The 122nd U.S. Open returns Thursday to The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., 34 years after Curtis Strange beat Nick Faldo in a Monday playoff to capture the first of back-to-back national championships. The field of 156 players includes defending champ Jon Rahm and six-time runner-up Phil Mickelson but not Tiger Woods. Post-Gazette golf writer Gerry Dulac handicaps the contenders and predicts the winner:
— Rory McIlroy: In good form to win a second U.S. Open title
— Jon Rahm: Defending champ has played poorly in other majors
— Justin Thomas: PGA champion had impressive showing in Canada
— Scottie Scheffler: World No. 1 missed cut in PGA championship
— Jordan Spieth: TCC requires what 2015 champ has — an array of shots
— Sam Burns: Three-time winner in 2022 only missing one thing — a major.
— Cam Smith: Short-game extraordinaire hasn't been a good finisher
— Brooks Koepka: The U.S. Open is two-time winner's happy place
— Shane Lowry: Save a spot on leaderboard for him — he's always there
— Dustin Johnson: 2016 Oakmont champion also has three top-4 Open finishes
— Will Zalatoris: Big-game hunter keeps getting closer to the trophy
— Patrick Cantlay: Only one top-20 in six U.S. Open starts
— Mito Pereira: Can he forget final-hole collapse at PGA?
— Matthew Fitzpatrick: Can he repeat his 2013 U.S. Amateur at TCC?
— Justin Rose: Final-round 60 in Canada might be what 2013 champ needs
— Xander Schauffele: Not the major favorite he was a couple years ago
— Hideki Matsuyama: Eight top-10s in majors, including two at U.S. Open
— Max Homa: Two-time 2022 winner has never made cut at U.S. Open
— Louis Oosthuizen: It's a major, so put Louis down for a top-10 finish
— Phil Mickelson: At this point, he'd take a record seventh runner-up finish
And the winner is ... Justin Thomas. An old-style golf course requires old-style shot-making, and as he showed in the PGA, he's become one of the best.
