U.S. Open Golf 2012: Which Stars Are in Position for Olympic Club Win?

There are still a ton of holes left to play at Olympic Club during the 2012 U.S. Open, but some superstars have clearly separated themselves from the pack after the first round.

With Round 2 set to tee off shortly, it’s time to take a last-minute look at which golfers are in position to win it all after the first 18 have been played.

Tiger Woods, -1

Woods was the favorite before the tournament began and is proving that he is back in top form with an impressive one-under performance.

After winning Memorial, there were rumblings that Tiger might fall off in the subsequent major—as he did at the Masters following his Arnold Palmer Invitational victory.

It doesn’t look like that will be happening here.

Tiger is just three strokes off the lead and tied for second place with four other golfers. If he continues to play smart and patient golf, he’ll make a strong surge up to the top in the near future.

Graeme McDowell, -1

The 2010 US Open champion is back in contention in 2012 after a disappointing defense of his title last year.

He is tied with Woods, Nick Watney, Justin Rose and David Toms for second after the first round. Only Woods has any experience winning a major, and McDowell’s pedigree will pay off.

He knows what it takes to survive these brutal tournaments and has shown the resolve to win them before.

Michael Thompson, -4

Thompson had an incredible round on Thursday. He bogeyed at Hole 1 before a birdie at 3, and then followed it up with back-to-back bogeys at 5 and 6. It seemed that things were looking bad, but then he started to play absolutely brilliant golf.

He would not bogey another hole the rest of the day and knocked some strokes off at 7, 9, 11, 12, 14 and 18.

If he can master those first couple of holes and stay consistent, Thompson will run away with this event.