US Open 2018: What to look forward to
The US Open 2018 tees off on June 14, and 156 amateur and professional golfers will compete to be crowned the tournament’s champion. It has been called the most difficult men’s golf major to win, and every year, it seems to throw up surprises.
In April, it was announced that 9,049 golfers had entered the US Open 2018. The tournament, taking place at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in New York, had 54 exempt players included in the entrants’ figure. The number of entrants this season is down from last year, but it still ranks eighth in all-time entrant numbers for the US Open.
With so many entrants vying for a spot in the final 156 player field, a lot of surprises could be in store for this year’s event. The US Open 2018 is just around the corner, so what should you look forward to this year?
The Course
Shinnecock Golf Club on Long Island, New York will host the US Open 2018. It is the fifth time the course will host the event. Shinnecock first held the US Open in 1896 as Scotland’s James Foulis won the tournament. It would take 90 years for the US Open to return to Shinnecock. In 1986, the event saw Raymond Floyd take the US Open trophy. Nine years later, Corey Pavin won the tournament at Shinnecock while South Africa’s Retief Goosen won the event for the second time at the golf club in 2004.
A par 70 course, players have previously stated the third hole is Shinnecock Hills’ most difficult. At 500 yards, this par 4 has given players trouble in the last three editions of the US Open played at the golf club. However, the third hole is not the longest on the course. The 16th hole – known as Shinnecock – is a par 5 with a distance of 616 yards.
The playing field
Half of the tournament’s playing field was wide open going into qualification. It has been estimated that 78 golfers will be exempt, and around half of the playing field will be made up of players who navigated the waters of qualifying tournaments. The likes of Tiger Woods, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth have all qualified for the US Open already. They will be joined by other exempt players like Doug Ghim (2017 Amateur winner), Harry Ellis (2017 Amateur Champion), Kenny Perry (US Senior Open Championship winner) and more professional and amateur golfers.
One amateur player who could be at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on June 14 is Danny Dougherty. An 18-year-old high school senior from Wilmington, Pennsylvania, Dougherty has advanced to the final stage of US Open qualifying. If he qualifies, there is a good chance Dougherty will be the youngest golfer competing at Shinnecock Hills.
The variety of professional and amateur players competing in the US Open makes it difficult to predict. The 2017 US Open was won by Brooks Koepka. The 28-year-old had won just once previously on the PGA Tour and it had come two years prior. While the big names on the PGA Tour can storm their way to a win during the four-day tournament, a relative unknown can too.
Who is the favorite?
As the US Open 2018 approaches, experts are weighing up each player’s chances of winning the event. Currently, leading sports experts – including well-known sportsbooks – have installed Dustin Johnson as the US Open favorite. Johnson won the tournament in 2016, and so far, it has been his only major victory. Sixteen other PGA Tour wins have come his way, including the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January 2018.
The 2011 US Open winner Rory McIlroy is just behind Johnson on the list of favorites to win the tournament.
cIlroy is “fired up” over his missed opportunities at this year’s Masters. It is the one major that has alluded him. It could be the catalyst to the Northern Irishman’s victory at Shinnecock Hills.
Last year’s winner, Koepka, is outside the top 10 favorites to win the US Open. The reigning champion has suffered a recent wrist injury while practicing for the Players Championship. He already missed three months due to injury this season, and a repeat of his title win a year ago looks unlikely.
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Sources:
cbssports.com/golf/news/u-s-open-2018-over-9000-golfers-sign-up-for-nations-biggest-tournament
golf.com/tour-news/2018/05/15/two-golfcom-writers-took-us-open-qualifying
