LOS ANGELES — As soon as your Father’s Day plans are over, find a television, change the channel to the 2023 U.S. Open and enjoy the show.
Or better yet, watch with your dad because neither one of you will want to miss this finish.
After 54 holes at the famed Los Angeles Country Club the leaderboard is loaded with PGA Tour and LIV Golf stars, as well as compelling would-be first-time major winners. Co-leaders at 10 under, Wyndham Clark and Rickie Fowler are in the latter category. Four-time major champion Rory McIlroy is solo third a shot back at 9 under, with 2022 Masters champion Scottie Scheffler three back in fourth at 7 under. Then there’s the likes of Harris English, Dustin Johnson and Xander Schauffele all idling within reach.
And what comes with a packed leaderboard? A handful of must-watch pairings. Here are the groups you won’t want to miss during Sunday’s final round of the 2023 U.S. Open.
U.S. OPEN: Leaderboard | How to watch | Sunday tee times
Brooks Koepka, Tyrrell Hatton - 3:24 p.m. ET
One player doesn’t show an ounce of emotion on the course, good or bad. The other has been known to throw his fair share of clubs, use a putter as a fake gun to shoot a hole and give the finger to a pond. If Koepka and Hatton, everyone’s favorite Angry Golfer, doesn’t excite you, I’m not sure what will.
Collin Morikawa, Matt Fitzpatrick - 3:57 p.m. ET
Sitting at 1 under, Morikawa and Fitzpatrick appear to be too far back to make a move for the lead, but both can absolutely flush the ball and can tear up the front nine if they find the fairway. Much like the Koepka-Hatton pairing, it could also be a sneaky Ryder Cup preview.
Hideki Matsuyama, Cam Smith - 4:35 p.m. ET
Matsuyama has improved each day, culminating with his 3-under 67 on Saturday. Smith has been steady as it goes through the first three rounds and has failed to put a complete round together (at least by his lofty standards). Matsuyama and Smith have both proven able to handle the pressure that comes in the big moments, and each won their respective major title at a challenging course (Matsuyama at Augusta National and Smith at the Old Course at St. Andrews). After seeing the course for a third time, I can’t wait to see how they attack it a fourth.
Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy - 5:19 p.m. ET
Now here’s where it gets really fun, because the first and third-ranked players in the world are paired together in the final round of a major. Enough said.
Sunday will mark the third U.S. Open in the last 20 years where two of the top three players in the world are in the top four entering the final round. Last year, Scheffler was No. 1 and T-4, while Jon Rahm was No. 2 and in third. In 2006, Mickelson was No. 2 and T-1, with No. 3 Vijay Singh T-4.
Scheffler and McIlroy were also famously paired together in the final round of last year’s Tour Championship, where McIlroy came away victorious. They also met in the consolation match of the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play earlier this year, where McIlroy also won, 2 and 1.
Rickie Fowler, Wyndham Clark - 5:30 p.m. ET
The pair are tied for the lead at 10 under and each is looking for his first major championship. How fun is that? Clark (69) and Fowler (70) put on a show during the third round, and with an even firmer and faster course most likely waiting on Sunday, it’s truly any man’s championship.
Clark is playing just the third final round of a major championship in his career, and it’s the time he’s been inside the top 50 after 54 holes. Fowler, on the other hand, finished inside the top 5 in all four majors in 2014 and was in the final group for two (2014 U.S. Open, 2014 Open Championship). He finished T-2 at both championships.
Honorable mentions
Min Woo Lee, Viktor Hovland – 4:19 p.m. ET
Not only are both great players, but the outfits are bound to be eye-catching (for better or worse).
Bryson DeChambeau, Tom Kim – 4:46 p.m. ET
Kim fired a 6-under 29 on the front nine on Saturday to tie a U.S. Open record for nine-hole scoring, and a slimmed-down DeChambeau is playing golf like it’s 2018 again. Sign me up.
Dustin Johnson, Harris English – 5:08 p.m. ET
You couldn’t pick two different people to pair together. Each goes about their game in different ways, but they’ll both need a low round to climb into contention. We’ve seen Johnson do it before, can English?
