Oakmont, Pa. (WCIA) – Recent Illinois graduate Jackson Buchanan is getting ready to play in the U.S. Open for the second time.

Buchanan shot +6 through two rounds in the 2024 U.S. Open, failing to make the cut. He also played on tour in the John Deere Classic in July of 2024 but missed cut there too, despite shooting -4 in the first two rounds.

The third tour appearance for the Illinois great has a different feel to it. This time, he’s not a college student playing as an amateur golf on his offseason before returning to school. Now, he’s a pro.

“It feels weird,” Buchanan told WCIA. “I’m sure when school starts up and the boys are playing [in Champaign] and I’m still playing professional golf that’s when it’ll really hit me. I never thought my pro debut would be at Oakmont, so that’s pretty special.”

Oakmont is not an easy course. Buchanan says he played hard courses in college, but the rough at this year’s U.S. Open is its own beast.

“I’ve never played rough where you just hack it out,” he said. “I think that’s where a lot of players are complaining. You hit it in the rough you just hack it out. It doesn’t require as much skill but if I started bogey, bogey, bogey, I’m still in it. That’s how hard this course is. So, definitely an adjustment.”

One thing that could help Buchanan, who set the course record at Urbana’s Atkins Golf Club when Illinois hosted NCAA Regional Play in May, is a pair of familiar faces. Fellow Illinois alumni Brian Campbell and Thomas Detry are also playing at Oakmont this week.

Plus, he’s a little less stressed with the logistics of playing the big event after going through the process last year.

Buchanan says it still doesn’t feel normal to walk by household names, like Scottie Scheffler, throughout the week as he prepares for the tournament. He expects that feeling to go away as he gains experience.

The U.S. Open begins on Thursday and runs through Sunday. 60 players, of the 156-man field, make the cut after the second round on Friday.

It’s worth noting that the U.S. Open is not played at the same location every year. When Buchanan made his tour debut at this tournament in 2024 it was at Pinehurst, in North Carolina.