Golf’s third major is here as the 2024 U.S. Open tees off June 13th. It will be fascinating to see if we get a different winner from the first two or if Scottie Scheffler or Xander Schauffele can repeat as winners for a second major. There could be an argument that Scottie would still be alive for the Grand Slam in golf this season if it hadn’t been for his unfortunate arrest in which all charges have now been dropped after evidence was released by the police. Regardless, he has one to his name this season and will be hunting down his first U.S. Open title.
What to Know
The 2024 U.S. Open will be played at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina, and it is the fourth U.S. Open held there since 1999. The past three winners there were Martin Kaymer, Michael Campbell, and Payne Stewart.
Since 2018, there have been six different winners of the tournament which kicked off with Brooks Koepka who was the repeat winner from his victory in 2017. Last year, it was all Wyndham Clark when the tournament was played in Los Angeles and the year before we saw Matt Fitzpatrick take home his first major win in Boston.
Pinehurst No. 2 has 117 different sand bunkers and the grounds crew that runs the course has made it clear that they want to challenge players when their balls hit the ground, not just how they strike it in the air. Accuracy will be the name of the game this time around for anyone who wants to hoist the trophy this year.
The Leaders
It is no surprise that Scottie Scheffler is the favorite to win this tournament. He already has five wins this season, a remarkable number considering the last time that anyone won five tournaments during an entire season was Justin Thomas back in 2017. Scheffler is +300 to win the U.S. Open which are incredibly low odds for a winner of a major but coming off a win at The Memorial, there is no reason to think that Scheffler cannot get the job done.
You can’t count out Rory McIlroy who has played better this season and is still searching for his first major win in the last 10 years. McIlroy has finished 15th or better, including a win in his last four starts and seems to have his mind in the right place.
After that, the names to look out for are Xander Schauffele fresh off his PGA Championship win, Brooks Koepka who is no stranger to winning the Open and who always seems to show up when it’s time to play in a Major, and another name I really like is Tommy Fleetwood who isn’t just looking for his first Major, but his first ever PGA Tour win. Yes, I am just as shocked as you.
Prediction
It may be boring, but it is impossible to bet against Scottie Scheffler right now. We haven’t seen a golfer dominate the game like this since prime Tiger Woods in the early 2000s and I am fully expecting him to win another major.