10 golfers to watch at the 2015 US Open - Handicappers Hideaway

10 golfers to watch

at the 2015 US Open





The second Major of 2015 promises to offer a different tournament to the

majority of US Opens as it heads to the Pacific Northwest for the first time at

Chambers Bay.

The course, in University Place, Washington, has more in common with a

traditional British-style Links course rather than the tough tracks usually

associated with a US Open.









by ozmafan



USGA executive director Mike Davis has recommended players put in plenty of

practice before the tournament starts on June 18 in order to get used to the

big fairways and undulating greens amid criticism from some golfers.

Due to the venue, there is little course form to go on when it comes to

trying to pick a winner this year as Peter

Uihlein, who won the 2010 US Amateur at Chambers Bay in 2010, missed out on

a play-off in qualifying by one shot.

He would certainly have been of interest had he booked his place in the field.

Therefore, there is the prospect of a shock winner of the US Open this year.

However, to try to mark your card in advance of the tournament, here are 10

players it’s worth keeping an eye out for:





RICKIE FOWLER









by Chris Breikss



Fowler’s

stunning win at The Players Championship at Sawgrass offered further indication that he is

finally ready to win the first Major of his career. Fowler produced a

mesmerising display over the closing four holes to force a play-off with a

final round of 67 and he produced more sublime golf to claim the biggest win of

his career. Prior to that victory, Fowler hadn’t finished in the top 10

in 2015 and he was only in a tie for 12th in the Masters at Augusta. However,

Fowler was a model of consistency in the Majors in 2014. He was tied fifth in

the Masters, tied for the runners-up spot in both the US Open and The Open

before being in a tie for third at the PGA. His confidence should be sky high

after his Sawgrass success and he has the all-round game to make an impact at

Chambers Bay.





DUSTIN JOHNSON









by Keith Allison



After a troubled time in 2014, Johnson has returned to the course in 2015 in

solid form and his driving ability is going to give him a chance at Chambers

Bay given the size of the fairways. He has yet to win a Major and famously held

a one-shot lead standing on the final tee in the 2010 PGA Championship before a

penalty saw him miss out on a play-off which was won by Martin Kaymer. Johnson

finished in a tie for fourth behind Kaymer in last year’s US Open and

that showed he has the game to be a contender in this Major. So far this year, Johnson

has won the WGC-Cadillac Championship, finished second in the Northern

Trust Open and in a tie for fourth at Pebble Beach. He was also tied sixth at

the Masters and the Texas Open.





HIDEKI MATSUYAMA



Matsuyama will be bidding to go one better than Isao Aoki by becoming the

first Japanese golfer to win a Major. Aoki finished second to Jack Nicklaus in

the 1980 US Open and Matsuyama certainly has the talent to create history. A closing round off 66 earned

Matsuyama a

fifth-place finish at the Masters and

he was tied for 10th in the US Open two years ago. He also finished in a tie

for sixth in The Open in the same year. At just 23, Matsuyama has time on his

side to win a Major, but his form this year indicates he already has the game

to be a contender. In addition to his top five at the Masters, Matsuyama was

also in a tie for second at the Phoenix Open and a tie for fourth in the

Northern Trust Open. It will be fascinating to see how he handles the

conditions at Chambers Bay.





RORY MCILROY







by TourProGolfClubs



McIlroy will be ignoring Davis’ advice to put in the hours at Chambers Bay ahead

of the tournament by playing just three practice rounds in the week before it

gets underway. It’s a strategy which has served the Northern Irishman

well in the past as he followed a similar approach before winning his first

Major in 2011 – the US Open at Congressional. On that occasion he set a

record US Open score of 16 under, just two months after his dramatic collapse in

the final round of the Masters. He has since won three more Majors and he has

largely been in sensational form in 2015. He has won the Dubai Desert Classic,

the WGC-Cadillac Match Play Championship and the Wells Fargo at Quail Hollow,

where he set a course record of 61 in the third round. He missed the cut at the

European Tour’s flagship event – the PGA Championship at Wentworth

– but that was on the back of a heavy schedule. McIlroy will be refreshed

for the start of the US Open and when this article was produced he was

generally 9/2 to win again.





PHIL MICKELSON









by Jim Epler



Will this finally be the year that Mickelson gets his hands on the only

Major to elude him in his career? Mickelson has finished runner-up in the US

Open more times than he has actually won a Major, his six second places

eclipsing his five wins. In

2013, Mickelson held a one-shot lead going into the final round of the US Open before having to settle

for second behind Justin Rose. He recovered from that disappointment to win the

Scottish Open and then The Open at Muirfield, with an impressive final-round

performance, to dispel the oft-mentioned doubts about Mickelson’s ability

to win on a Links course. Now that he has proved he can be successful on a

Links course, that will stand him in good stead for this unique test, certainly

compared to other American courses, which awaits at Chambers Bay.

Mickelson’s general form in 2015 would be a concern as he has largely

failed to fire and missed the cut at The Players. However, he subsequently

finished in a tie for fourth in the Wells Fargo and he was also tied for second

in the Masters. Generally speaking, the bigger the tournament, the better

Mickelson plays, irrespective of the form he has been in.





IAN POULTER

Well
several players have played Chambers Bay in prep for US Open. The
reports back are its a complete farce. I guess someone has to win.

— Ian Poulter (@IanJamesPoulter) April 29, 2015

The Englishman has been at the centre of much of the debate about the state

of the course at Chambers Bay in recent weeks after tweeting that he had been

told the course was a ‘farce’. That isn’t Poulter’s

experience of the course and he is only planning to practice at the venue in

the days leading up to the US Open. Given the headlines that have been generated, Poulter is one to watch closely on

the West Coast as he bids for a first Major title. The US Open has never been

the Major where Poulter has performed to his best, with a tie for 12th in 2006

and a tie for 17th last year his best efforts. However, he has been playing

well in patches this year, finishing in a tie for third at the Honda Classic

and a tie for sixth at the Masters after back-to-back rounds of 67 over the

weekend. He also tied for fifth at the Crowne Plaza International at Colonial

after sitting second going into the final round. There have been times this

year when Poulter has bemoaned the state of his putting and that would be a

concern given the undulating nature of the greens at Chambers Bay. But the

testing nature of the greens could bring out the best in Poulter as he looks to

silence the critics who recently

voted him the most over-rated golfer in golf, alongside Fowler. And we know how Fowler

responded to that criticism.





JUSTIN ROSE









by Oliver Gunning

Since finishing in a tie for fourth at the 1998 Open as an amateur, Rose has

always threatened to be a golfer capable of winning a Major. He finally

achieved that feat two years ago

when winning the US Open at Merion. He started the final round two shots adrift of

Mickelson, but he held his nerve down the closing stretch to beat the American

and Jason Day by two shots. He finished in a tie for 12th in defence of his

title last year and the peculiar demands of the Chambers Bay course are

unlikely to faze the 34-year-old. This year, Rose’s form has been on the

inconsistent side as he missed the cut in three of his first four tournaments.

However, he was in excellent form at Augusta to finish in a tie for second and

he followed that up by winning the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with a score of 22 under. He missed the

cut at The Players, but while he is battling to find a consistent level of form

in 2015, it would be dangerous to dismiss his chances.





ADAM SCOTT











by Hone Morihana



Of all the players struggling to come to terms with the impending rule

change which will ban anchored putters, Scott is the one who appears to be suffering

the most. He started the year with a short putter before returning to his belly putter, which will be

outlawed by the end of the year. It has almost left the Australian in a

state of flux and, given how tough the greens are at Chambers Bay, watching

Scott on the putting surface at the US Open is going to make for captivating

viewing. His only top-20 finish so far in 2015 was when he was tied fourth at

the WGC-Cadillac Championship back in March. The former Masters champion was

only in a tie for 38th at Augusta this year to further underline the

difficulties he has been experiencing. He also doesn’t have the best US

Open record on his CV after missing the cut six times. However, his finish in a

tie for ninth 12 months ago was his best effort to date.





JUSTIN SPIETH



The great American golfing hope heads into the second Major of the year as the

winner of the first after a performance at Augusta which belied his youth. The

21-year-old produced an exemplary display over four rounds to demonstrate he

can handle the pressure of leading from the front. His Masters triumph is

merely part of a successful 2015 to date which has also seen Spieth

win the Valspar Championship. He has also finished second, or tied for

second, in the Texas Open, the Houston Open and the Crowne Plaza. Spieth will

now be aiming to take that form into the US Open, having been the leading

amateur when finishing in a tie for 21st three years ago. He was in a tie for

17th last year. The fact Spieth doesn’t have to rely on hitting the ball

long distances off the tee will help him to get good position on the fairway.

He was superb with the putter for most of the Masters and he looks capable of

getting a handle on how the greens are playing quicker than most of his rivals.





TIGER WOODS











by Keith Allison



At some point, there will come a time when Woods will be casually overlooked

when talking about possible Major winners, but there is still a mystifying

‘something’ which keeps the former world number one in your

thoughts. At 16/1 for the US Open, he isn’t a betting proposition given

his form so far this year following his return from a back problem. He

shot a second round of 82 – the worst of his career – when missing the cut at the Phoenix

Open before then withdrawing from the Farmers Insurance Open. Woods briefly

flickered at the Masters before a disappointing final round saw him finish in a

tie for 17th and, after scrambling through to the weekend, he was in a tie for

69th at The Players Championship. Woods has not won a Major since winning his

14th at the 2008 US Open and it is looking increasingly doubtful that he will

match Nicklaus’ record of 18. Two of his three US Open wins have come on

the Pacific coast and there will always be anticipation when Woods steps on to

the first tee. But given the way he has been blowing hot and cold with his

putter on his rare appearances this season, allied to the ongoing work on his

swing, it would be a major surprise if he triumphs at Chambers Bay. Yet he is

still not quite at that point in his career where you can completely dismiss

his chances.



10 golfers to watch at the 2015 US Open - Handicappers Hideaway