'Without Me Failing, I Probably Would Have Never Won A PGA Tour Event' - Andrew Landry Reflects On The Painful US Open Near-Miss That Kickstarted His Career

For many players, what happened to Andrew Landry during the 2016 US Open at Oakmont Country Club could easily have left devastating scars which would have affected their remaining days as a professional. But that's not how the man at the centre of this story sees it.

Born in Port Neches, Texas, the University of Arkansas alumnus turned professional in 2009 and spent almost six frustrating years on mini tours before finally reaching the Web.com Tour via a second-place finish at Q-School in 2015.

From there, Landry won his third event of the season and began making a name for himself as one to watch in the future, reaching the PGA Tour through the Web.com Tour points list.

A PGA Tour pro and one of the brightest young stars on the circuit, it was perhaps no surprise that Landry progressed through Qualifying to the 2016 US Open at Oakmont.

What happened next was a bit more of a revelation, though. Landry, making his Major championship debut, carded a four-under-par 66 to lead the field after round one.

Even though a one-over 71 in round two dropped him down to second, the three-time All-American was still only one stroke behind Dustin Johnson at the halfway stage. Landry then posted a level-par score on Saturday to book his spot in the final group on Sunday.

However, his dream first three days morphed into something of a nightmare over the course of the final 18 holes. Starting four strokes behind Shane Lowry, who was parked on seven-under, Landry ended up shooting a 78 and falling down to T15th after superb driving stats which had pushed him into such a position completely disintegrated.

Mind you, Landry certainly wasn't the only one to suffer at Oakmont on Sunday. Lowry carded a 76 to finish T2nd as Johnson roared past for his first Major.

It was a brutal end to a championship which Landry had initially performed so admirably at, but the sorry tale is not one he recounts as such. Instead, Landry looks back at that time with fond memories and smiles proudly when asked to relive it.

He said: "Nine years later, it's crazy. Oakmont was such a great venue for me at the time. It was set up perfect for me, I was driving the ball really well and that golf course gives you a mixture of everything in your bag.

"You get a bunch of opportunities to score with your wedges. You've got a drivable hole, you've got reachable par 5s. But then you also have a mixture of the eighth hole, where it's a 300-yard par 3. So, I picked and chose my battles there that week, and I drove the ball just exceptional for three days so then I was able to score."

A key reason behind Landry's relative success that week was the work and experience of his swing coach, Chuck Cook - the man who guided Payne Stewart, Tom Kite, Corey Pavin, Jason Dufner and Keegan Bradley to Major titles over the course of his illustrious career.

Landry stated that Cook gave him every chance to become the latest star name on that list.

He said: "I felt like I did a really good job with my coach that week in kind of preparing because he'd had players win the US Open before. He'd taught a bunch of major champions and he knew how to prepare, so when we got there, we prepared very well and I played well.

"I did everything really, really well, so it was just a good solid week. Oakmont was a special place for me and it really kind of jumpstarted my career and my belief - it is just a great venue. It's a great US Open venue."

Landry is adamant that his final-round collapse at "one of the top-three toughest courses I've ever played" was not led by overwhelming nerves or anxiety surrounding the situation he had put himself in. It was simply that he didn't execute off the tee the way he wanted to.

For that reason, he was able to look himself in the mirror, get back up and keep going without much of a problem.

Asked what the pressure of contending at a US Open was like for a 28-year-old with very little experience to lean on, Landry said: "It was a big deal. But, yeah, it was just another tournament for me. I had nothing to lose at that point because I hadn't really done anything on the tour.

"It was my rookie season out there. I won once in Cartagena, Colombia (on the Web.com Tour) the year before to get me on [the PGA Tour]. But, yeah, it was just like I had no pressure, I had nothing to lose, so it's just another event. Let's go out and just do whatever we do. And if it works out, great. If not, then...

"But, to be honest, the adrenaline and emotions kicked in, I think, like two days after. I remember laying in bed with my wife one morning, we were just sitting there looking around and talking and she was like, "man, I'm so proud of you." And I was like, 'man, I just almost won the f****** US Open! That was so cool!' I was so close to winning the US Open. The biggest dream of mine was to win a US Open."

Although it was not meant to be for the father of two, instead of being downhearted over failing to push the eventual champion all the way, Landry shared that it actually instilled a level of confidence which would go on to help him moving forward.

He said: "I've always believed that I was good enough to play on the PGA Tour. And I always believed that I was good enough to win. Whenever I had my absolute best stuff, I was going to win.

"I felt like I would have probably been in contention if I would have driven it a little bit better the last day. And on top of that, it was the first real big golf tournament that I ever got into. So, of course, I had nerves. I had all of the adrenaline, all the feelings that you're going to have were there. And so, I can't beat myself down over what happened.

"I mean, it was a big learning experience and without that occurring and without me failing, I probably would have never won a PGA tour event or two. And so, it was a big wake-up call for me. It was a belief that once I had got into that position, I knew that I could go out and compete."

True to his theory, Landry put the disappointing week behind him and won the 2017 Bahamas Great Abaco Classic on the Korn Ferry Tour prior to landing his two PGA Tour titles - the 2018 Valero Texas Open and the 2020 American Express.

To date, he has scooped almost $7.5 million from over 225 starts on the two leading tours in America, adding on to his first couple of pro victories on the Adams Tour back in 2012 and 2014.

But, in 2025, having missed out on making it through US Open qualifying, Landry can enjoy a well-deserved break and reminisce about that life-changing week at Oakmont nine years ago.