U.S. Open courses have a way of getting into a player's head before the tournament even starts.
Chambers Bay was a mystery last year. The links-styled course built from a sand-and-gravel pit off Puget Sound had only been open for nine years, and no one knew what to expect.
Curiosity gives way to grave concern this year at Oakmont.
It is as tough as Pittsburgh steel, host of more U.S. Opens than any course, equal parts fabled and feared. It is a club deeply proud of its reputation as the hardest championship course in America.
Jim Furyk didn't need a reminder when he played Oakmont two weeks ago to prepare for the 116th U.