Post picks

MARK CANNIZZARO

Justin Thomas: He’s in good form, having won the PGA Championship last month and he’d love to stick it to the rival LIV Golf tour, just as his friend Rory McIlroy did last week in Canada, where he outdueled Thomas to win. Bryson DeChambeau: he has been out for a while with a hand/wrist injury, but the word is he’s feeling healthy for the first time in months.

Rory McIlroy: He comes in hot with the win in Canada and looks like he’s ready to end his major championship drought, which dates to 2014.

Matthew Fitzpatrick: He won the 2013 U.S. Amateur, which was played at Brookline, so he has good memories of the course.

Sam Burns: Few have had a better year than him, with three wins this season, including two since March. He comes in particularly hot with a win at Colonial and a tie for fourth at last week’s Canadian Open.

IAN O’CONNOR

Rory McIlroy: He’s coming off his Canadian Open victory, and he’s admittedly fired up over the LIV Golf defections. A hot and motivated McIlroy is a dangerous thing.

Justin Thomas: He won the most recent major, and he pushed McIlroy hard last week. Thomas won’t be stuck on two major titles for long.

Jon Rahm: The defending champ, the world’s No. 2 player, and a tenacious competitor unafraid of the big stage.

Scottie Scheffler: The Masters champ isn’t riding the same momentum he had earlier this season, when he was winning everything in sight, but remains world’s top-ranked player for a reason. Bryson DeChambeau: I have to put at least one LIV guy in here, and it sounds as if Bryson, the 2020 U.S. Open champ, is feeling relatively healthy.