US Open Golf 2012: Bubba Watson and More Contenders to Watch

The 2012 United States Open Championship will be underway June 14–17 at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, CA. One hundred fifty-six contenders will be vying for the top spot as they clash at the gorgeous Lake Course.

The 112th U.S. Open has a wide array of players from around the globe and here are the select few that you should watch going into the tournament.

Bubba Watson

This lefty is fresh off his win at the 2012 Masters Tournament and looking to do major damage in the city by the bay. In 2007 Watson tied for fifth in the U.S. Open. Fast forward to today and the 33-year-old Watson is now ranked fifth in the Official World Golf Ranking. He's brimming with confidence now that his stock is at an all-time high and his game in this championship will reflect that.

Tiger Woods

Mr. Woods has been the face of golf for many years and his fourth place ranking in the OWGR only proves he is still a viable contender whenever he steps foot on a course. The 36-year-old Woods has won the U.S. Open in 2000, 2002 and 2008 in 16 appearances. The man can still get it done at a high level and knows exactly what it takes to win which is why he still a dangerous contender to deal with.  

Rory McIlroy  

At 23-years-old McIlroy should be wide-eyed innocent, but his resume paints a much different picture. With a second place ranking in the OWGR and three U.S. Opens under his belt McIlroy's eyes are dead set on dominating in this year's championship. After winning the tournament in 2011, McIlroy is prime to repeat his amazing play last year and do damage in 2012.

Luke Donald

Coming into the 2012 U.S. Open with the No. 1 rank in the OWGR should make Donald a tad bit more confident to pump his chest out a little more. However, don't expect Donald to be oozing with assurance since he has never finished in the top 10 in this championship. After eight trips to the U.S. Open, the 34-year-old Donald knows his time to win is coming.

In recent pre-championship interviews with Beth Major these contenders spoke about the road ahead and what the U.S Open will bring.

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"This is a U.S. Open course. U.S. Opens are tough," said Donald.  "It challenges every part of your game from the first tee shot to when you walk off 18. It's a grind. Even the easy holes, there's always trouble lurking. And you've just got to play solid golf. "

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Donald's experience in this championship bodes well for him going forward and he will be in the right mindset come tee-off time.

McIlroy spoke about winning the championship last year and defending his crown in this year's tournament.

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"It's been a great 12 months," McIlroy said. "To play these 12 months as a major champion and get to deal with everything that comes along with that has been a great experience."

"The last 12 months has been fantastic. I felt like I played very well in that time. And really looking forward to this week and giving it a good go in trying to defend."

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The enthusiastic McIlroy is happy to be back and showed all the signs of a reigning champ as he attempts to defend his crown.

However, this task is easier said than done. Past champions would agree that this is no easy feat to accomplish. Woods knows firsthand having won the U.S. Open three times in his illustrious career.

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"It's not easy to do," said Woods. "This is probably the hardest test that we play all year."

"What makes it difficult, I think, is that we're playing different venues each and every year.  It's not like Augusta National where we're playing the same golf course each and every year.  We have to relearn a whole new golf course. "

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The common consensus between these players is the difficulty of the course, but Watson also recognized what most fans don't see, the mental quandary.

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"Playing in The Open you know it's going to be a test of golf," Watson said. "You know it's going to be a fun test, a very difficult test. It's going to require mental focus that you've never had on most golf tournaments."

"So we know that you can't worry about what par is or who you're playing with or what you're doing. You've just got to worry about how tough this golf course is and about your mental focus.  You're going to make bogeys, not many birdies. It's about trying to make par somehow."

 

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