What makes it great is that, while there may be one ideal way to play the hole (though I'd bet against that statement), there are many other ways to play it; each simply requires a different perfectly imagined and executed shot, or the golfer will struggle to make bogey.
In other words, there is no prescribed, defined way to play the hole. The tee shot is defined by the rough, sure, but it's not clear whether you should favor one side or the other (or just blast it down the middle ala Wayne). I don't know if Tom P played with Wayne that day, but I'm assuming he's played Oakmont many times before and probably parred the 1st more than a few times. A 480+ yard par 4 that can allow a shorter thinker with a strong short game a good shot at par, while taking someone who blasts driver/lob wedge, chews 'em up and spits them out with a 7, that spells greatness to me.
If you like defined options - which in my mind are a much less appealing and sophisticated approach - you may not like this hole, and you might not like Oakmont on the whole (pun somewhat intended).
Lastly, this hole is but 1/18th of the puzzle that is Oakmont. And the whole is far greater than the sum of the parts at Oakmont.