US Open Golf 2012: Essential Guide to Day 1 of the Tournament

With all of the attention on Thursday focused solely on Tiger Woods and his groupmates, it could be the perfect time for someone else to sneak in and put himself on track for a major victory—maybe someone from the second-team all-star group featuring Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood and Luke Donald.

This is the first time Tiger has been a legitimate contender at the US Open since his pre-scandal existence, which has certainly paved the way for a few years of Tiger-less excitement, but his return to glory will be just as momentous to watch. As long as he can keep his game together on Day 1, he will be in good shape to win.

And if he struggles on the first day, that could spell doom for him, judging by the way the Masters went for him: He shot a 72 on the Thursday and never recovered.

Here's everything you need to know about Day 1 of the US Open at Olympic.

Where: The Olympic Club, San Francisco, Calif.

When: Thursday, June 14, 10 a.m. ET

Watch: ESPN (12-2 p.m. ET, 5-10 p.m. ET) and NBC (3-5 p.m. ET)

Live Stream: USOpen.com


Expert Predictions

Steve Elling, CBSSports.com

Lee Westwood is as good a selection as any: Despite the fact that he's never won a major, he's been playing well enough lately to suggest it won't be far off. He registered top-five finishes at the Masters and at the Wells Fargo in April and in May, and despite a rough outing at the Players Championship, his style of play is best suited to the narrow course at Olympic.

Shane Bacon, CBSSports.com

Tiger Woods is the odds-on favorite to win (11-2, via Bovada), but that didn't help him at the Masters, did it? Still, Bacon is picking him to win a major for the first time since 2008. Woods has certainly raised his game over the last couple of months, even when you take his rough finish at the Masters (tied for 40th) into consideration. He has two wins thus far in 2012, one of which came just a couple of weeks ago, so he's riding high on confidence and momentum.

Bill Dwyre, Los Angeles Times

Unorthodox pick, here: Steve Stricker, who has 40-1 odds of taking home top honors by tournament's end. He certainly has experience in the US Open—he'll be playing in his 17th this weekend—but there doesn't seem to be a lot supporting a win for him except for the idea that he's "due." He's a good putter, but there are a lot of better options with a decent short game. 

My Prediction: Phil Mickelson

Talk about being due. Lefty's somehow never won at the US Open, despite finishing in second place five times. He seems to really want this win, especially after making the choice to withdraw from the Memorial a couple of weeks ago in favor of getting in more rest and preparation for Olympic. He seemed similarly determined before the Masters, where he finished third in April, and playing alongside Tiger will boost his competitive drive even more.