This year's U.S. Open at Oakmont will be a battle of survival against one of the toughest courses in America. See which golfers may be best primed to take on the challenge.
WASHINGTON — Golf is full of legendary courses that evoke different feelings about the game. There is the tradition of St. Andrew’s; the natural beauty of Augusta. Then, there’s Oakmont, the valley of death.
The rough is treacherously thick. The greens are rock hard and glassy. The sand will swallow you alive.
There’s a 288-yard par 3 and a par 5 that stretches nearly 700 yards. The last time the Open was here in 2007, Angel Cabrera won shooting +5 for the championship.
So who can navigate the madness, stay out of trouble, and take home America’s championship? Click through to see some of the favorites and possible dark horses.
(Getty Images/Ross Kinnaird)
Getty Images/Ross Kinnaird
Jason Day (13-2)
There’s a good reason Day is the slight favorite heading into Thursday. He’s the only player with three wins on tour this year, accomplishing the feat in just 11 events. Since finishing tied for 10th at The Masters, he’s shot in the 60s in 10 of his last 15 rounds. Day is tops in sand save percentage, and also head and shoulders the best putter on tour, by advanced metrics. He’ll look to extend his streak of Top 10 major finishes to five straight this weekend as he looks for his second major title.
(Getty Images/Christian Petersen)
Getty Images/Christian Petersen
Rory McIlroy (7-1)
McIlroy’s already got a US Open to his name, from all the way back in 2011, when he was just 22 years old. He’s once again fully healthy and playing some of his best golf in a while, with four top-four finishes in his last seven events. He’s one of just six players on tour to have a birdie-or-better percentage higher than 25 percent (26.75)
(Getty Images/Rob Carr)
Getty Images/Rob Carr
Jordan Spieth (8-1)
The defending champ, Spieth is on quite a run through the majors. He has finished no worse than fourth his last six major championships, but his collapse at Augusta cost him a chance to defend his Masters title. Spieth has the third-best scoring average on tour and the second-highest birdie-or-better rate. But if adversity strikes again, will he be able to overcome it and survive?
(Getty Images/Rob Carr)
Getty Images/Rob Carr
Justin Rose (25-1)
Rose can be an easily overlooked star, but few show his kind of consistency in majors. He’s finished in the Top 10 in three straight and no worse than 27th over his past nine major championship events dating back to the beginning of 2014. Rose won the US Open in 2013, but also tied for 10th the last time the event was at Oakmont. If others struggle, the consistent South African-born Englishman may win the battle of attrition by being his steady self.
(Getty Images/Ross Kinnaird)
Getty Images/Ross Kinnaird
Bubba Watson (40-1)
Watson has made his name at Augusta, winning a pair of green jackets, but has often struggled at US Opens, missing the cut the past two and three of the past four years. So why is he on this list? He’s already notched a pair of wins and a second-place finish this year and he’s headed back to Oakmont, where he finished tied for fifth in 2007.
(Getty Images/David Cannon)
Getty Images/David Cannon
Paul Casey (60-1)
Casey didn’t notch a top-30 finish at a major between 2011-14, but has back-to-back top six finishes at The Masters the past two years. Now he returns to Oakmont, the site of his best-ever US Open finish, when he was 10th in 2007. The Englishman has four Top 10 finishes this season, but is still in search of his first major title. Could it come this weekend?
(Getty Images/Christian Petersen)
Getty Images/Christian Petersen
Thomas Aiken (300-1)
Who? Yes, Thomas Aiken. Why? The 32-year-old has played 48 rounds of competitive golf this year and has hit 73.76 percent of his fairways, the second-highest rate on tour and highest of anyone in the field. At Oakmont, where the players have already lamented the difficulty of the bunkers just in practice, keeping the ball in the fairway will be half the battle. Other long shots with solid accuracy off the tee include Justin Hicks (500-1), Emiliano Grillo (150-1) and Russell Knox (100-1). Henrik Stenson, who is ninth on tour in driving accuracy, has mere 30-1 odds.
(Getty Images/Ross Kinnaird)
