Maybe no one would complain about the eighth hole at Oakmont Country Club if the term “par” had never been created in championship golf.

But there it sits in the middle of the this tough U.S. course, the longest par 3 in major championship history, 289 yards on the scorecard and certain to top 300 yards in actual distance for one round, just as it did in 2007 at Oakmont.

“I couldn't tell you a par 3 over 250 yards that's good, architecturally,” said Justin Thomas, who took a scouting trip to Oakmont two weeks before it hosts the U.S. Open for a 10th time.

“That's not my favorite hole in the world,” he said. “I think you could do some other things with that. But everyone’s going to have to play the same hole and going to have to execute the same shots, and I would love four 3s on it righ

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