US Open
Los Angeles Country Club is the venue for the third golf major of 2023. Two majors have took place so far in 2023 with Jon Rahm winning The Masters and Brooks Koepka been the victor at Oak Hill in the recent PGA Championship. The US Open is the first major since the PGA Tour and DP World Tour merged with LIV Tour. The game of golf has been dominated especially on what has been happening off the course but it’s time for on the course to be the main event.
Los Angeles Country Club has three par 5s with one of them been the opening hole which will give players a gentle start. With it been a US Open it will be a examination test with the rough been long which will make it crucial to hit fairways. It’s the first time in 75 years that a US Open will be hosted at Los Angeles Country Club. It will be interesting to see how the early action gets on with nobody playing it before in a professional event.
Justin Thomas has won two majors at both the PGA Championship in 2017 and 2022. Thomas is coming into this event under the radar as he is number 16th in the world golf rankings. Thomas has struggled in the two majors this year with missing the cut at The Masters and finishing tied 65th at the PGA Championship. The performances that I watched of Thomas this year have been hitting the ball well but struggling on the greens. Thomas is a much better player than those bad finishes and is well able to play well on a difficult course as he won the 2021 Players Championship at Sawgrass. I think that Thomas is going to win the US Open.
Rory McIlroy finished tied fifth at 2022 US Open at Brookline. The 2021 US Open was hosted at Torrey Pines were McIlroy finished seventh. Wing Foot was the venue for the delayed 2020 US Open and McIlroy achieved a tied eight finish. In 2019 McIlroy finished inside the top 10 again in a tie for ninth at Pebble Beach. The last four US Open’s have been good for McIlroy and he is coming into this event in good form after two top 10 finishes in a row at The Memorial & RBC Canadian Open. McIlroy will be definitely in the mix but not sure if his game is in good enough shape to win a major but I think he will finish in the top five.
Tyrrell Hatton finished tied 15th at the PGA Championship. The Englishman finished in a tie for 12th at the recent Memorial tournament. Hatton shot two incredible rounds of 64 at the RBC Canadian Open to finish in a tie for third. Hatton is currently ranked 14th in the world golf rankings and a great week at the US Open will push him closer to the top 10. I think Hatton will finish in the top five at the US Open.
Denny McCarthy had a great chance to win The Memorial until he had a bogey on the 18th and then lost to Viktor Hovland in a play-off. McCarthy was impressive at 2022 US Open at Brookline as he finished in a tie for seventh. McCarthy is currently in good form and I think he will finish in the top 10 this weekend.
Sepp Straka had a fantastic final round of 65 to finish tied seventh at the PGA Championship. Straka is on track to make Luke Donald’s Ryder Cup team as he is currently 33rd in the world golf rankings. I think Straka will finish in the top 10 this weekend.
Shane Lowry, Seamus Power and Padraig Harrington are all in the field and it would be fantastic if they all made the cut. Hope you enjoy the US Open over the weekend.