US Open Golf Predictions 2012: Tiger Woods and Top Contenders to Win

This June's U.S. Open promises to entertain and surprise as action is set to get under way on Thursday from the Olympic Club in San Francisco. 

Past U.S. Open champion Tiger Woods is the player to watch this coming week though, as he is coming off a dominant performance at the Memorial Tournament, in which he shot five-under in the final round to win.

Tiger looked rejuvenated and inspired as he birdied three of the final four holes to take the championship. 

Woods has his mojo back and right on time, as the season's second major is on the horizon. But Tiger isn't alone among the top contenders to win at this year's U.S. Open. 

Tiger Woods

Tiger was on his game last week in Ohio, where he bounced back from a poor third round at the Memorial to finish strong on the final 18 holes, winning the tournament and gaining a world of confidence. The win was Woods' first since he placed first at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill last March.

Although there is added pressure playing in the U.S. Open, Woods has won there before, three times in fact, and demonstrated just recently how well he can play in the red shirt and black pants on Sunday. Woods will tee off Thursday with Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson, the reigning Masters champion. 

Rory McIlroy

McIlroy won the U.S. Open last year, and will look to repeat and claim his second career major. Like Woods, McIlroy struggled in the season's first major tournament, finishing tied with Tiger for 40th at Augusta last April.

The 23-year-old will be paired with Luke Donald and Lee Westwood, who are ranked No. 1 and 3 in the world; McIlroy is No. 2. Based on how he handled the pressure at last year's U.S. Open, McIlroy is a safe bet to contend and certainly win for the second straight year.

Phil Mickelson

Unlike Tiger and Rory, Phil Mickelson has never won a U.S. Open, but instead has finished second or tied for second on five different occasions, the latest coming in 2009. With that being said, Lefty is due for a strong performance at the Olympic Club this week. 

Mickelson finished third at Augusta two months ago and nearly won the Masters despite posting two triple bogeys, including one on the final Sunday. If anyone is going to win the U.S. Open for the first time on Sunday, it will likely be Mickelson, who has something to prove after withdrawing early from the Memorial.

Follow Patrick Clarke for more on the 2012 U.S. Open.