We have breaking news to report from the U.S. Open: There are still trees at Oakmont.
The famed Pittsburgh course’s tree removal through the years has been one of the hot topics this week, not that it’s made the place play any easier. But if you look hard enough, there are still some around the property. We know this because Justin Rose hit one during Friday’s second round. And then something much weirder happened.
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After an errant drive on the par-4 second, Rose needed to take an unplayable penalty. But things got worse for the 2013 U.S. Open champ when his third shot hit a tree and went backward. Past Rose and into a group of fans, prompting a marshal to scream, “MOVE BACK! MOVE BACK!” as if a grenade was heading their way.
The fans did a pretty good job, but ultimately, Rose’s golf ball was stopped by a motorized scooter. Yep, a motorized scooter. Have a look:
Justin rose looking like one of us peasants rn. #Oakmont pic.twitter.com/K5ttl1HscV
— Gregg Oberg (@GreggOberg) June 13, 2025
And here’s another description of a scene that we’re pretty sure Ben Hogan never saw:
Justin Rose's third shot on 2 hit a tree and came back down the cart path, forcing fans to scramble out of the way. It was only stopped by….. a motorized scooter. pic.twitter.com/Mg44LQYdCp
— Josh Berhow (@Josh_Berhow) June 13, 2025
Wild stuff. After taking a free drop from the path, Rose put his fourth shot on and two-putted for double bogey.
It doesn’t appear like Rose will make the cut at Oakmont. But if he does, he might owe that scooter driver a drink or two.
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This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
