Somewhere in the dark recesses of the Oakmont Country Club, a handful of members probably will get together today to craft a letter to the United States Golf Association.

Perhaps it will be the same people who decided in the mid-1990s to start surreptitiously removing trees from the course in the middle of the night, without knowledge of the membership.

The purpose of the letter will be simple:

They want their course back.

Surely, that wasn't Oakmont playing host Sunday to the final round of the 65th U.S. Women's Open. Not when Paula Creamer, the winner, shot a final-round 69, making her the first player since John Mahaffey in the 1978 PGA Championship to win a major title at Oakmont by finishing with three consecutive sub-par rounds.

Not when 10 players shot in the 60s on Sunday -- nine more than the total from the first three rounds.

Not when Song Hee-Kim of Korea shot 65, just two shots more than Johnny Miller's magical round in 1973. Or when Na Yeon Choi, who finished tied for second with Norway's Suzann Pettersen, shot 66.

"I think it probably played easier than we thought," said Cristie Kerr, the No. 1-ranked player in the world.

Easier?

If it got any easier, they could have taken down the merchandise and hospitality tents at Oakmont East and used that for the front nine.

"I would like to believe that anybody out here on the LPGA Tour, period, is testament to how good we are out here," said American Christina Kim, who finished tied for eighth at 5-over 289. "If you play the course smart, the fairways are ample out here, it's definitely scoreable."

They're not going to like hearing that in the Swat Room.

Nor are they going to like that the Stimpmeter reading for the final round was in "the high 13s," according to Mike Davis, the USGA's course setup man. That was the slowest the greens played all week, including the practice rounds.

And if there is one sure-fire way to honk off an Oakmont member, just slow down the greens.

"It's a tough course, but it's playable," said Pettersen, who shot 69 and finished at 285. "It separates the best players in the field. I wish we played more courses like that."

Under those conditions, who wouldn't?

If that wasn't enough, five of the tees on the front nine were shortened a total of 161 yards, allowing players to reach both par 5s and drive the second green, if they were so inclined. If the tees were up any farther, they would have been in the rough.

The result?

The scoring average on the front nine was 37.169, more than 1 1/2 strokes easier than the average for the front nine in the third round.

"I was able to play much more aggressively and attack the holes with that," said Choi, who shot 5-under 31 on the front.

When was the last time you heard someone say "attack the holes" at Oakmont?

OK, Johnny Miller started attacking the holes in '73 when he shot his final-round 63. But that's because the sprinklers were left on during a heavy rain a night earlier, softening Oakmont like a loofa.

There was none of that this time. It hadn't rained at Oakmont since early Friday evening. And no water was applied to the golf course Saturday night or before the start of the final round.

"It definitely showed it can be done out here," said Alexis Thompson, a 15-year-old sensation who finished tied for 10th. "If your game is on and you hit your driver in the fairway and your irons are good, you can shoot low out here. Not low, low, but lower."

Someone get out the stationery.

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