US Open Golf Predictions 2012: Notable Names That Will Be Hopeless by Saturday

The 112^th playing of the US Open is officially under way. The talk of who will fill the top of the leaderboard come the weekend has already begun. While it is still early in the tournament, many have pegged some big names to fill the leaderboard come Saturday and Sunday.

However, like many US Opens, many notable names will struggle to make the cut and will find themselves out of contention and hopeless come Saturday.

Presented are some huge names that could be well out of the tournament come Saturday afternoon.

Phil Mickelson

Lefty is known for making weekend charges at the US Open and putting a scare into the leaders; however, this year he may have to settle to being stuck among the pack. Mickelson’s game, which had been solid for most of the year, seems to have hit a rough patch following a disastrous 79 during his only round at the Memorial.

Mickelson has voiced his displeasure about some aspects of the Olympic Club this week, which leads me to believe that the course doesn’t entirely suit his eye. Jack Nicklaus once said that he would eliminate those who complained about the course from his list of challengers, and if the Golden Bear lives by that rule, then so will I.

Phil seems to be already making excuses as to why he will not be able to be aggressive on the course. Without his go-for-broke style to turn to, Mickelson will most likely plod around Olympic seemingly stuck in neutral and unable to make his typical Saturday charge. 

Graeme McDowell

The Northern Ireland star surprised many when he conquered the famed Pebble Beach to win the US Open in 2010. However, since that magical week, McDowell’s game has been steadily declining. This season he only has 2 Top 10 finishes and has been down right awful in his last two outings.

Graeme has the mental fortitude to grind it out to make the cut on Friday, but his current form will keep him stuck near the bottom of the leader board. The big struggle for McDowell this week will likely be due to his lack of length and his inconsistent putter.

McDowell will struggle to get scoring chances this week due to the overwhelming length Olympic Club will possess this week. While pars are usually gold in the US Open, players have to find a way to get a few birdies and that is something Graeme will struggle to get. 

Tiger Woods

Tell me if this doesn’t sound familiar: Tiger wins two weeks before a major on a course that he is extremely familiar with and is the overwhelming favorite to walk away with yet another major championship. Well, how did that turn out last time? Yes, that's right—with a minor meltdown on perhaps his favorite course in the world and a middle of the pack finish.

Sure, Tiger is coming off a remarkable come-from-behind win at Jack’s tournament, but his game is still not major championship caliber yet. His tee-to-green game has improved greatly with his new swing, but the US Open is won with the putter and Tiger’s big problem this week will come on the greens.

His struggles with the putter have been well documented and are likely to keep him from making a charge. Once seen as the game’s best putter, Woods has looked nothing of the sort since his return from his hiatus.

Rickie Fowler

One of the game’s great young players, Rickie has been a hot commodity since his breakthrough win at the Wells Fargo Championship earlier this season. However, I am not sold that his game suits a US Open. Fowler has the ball striking ability to contend in the national championship but his putting is suspect and so is his ability to withstand pressure.

Rickie is coming off a terrible final round collapse at the Memorial, where he was paired with Tiger and was unable to withstand the pressure of being apart of the Woods circus. His game, while fun to watch, is based off rhythm, and when that is thrown off he struggles to keep the ship afloat.

I have faith that Fowler will tough it out and make the weekend, but I am not ready to say that he is worthy of contending in our national championship. 

Webb Simpson

Last season’s darling has been off to a solid but not great start this season. With only 4 Top 10s in 13 starts this season, and coming off two consecutive missed cuts, Webb has been struggling to find the swing that propelled him to stardom in 2011.

Currently Simpson sits outside the Top 100 in driving distance and accuracy, which spells disaster in the US Open.

Simpson will likely hover around the cut line on Friday and will struggle to crack the Top 30 come the weekend. His game does not suit a US Open as he does not have the consistency in his swing or his putting stroke to actually contend at the toughest test in golf.