The U.S. Open
Another week, another Scottie Scheffler win. Last week’s win for Scottie doesn’t sit well for me in a couple of ways. For starters, only one player, Collin Morikowa, was the only player that pressed Scottie down the stretch. At this point, I believe that we are starting to see a resemblance of the Tiger effect. Now for those who don't, the Tiger effect was basically the fear of god, players would be so intimidated that by the time Sunday rolled around they would crumble and Tiger would coast into a victory. I believe we are seeing something very similar with Scottie because very rarely, almost never does the leader shoot over par and still win a golf tournament. Regardless of what is happening, Scottie has won five times this year and really isn’t slowly down. Another huge plus for Scottie is this week at Pinehurst #2 for the U.S. Open a huge premium is put on driving the ball and Scottie is currently ranked #2 on tour in strokes gained off the tee and overall ranked #6 in total driving stats. With that being said it is the U.S. Open and with how strong the field is, absolutely anything can happen.
As of right now, the most recent news surrounding the U.S. Open is that Jon Rahm will not be competing this year. As of a few hours ago, the past champ has withdrawn due to injury. The really strange part is that Rahm came to the property, did one or two interviews then withdrew and left. It seems as if the withdrawal was happening before the week started, so him showing up at the property was rather unusual. Regardless of this news, I don’t think Rahm had a chance this week. He clearly hasn’t been himself up to this point and the injury did not do him any favors. It’s very evident that at this point it seems that Rahm's game has taken a turn for the worse upon his move to LIV at the start of the season. Now in this case Rahm injury does not seem significant enough to sideline him for long, but a LIV player missing a major is always a big deal because their chances to receive world ranking points are very limited. The next time we will see Rahm and probably the final time for the year would be at The Open Championship. The field this year, however, will still be very strong even without Rahm. Major legends like Adam Scott and Sergio Garcia will continue their major streaks as they will both be competing via qualifying as well as LIV stars Brooks Koepka and Bryson Dechambeau will be competing to add another U.S. Open victory to their resumes. Another huge name joining the field this year is Tiger Woods via Special Exemption. At this point in Tiger’s career I don’t think he can win a major but I still do believe he can compete and at the very least make cuts. The biggest advantage of Tiger Playing is viewership. He boosts ratings and that’s really all the USGA and PGAT care about in the end. I think that really captures how fun open events can be. It’s anybody’s week, between the mini tour grinders all the way up to the #1 player in the world. One minute you could be a school teacher the next you could be teeing it up next to Tiger Woods along with the games best in the U.S. Open. Not many professional sports leagues can provide that type of entertainment.
I say it every year, it's more wishful thinking than anything else but I do hope a young guy or an unlikely player wins this year. It’s obviously so challenging to close on the PGAT or DP, but to close out a major it takes a different skill set that's why it's so challenging to win in your first couple major starts. What would really make my day would be a qualifier winning but that is always a stretch, for these players to just make the cut is an insane accomplishment in itself. With that being said I'd like Max Homa to grab his first major victory this week. Max has won numerous times on tour, has played in 19 majors and his last three finishes are T-10 at last year’s Open Championship, T-3 at Augusta at the Masters this past April and T-35 at last month’s PGA Championship. Max is primed and ready to grab his first major this week at Pinehurst #2. (Mike)
The course this week looks like it could be the best we see all year. The course looks demanding and it appears as if players are going to be facing some pretty awkward shots if they miss their spots. The course should be wicked fast and the players will be aiming at extremely small targets. I expect to see some carnage this week. I thought the course was epic last week as well at The Memorial. It maybe was not the fairest golf course, but the field struggled to score well on the course. I enjoy seeing the players grind out an even par round and I hope this is back to back weeks where we are treated to absolute mayhem.
Picks of the Week:
My pick to win this year’s third major is Scottie Scheffler. I am not sure we have seen this level of dominance since Tiger. Scottie already has had an all time year, but winning the US Open would put this year in rare air. I think Collin Morikawa also has a great chance to add another major to his resume this week. Precision with the irons and being able to give yourself some scoring chances are a staple of the US Open. I disagree with Mike about Max Homa having a chance this week. Max Homa is the new Xander on Tour. Great player, but is not ready for the next step yet. (Tyler)