Gauging the U.S. Open Contenders
The U.S. Open Golf Championship is less than two weeks away. The world’s best players will tee it up this year at Torrey Pines. It’s the second time that the La Jolla, Calif. Course has played host to the U.S. Open.
The first time was in 2008, but it’s a safe call in the U.S. Open betting to rest assured that the winner that year won’t be the winner this year. That’s because Tiger Woods won at Torrey Pines in 2008. The former world No. 1 is out of action while he recovers from injuries suffered in a car crash.
Still, there are plenty of contenders to consider when it comes to picking the 2024 U.S. Open champion. And what a wild ride it’s been to the midway point in the golf majors this year.
Hideki Matsuyama won the Masters, joining Bryson DeChambeau (2020 U.S. Open) and Collin Morikawa (2020 PGA Championship) as first-time major winners over the past two years.
In this year’s PGA Championship, it was a win for the aged, as 50-year-old Phil Mickelson captured his sixth career major. In the process, he became the oldest golfer to earn a major championship.
Let’s look at some of the contenders to consider in this year’s U.S. Open.
Jon Rahm
If good things happen in threes, then this could be the tournament where Rahm finally breaks through and wins his first career major. The Spanish golfer earned his first-ever PGA Tour title at Torrey Pines in the 2017 Farmers Insurance Open. Rahm got engaged to his wife in nearby San Diego.
However, the world’s No 3-ranked player is at 20 majors and counting without a victory. With each passing tournament, the pressure of being the best player in the world without a major win mounts on Rahm’s shoulders. And he’s displayed in the past that he can lose his temper when things go awry.
Bryson DeChambeau
A big hitter who was supposedly too wildly inconsistent off the tee to contend in a major, DeChambeau silenced the skeptics when he won last year’s U.S. Open on the tight fairways and unforgiving rough of Winged Foot.
Can he do it two years in a row? Well, when Brooks Koepka won back-to-back in 2017-18, he was the first golfer to win consecutive U.S. Open titles since Ben Hogan in 1950-51. And he’s 0-for-2 at making the cut in PGA Tour events held at Torrey Pines.
Jordan Spieth
Is the 2015 U.S. Open winner back on his game? Spieth has posted eight top-10 finishes through his last 11 tournaments. That’s more than he managed in his two previous seasons combined.
Spieth is the PGA Tour leader in strokes gained/total. But he’s only won once all season. He’s never finished better than tied for 35th in the U.S. Open since his 2015 triumph. And his best finish at Torrey Pines is a tie for 19th.
Dustin Johnson
He’s held the world’s No. 1 player’s position for many weeks and for good reason. Dustin Johnson was born on June 22nd 1984 and won the US open championship in 2016 and 2020 masters championship.
His overview of his 2024 season is that he participated in 4 majors, made 2 cuts, won 1 and has 12 rounds. He has an average of 71 with 216 holes. He won the 2024 Masters. And yet, Johnson has missed the cut this year in the PGA Championship and when he sought to defend his Masters title.
Johnson is the first world No. 1 to miss consecutive cuts at a major since Greg Norman in 1997. In three starts at Torrey Pines, Johnson has missed the cut twice. His best finish there is tied for 18th.
Brooks Koepka
Brooks Koepka was born in 1990 on May the 3rd, who is a professional golfer on the PGA circuit. He held the world’s top position on the global golf rankings for more than 40 plus weeks.
He’s won the US open twice, once in 2017 and the next year another time. His current 2024 season overview is that he’s played in 4 majors, made 3 cuts, came top 10 twice, hasn’t won first place in any of the tournaments but did come runners up in the PGA tournament losing first place to Phil Mickelson in Kiawah Island Resort.
Koekpa didn’t play in last year’s U.S. Open due to injury. That means in his last three U.S. Opens he’s finished runner up-winner-winner.
He’s still being hampered by a knee ailment and yet was still able to briefly hold the lead on Sunday in the PGA Championship. But Torrey Pines is a grueling test for a golfer with two good legs.
Patrick Reed
Patrick Reed was born in 1990 on August 5th who is known for his professional golfing in the PGA and European circuits. Reed has won a major (2018 Masters) among his nine PGA Tour victories.
His efforts in securing wins for the US gave him the nickname “ “Captain America” after the famous fictional super soldier of marvel comics. The world No. 9 also won this year’s Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.
Rory McIroy
Rory McIroy was born May 4th 1989 in Northern Ireland. Known to be a part of European and PGA circuit, he was previously number one in the official world golfing charts.
In reference to the overview of his 2024 season, he’s participated in 4 majors, making cuts for 3 of them, has no wins, with 252 holes, 14 rounds and averaging at 71.9.
He hasn’t won a major in seven years and it might be time to accept that McIlroy’s best years are behind him. That being said, he’s played three times at Torrey Pines, finishing tied for third, tied for fifth and tied for 16th.
Phil Mickleson
Considered a long shot pick for the US open, Phil mickelson was born on June 16th 1970 and made his first PGA debut in the year 1988. He is rated 35 on the PGA money list and has earned over 2 million dollars throughout. He came up first in the PGA championship held in Kiawah Island Golf Resort.
He’s been a part of 4 majors making cuts for 3 of them, come in top ten in one of them, 1 major win, 14 rounds, 252 holes with an average of 72.4. He’s come up short in the US open in 2nd place over six times and needs one US open win to complete a career grand slam.
