US Open 2023: All You Need to Know

The third major of the year is The U.S. Open, which will be the first major championship held at The Los Angeles Country Club and will be contested on the North Course. A host of both PGA Tour players and 15 LIV Golf Tour players will be competing for one of the most prestigious titles in golf.

This years championship will feature an unprecedented 290 yard, par-three on the 11th, which will undoubtably offer up several challenges for this years field. If that wasn't enough, the LA Country Club also has some of the most treacherous rough we have seen this year, and will test every players wedge play and short game.

Defending US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick will be looking to improve on his Canadian Open finish of T20, this week in LA. Fitzpatrick managed to beat a chasing pack that included the reigning Masters champion Scottie Scheffler and former US Open winners Jon Rahm, and Rory McIlroy back in 2022 to win by a single stroke ahead Will Zalatoris. The Englishman comes into the championship with 1 win on tour this season, with 4 top-10 finishes.

Unsurprisingly, Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, and Brooks Koepka are current favourites to take the championship, with two out of the three current major holders.

Rahm is a California specialist. His 2021 US Open title came at Torrey Pines in nearby San Diego and is one of his five victories, including two this year, in the Golden State.

No one is striking it better than Scheffler even with his unique footwork, but the 2022 Masters winner of needs to rediscover his touch on the greens, though we saw him performing strongly at the PGA Championship, placing second.

Koepka, despite being part of the "rival" LIV Golf League, knows how to turn up in major championships, winning 2023s PGA Championship, and finishing T2 at The Masters. He has now seemingly put his injuries behind him and is back to his best. With the recently announced shock merger of the DP World Tour, PGA Tour, and LIV golf, we could see a new animal unleashed should Brooks get the chance to re-join golfs premier tour.

Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland will be hoping to capitalise on a good run of recent form and take home the title.

Hovland won the memorial tournament 2 weeks ago in what was his first victory since 2021.

Meanwhile McIlroy performed strongly in last weeks Canadian open, where he was -12 under going into the final day, however his wedge play, seemingly his achilles heel at the moment, hampered him and he ended his final round for par, placing him T9, 5 shots behind runner up Tommy Fleetwood, and eventual winner Nick Taylor.

England had a strong contingent of players grouped at the top of last weeks leader board at the Canadian open.

Justin Rose is entitled to fancy his chances in what has been a highly encouraging year for the English veteran, who won this trophy a decade ago. He, like Tyrrell Hatton, had another decent week in Canada, placing 8th and T3 respectively.

Tommy Fleetwood looks newly rejuvenated this season, culminating in his second place finish last week. He has made 12 of 14 cuts on the PGA tour, with 4 top-10 results in the process, though now holds the record for career earnings on the PGA tour without a win at $17,676,199.

Could this finally be the week for major success for Patrick Cantlay? The American has only one top three finish in 25 attempts in the four grand slam tournaments - a huge underachievement for his talents, and is often dubbed the best player on tour currently, not to have won a major.

There are four players in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking that have not won a major: No. 4 Patrick Cantlay, No. 5 Viktor Hovland, No. 6 Xander Schauffele and No. 7 Max Homa. Those four players have combined for 25 PGA TOUR titles and have all won at least twice since the start of the 2021-22 season.

The following players have been invited from the LIV Golf League;

Brooks Koepka - No golfer has played the year’s first two majors better than Koepka – a tie for 2nd at the Masters, followed by last month’s PGA Championship win at Oak Hill. No one will be surprised if he wins career major No. 6 this week. In fact, it’ll be more surprising if he’s not in contention late on Sunday.

Cameron Smith - Still seeking his first win in 2023 but he’s in excellent form. Finished T9 at the PGA and has also reeled off four consecutive top 10s in his last four LIV Golf starts. His putting always gives him a chance.

Dustin Johnson - Hasn’t been a factor in the first two majors but usually makes noise at the U.S. Open. In his last nine U.S. Open starts, he has one win, three top 5s and another top 10. Got off to a slow start in 2023 due to injury but did win LIV Golf Tulsa. Inconsistency may give pause, but the talent is the overriding factor. Plus, he knows how to win in California.

Bryson Dechambeau - The endless hours on the range this year finally seem to be paying off for DeChambeau. He was in the mix at the PGA, finishing T4, and he’s finished T5 and T9 in his last two LIV Golf starts. The confidence has returned, and winning in his native state would be sweet.

Phil Mickelson - What a story it would be if the World Golf Hall of Famer can complete the career Grand Slam in his home state. California has always treated the San Diego native well; 12 of his 57 career wins have come here. Alas, the U.S. Open has not been as kind. Still, the T2 at Augusta National in April shows he still has the game to win a major, and Mickelson has been intent on peaking for this week.

When: June 15th-18th
Where: Los Angeles, California The Los Angeles Country Club (North Course) Par: 70- 7,421 yds
Total Prize Purse: at least $17.5 million
Winner: $3,150,000+ 600 FedExCup pts.
Field: 156 players
Format: 72-hole stroke play