The PGA Tour heads to New York this week, staging the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club for the first time since 2004. A field of 156 players will tackle one of the USGA’s sternest tests in the season’s second major.
Be sure to join the all-new Golf Channel Fantasy Challenge - including a new One & Done game offering - to compete for prizes and form your own leagues, and log on to www.playfantasygolf.com to submit your picks for this week’s event.
Brooks Koepka won this event last year by four shots over Hideki Matsuyama and Brian Harman. Here are 10 names to watch in Southampton:
1. Justin Thomas: He is no longer world No. 1, and he isn’t the betting favorite this week. But Thomas’ game is among the most well-rounded on Tour, and such a strength will be especially useful this week on one of the most demanding layouts around. Thomas has been a top-25 machine, last year showed he can tame a USGA setup and appears poised for major win No. 2.
2. Dustin Johnson: An understandable favorite in Las Vegas, fresh off a six-shot win in Memphis and returning to the major in which he has had the most success. Johnson was a perennial contender in this event from 2014-16, culminating with his win at Oakmont two years ago, and now back on a traditional U.S. Open setup with plenty of momentum, he’ll likely contend once again.
3. Justin Rose: Things are pointing in a positive direction for the Englishman, five years after his triumph at Merion. Rose offered a clinical dissection of Colonial just a couple weeks ago, and he finished T-6 at the Memorial the following week. He remains one of the best ball-strikers around and certainly possesses the temperament required to handle the ebbs and flows of a U.S. Open.
4. Jason Day: The Aussie was equal parts loose and focused when he spoke to media members Tuesday, and already with two victories to his name this year he appears poised to make a run at another major. Day had five top-10 finishes in a six-year stretch in this event prior to a missed cut at Erin Hills, and given his recent form he seems much more likely to be in the mix over the weekend than watching on TV.
5. Henrik Stenson: Certainly not the player getting the most attention, but one whose credentials show he could be a serious threat. Stenson’s T-26 finish in Memphis was his worst finish since Bay Hill, and the Swede now leads the Tour this season in both fairways hit and greens in regulation. Throw in his scrambling rank (sixth) and he’s a likely candidate to exceed expectations.
6. Rickie Fowler: Is this the one? That’s the question that follows Fowler to every major, but especially this one following his impressive close en route to a Masters runner-up. Fowler finished second four years ago at Pinehurst, and he has three top-25 finishes in four starts since Augusta.
7. Rory McIlroy: McIlroy cruised to a U.S. Open title seven years ago at Congressional for his first major, but the test facing players this week is far different from that rain-soaked layout in the nation’s capital. McIlroy’s season peaked with a captivating win at Bay Hill, and he let one get away at the BMW PGA Championship. But he’s shown enough recent flashes of form to merit consideration.
8. Brooks Koepka: No player has gone back-to-back at this event since Curtis Strange in 1988-89, but Koepka could have a serious chance to do so this week. After missing much of the spring with a wrist injury, Koepka has quickly shaken off the rust - especially with a closing 63 at TPC Sawgrass and a runner-up performance at Colonial.
9. Jordan Spieth: Spieth’s prospects have tumbled to the point where he nearly dropped out of a list that he is often near the top of come major season. But the putter has been remarkably uncooperative, even for a streaky putter like Spieth, and when it turned around at the Memorial everything else fell apart. Few can turn it around quicker than Spieth, but this feels like a work in progress.
10. Phil Mickelson: No U.S. Open list would be complete without the tournament’s perennial bridesmaid. Mickelson contended at Shinnecock in both 1995 and 2004, and now on the cusp of his 48th birthday he gets another crack at the one that got away. His magical short game should shine, and the generous fairways should soften the blow of wayward tee shots. Even a sniff at contention come Sunday could be enough to break the internet.