US Open Field 2012: Unknown Talents You'll Be Talking About

We know the usual suspects to look out for in the 2012 U.S. Open field. Guys like Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Luke Donald are at the top of everyone's list in regards to who they should be watching this year.

The Olympic Club will be hosting "Golf's Toughest Test" and the field is wide open for the taking. That leaves room for relative unknowns to come in and attempt to make history.

Here are some of the golfers who will earn some extra attention this weekend.

Dustin Johnson

With his victory at the FedEx St. Jude's Classic, Johnson has not only climbed back into the world's top 10, but he also has a great deal of momentum going into the major. It was only his second event after coming back from injury.

Johnson has seen solid play when he's been healthy in 2012, making seven cuts including four top-10 finishes. His solid play has been building and culminated with the win at St. Jude's leading into the U.S. Open.

Johnson's power will help shorten the difficult course at The Olympic Club and if he can get to the green on a regular basis, his putting should be sufficient to give him a real shot at winning this event.

As hot as Johnson has been, don't be surprised if he is hanging around the top of the leaderboards on the last day.

Hunter Mahan

Mahan's 2012 has been a great one thus far and the 30-year-old's two victories are the most on tour. In all, he's enjoyed only three top-10 finishes, but Mahan has made the cut in 11-of-12 events.

That fact alone ensures Mahan will be around on the last days of the tournament.

It's been a while since Mahan's win at the Shell Houston Open and to say he's due for another victory is an understatement.

Mahan isn't exceptionally powerful off the tee, but his ability to hit greens with great regularity will set the golfer up for countless opportunities to at least make par on every hole. Being able to do that will put Mahan squarely in the conversation for winning this tournament.

Rickie Fowler

The up-and-coming, always flamboyant 23-year-old Fowler might be well-known to the diehard golf fans, but casual viewers might not know him as well.

Fowler has enjoyed a great deal of success this year and is certainly one of the young players to watch in the sport. He finally notched the first victory of his career this year to go along with a second-place finish.

In all, Fowler has finished in the top-10 five times.

The man in orange has also enjoyed making the cut 13-of-15 events in 2012 and has a great chance to do the same in the U.S. Open.

A great all-around game filled with solid drives and lots of greens makes Fowler quite the dangerous player. It remains to be seen if he can back that up with improved putting, which will be the difference in his attempt to win his first major.