5 TO WATCH AT THE U.S. OPEN
The U.S. Open begins today at Erin Hills Golf Course in Erin, Wisc. It is the first time the tournament will be played at the course, which opened in 2006. The par-72, 7,741-yard track is the longest in U.S. Open history. Here’s a look at five to watch as well as three to keep an eye on:
1. HIDEKI MATSUYAMA
World ranking: 4 | 2016 finish: Missed cut Best U.S. Open finish: T-10 (2013) Reason to watch: Matsuyama has had a solid season with two wins and two seconds in 14 starts. He has all the shots, including the drive you need to win at Erin Hills. But he's 88th in driving accuracy, which could get him in a heap of trouble if he can't control his landing zone. Since finishing T-11 at the Masters, Matsuyama is T-32, T-22 and T-45, so he is not coming into this tournament hot. Still, he's fourth in the world because he's a threat in any tournament.
2. JON RAHM
World ranking: 10 | 2016 finish: T-23 (low amateur) Best U.S. Open finish: T-23 (2016) Reason to watch: The 22-year-old Spaniard has exploded on the scene since turning pro after last year's U.S. Open. Rahm finished T-3 in his first pro tournament and hasn't looked back. He has seven top-10 finishes in 15 starts, and only Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia reached the top-10 world ranking at a younger age. Erin Hills' contours seem to fit his game. Kids seem to be taking over the leaderboard and Rahm is often leading the charge.
3. SERGIO GARCIA
World ranking: 7 | 2016 finish: T-5 Best U.S. Open finish: T-3 (2005) Reason to watch: Garcia's Masters win — his first major at age 37 — means he's the only golfer in the world eligible to make a run at the Grand Slam this year. To his advantage, Garcia should have driver in hand all week and the softened conditions from several days of rain will make the place play longer. His nifty short game can bail him out of problems the deep rough and linksy nature of the course could create, making this an ideal place for him to win his first Open.
4. DUSTIN JOHNSON
World ranking: 1 | 2016 finish: First Best U.S. Open finish: First (2016) Reason to watch: No one is more feared at the moment than the defending champ, who has three wins, a second and a third this season, plus eight top-10 finishes. Johnson failed to make the cut at the Memorial last month but that means little. He's first in both driving distance and reaching greens in regulation, so his game will benefit from the course's length. A minor back injury scratched him from the Masters but he seems unaffected by any lingering effects and is a heavy favorite to be on the leaderboard this week.
5. JUSTIN THOMAS
World ranking: 13 | 2016 finish: T-32 Best U.S. Open finish: T-32 (2016) Reason to watch: Thomas has been a bit of a mystery. His seven top-10 finishes this year place him right behind DJ and Rahm for consistency, but he's also been consistently terrible in major championships. Still, he seems poised to challenge on golf's biggest stage as he arrives having finished T-5 at the Zurich Classic and T-4 at the Memorial. If this was a regular week you'd say he's primed to win, but this is a major so Thomas has to get that monkey of consistent lackluster performances off his back.
AND THE WINNER IS: JUSTIN ROSE
Rose withdrew from the Memorial to go back to the Bahamas to work on his game. He hadn't done much leading up to the Masters, but had been preparing for weeks for that major, and was ready from the first tee shot, finishing tied with Sergio Garcia before losing a playoff. He's done the same prep work pointing toward the Open. He has the game to win here and is primed and ready.