outlined tournament conditions for this year’s U.S. Open, which will feature 5+ inch rough and fast-running greens.

Consequently, it’s predicted to be the first Major in seven years where the champion finishes over par.

The U.S. Open has notoriously been the Major that has brought the most scores over par due to the tournament’s reputation for taking place at ultra-challenging golf courses.

1. Paul Lawrie – 1999 Open Championship (+6)

Carnoustie in 1999 was a windswept fortress – the layout was tightened, the rough grown to a brutal length, and bunkers deepened significantly.

Narrow landing areas demanded precision, with the coastal gusts often making the field’s accurate club selection the ultimate guessing game.

Lawrie’s ball-striking and patience allowed him to survive and win the most punishing Open setup in recent history.

2. Geoff Ogilvy – 2006 U.S. Open (+5)

Winged Foot has been a classic U.S. Open test, featuring tight fairways, thick rough, and treacherous greens.

Putting surfaces have famously been crowned and fast, and 2006 was no different, with the smallest of approach shot errors being punished on its old school design.

Ogilvy demonstrated control in approach play and on the greens, where it was survival of the fittest.

3. Zach Johnson – 2007 Masters (+1)

We rarely see such a high Masters winning total, but Augusta National was dry and firm in 2007, with shaved run-off areas and sloped, rapid greens.

The course resembled more what we’d expect from a U.S. Open track than a typical Masters, with scoring limited by demanding pin positions and minimal forgiveness on the putting surfaces.

4. Angel Cabrera – 2007 U.S. Open (+5)

Oakmont Country Club, the 2025 U.S. Open venue, is one of golf’s oldest and toughest tracks.

In 2007, it offered lightning-fast greens, penal bunkering and thick rough, similar to what we expect to see in June. It was easy to make mistakes, and recovery shots were even harder. Cabrera won the Major thanks to his smarts in limiting danger.

5. Pádraig Harrington – 2008 Open Championship (+3)

Royal Birkdale played exceptionally tough that year with strong and persistent winds blowing off the Irish Sea, along with rain and unseasonably cold conditions.

Minimising big mistakes was a key part of the Irishman’s success while sensibly using his 5-wood instead of driver to keep his ball in play off the tee.

6. Webb Simpson – 2012 U.S. Open (+1)

San Francisco’s stern test, The Olympic Club’s Lake Course, featured tight doglegs, narrow fairways and small targets on the approach.

It was difficult to find a comfortable next stroke with sloping terrain and frequent poor lies requiring constant adjustment.

7. Justin Rose – 2013 U.S. Open (+1)

Merion Golf Club, though short by current standards, demanded accuracy with landing zones tough to hit, as well as elevated greens surrounded by thick rough.

Precision was a must, but too often the field found strategically placed hazards and were punished.

8. Brooks Koepka – 2018 U.S. Open (+1)

The most recent winning Major score over par was from five-time Major champion, Brooks Koepka, at Shinnecock Hills – a course that played with firm fairways, brutal crosswinds and fast, elevated greens.

It has a links style with its exposed layout and unpredictable bounces, making it difficult, and that’s before the tough green complexes. The design of the track severely punished poor execution across all facets of the game.

Past 8 Major winners over par…