Defending Champion Jordan Spieth on how testing Oakmont CC can be in the wind:
"When the wind is up I would probably sign for somewhere around 75 or 76, shake everyone's hand and say, I'm going to go back and have a beer after that round."
Rory McIlroy reflecting on the atmosphere in the Oakmont locker room:
“Trepidation is what the players are feeling. It’s not excitement, it’s just trepidation. I mean, you could go a whole round without hitting at a single pin here.”
Six-time US Open runner-up Phil Mickelson has never seen a course as tough as this apparently:
"I really think Oakmont is the hardest golf course we've ever played. The rough is very long and challenging, but even though it's very hard, it's still a fair test."
The last man to win a Major Championship, Danny Willett, looks forward to the week ahead:
"It's a great golf course, great fun. There's a lot of different shots you can play. I'd say five over par on this golf course for four rounds is a pretty good score.”
World Number One Jason Day on his secret weapon:
“My agent (Bud Martin) is a member at Oakmont. He's from Pittsburgh as well, so I'll be speaking to him about this place a fair bit."
Spieth, in a nod to last year’s venue, Chambers Bay, expresses his preferance for this year's venue:
“I’m looking forward to being back at a nice, traditional U.S. Open venue. It won't feel like like we’re playing on the moon this year.”
One of the rookies this week, Challenge Tour winner Sebastien Soderberg, discusses his computer playing exploits:
"I've played Oakmont Country Club on the X-Box..."
A confident Justin Rose sounds more excited than most of his fellow competitors about the challenge ahead:
“Having won a US Open, it's nice to have that monkey off the back. I've always enjoyed playing the tough golf courses, so I'm excited."
Rory on how much a win here this week would mean to him:
"To win on a course like Oakmont, with the conditions the way they are, it would maybe be my biggest accomplishment in the game. It would make me feel like a more complete player, I guess. I'd be very proud if I won on a course like this."
Chris Wood, the BMW PGA Championship winner, thinks this week will be 'brutal':
"I’m hearing things from other players about this being the hardest course they have ever played. To make a move in a normal tournament, three or four birdies does it. Here, it’s more like three or four pars. It’s just going to be a brutal test all week."
1994 US Open Champion Ernie Els, who won his first Major Championship at this event, reflects on change:
"You could definitely move the ball out of the rough on to a lot of these greens back then. Nowadays, you can't really do that. I don't know what kind of chemicals they put in that grass, but it's definitely growing."
Another of the European Tour rookies, Romain Wattel, is blown away by the practice day galleries at Oakmont:
"I’ve never seen so many people watching a practice round. Even on a Tuesday, it looked like a big tournament. I played The Open last year but it seems like the crowd here is even bigger and the atmosphere is incredible."
Branden Grace, who finished fourth at Chambers Bay in this event last year, is not up for the first hole:
"The first hole is just a horrible golf hole. It is. If you stand on that tee and the wind's playing left to right, I mean, that fairway is so thin, so narrow that you kind of almost only see bunker."
USGA Executive Director Mike Davis sets out the challenge for the players:
Finally, Spieth on Oakmont being the toughest course in the States:
"If you win a US Open at Oakmont you can go ahead and say that you've conquered the hardest test in all of golf, because this is arguably the hardest course in America day-to-day,"
