The third major of the year is upon us and it looks like it could be a spicy one with the battle of the PGA Tour vs LIV Golf rumbling on behind the seasons.
The breakaway tour has been the hot topic in a lot of the press conferences and many players, seemingly led by Rory McIlroy, have not held back.
But what it could give us is a great tournament. Sport is built on rivalries and the players on either side seem to have a pretty good one, even after just one event.
Primed and ready for Thursday 💯⛳
📸:@USGA pic.twitter.com/o9aBgEJU8t
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 15, 2022
The US Open is always tough. Long, tight fairways and incredibly harsh rough and this week at Brookline should be no different. The Country Club has not hosted a major in 34 years but the course is still famous for that incredible Ryder Cup in 1999.
Not too many players will have experience around this course and that can make it tough to pick but it is a US Open so we know we are looking for somebody that can grind out a round. At some stage this week every player will hit a point where they struggle. The course is playing too brutal for that not to happen. But it will be who handles that well that comes out on top here.
The first name that jumps out is Xander Schauffele. He has a game built to win a US Open and the mentality to match. He does so well on the toughest of courses and only Brooks Koepka has a better scoring average at the tournament since 2015.
He is joint-sixth favourite at 22/1 but that could be great value. He has played well of late and comes into this fairly fresh with only three events since his win at the Zurich Classic eight weeks ago. He is a player that has won at almost every level other than the major — he is even an Olympic champion — and this could be the week that changes.
A US Open is so demanding, particularly around the greens, so somebody that can be creative could do well here. Shane Lowry, just like Schauffele, is made to grind it out on these courses. He can get up and down from anywhere on a golf course and has done well at US Opens before. He has played well in 2022 but will maybe need to go one level up. But he is a major winner and it would be no surprise to see him add another on Sunday.
Lay up or go for it? 🤔
Listen to @McIlroyRory and @JonRahmpga strategize about how to play the drivable par-4 5th hole at The Country Club. pic.twitter.com/eTstgFH6AQ
— U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 15, 2022
Matt Fitzpatrick is going to be a popular pick this week. Not only is he playing very well at the moment, but he is one of the few players in the field to have success at Brookline. His 2013 US Amateur Championship was won around this track so he will have some great memories coming back. His 10th place finish last week does not do justice to just how well he played. He putts as well as anybody on tour and if he can hole a few putts, he could go close this week.
We can’t do a preview without talking about McIlroy’s chances. He is maybe the form player coming into this week on the back of a win in Canada and rightly heads the market at 10/1. His majors have mostly come at courses where you can make some birdies, but he has the game to grind it out when he needs to. The win last week could be the spark to really get him back to winning ways. The price is certainly on the short side, but he has a great chance to add a first major in eight years.
Scottie Scheffler comes into this tournament as world number one but is still going under the radar a little. Over the first four months of the year he was unbeatable. He picked up the Masters among many wins and rocketed to the top of the rankings. His form may not be quite at that level right now, but he is still playing very well. He has such an all around game that he can compete at any event he turns up at, and this week should be no different.
Probably shouldn't have come as a surprise, but I was a bit surprised when I discovered this.
There have been 145 major winners since the inception of #OWGR. The 5 most common world ranking positions they held when they won are 1-5‼️#1 (16 winners)
#3 (11)
#4 (8)
#2 (7)
#5 (6)— Nosferatu (@VC606) June 14, 2022
This tournament has not produced too many long shot winners of late. Gary Woodland being the biggest priced winner in a decade when he won in 2019. But there are some big prices that catch the eye.
Louis Oosthuizen, who may not have much support this week after joining the LIV Golf Tour, has been so close to so many majors lately. At his best he is a world class putter and that can see him go close here. With these longshots it is always worth backing them for a place as well and at 80/1 to win he offers plenty of value in that department.
14 years ago, today …@TigerWoods forced a U.S. Open playoff on one leg. pic.twitter.com/hEMPy23WIF
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 15, 2022
It would be hard to talk about a major without at least looking at Koepka. Even when he doesn’t appear to be at his best, he finds something when a major week starts. He got married last week and has taken a lot of time off lately and it could have rejuvenated him. He is healthy now and 50/1 looks far too big for a player of his caliber. There is obvious concerns with rust but we have seen him compete over the past couple of years while barely being able to pick the ball out of the hole.
This event has all the ingredients to be a great one. A great golf course that has produced dramatic finishes before, a bit of off the course niggle between some players and the best players on the planet, with many of them in great form. This is a tournament you will not want to miss.
