OAKMONT, Pa. — There’s no water at Oakmont Country Club, even when it pours.
While the venerable and now nearly tree-free course carved out of the hills of western Pennsylvania held up fine despite steady overnight rain ahead of Saturday’s third round of the U.S. Open, things were a little squishier, a little soggier, a little dicier outside the ropes.
Standing alongside the 11th tee box — one of the lowest points on the property — Katie Fulcher looked down at her black-and-white Nike dunks and shrugged. The 28-year-old fan from Columbus, Ohio, had slipped them on before leaving the rental property she was sharing with some friends.
Now, with her shoes not quite as white as they were when she walked through the gates Saturday morning, she shrugged.
“Fashion over function, I guess,” she said with a laugh, noting she had a newer and cleaner pair of the same shoes back home in the Buckeye State. “To be honest, it’s not as bad as I thought it was going to be.”