Tiger Woods and Top Contenders to Watch at 2015 US Open
The 2015 U.S. Open boasts a field of exciting players capable of producing an extremely compelling tournament. Some of these top contenders enter the year's second major with a great deal of momentum; however, others remain big question marks.
We have the likes of the surging Jordan Spieth, who won the Masters earlier this year and hasn't looked back. World No. 1 Rory McIlroy will look to claim his fifth major title, but he's coming off of two consecutive missed cuts. Phil Mickelson aims to (finally) complete his career Grand Slam after previously notching six runner-up finishes in the U.S. Open.
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Then we have the curious case of Tiger Woods. Ranked No. 195 in the world (you read that right), Woods enters the U.S. Open with his lowest rank since 1996—the year he won his very first PGA Tour tournament. He'll be looking to claim his fourth U.S. Open title and first since his memorable 2008 playoff victory over Rocco Mediate.
These players will be competing on a course that resembles more of an Open Championship style than a U.S. Open layout. Chambers Bay was only opened in 2007 and features huge fairways, massive greens, few trees and plenty of greenside fescue sure to give players fits. So far, the tournament's contenders haven't exactly been impressed with the track, according to Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post.
So, while we await what is poised to be a very intriguing U.S. Open to commence, let's take a look at the current Vegas odds and pinpoint several players to keep a keen eye on at Chambers Bay.
U.S. Open Odds
| Rory McIlroy | 6-1 |
| Jordan Spieth | 7-1 |
| Dustin Johnson | 16-1 |
| Justin Rose | 18-1 |
| Phil Mickelson | 18-1 |
| Rickie Fowler | 18-1 |
| Adam Scott | 20-1 |
| Jason Day | 22-1 |
| Henrik Stenson | 25-1 |
| Bubba Watson | 28-1 |
| Sergio Garcia | 28-1 |
| Hideki Matsuyama | 33-1 |
| Jim Furyk | 33-1 |
| Jimmy Walker | 33-1 |
| Martin Kaymer | 33-1 |
| Matt Kuchar | 33-1 |
| Patrick Reed | 33-1 |
| Tiger Woods | 33-1 |
All tournament odds provided by Odds Shark.
Contenders to Watch
Rory McIlroy
The world's No. 1 golfer hasn't exactly been living up to his reputation of late. McIlroy enjoyed great success early in his 2015 campaign with victories in the Dubai Desert Classic, WGC-Cadillac Match Play and Wells Fargo Championship; however, his form has quickly fallen off over his last two starts.
McIlroy is coming off of two consecutive missed cuts in the BMW PGA Championship and Dubai Duty Free Irish Open (both European Tour events). He posted an ugly number in each tournament, shooting a second-round 78 in the PGA and posting an opening-round 80 in the Irish Open. He's now missed a total of three cuts this year after missing just one in 2014.
While McIlroy is disappointed with his last two showings, he remained level-headed during an interview with Maggie Hendricks of USA Today: "Even if I come out of a tournament, and I've played my best and I haven't won, there's nothing more I can do. Then it's out of my hands. Someone else has played better. I want to perform to the best of my ability that week. If that means I end up lifting up the trophy at the end of it, that's great."
Following the Irish Open, McIlroy took a week off from golf and went back to practicing in Florida before making the trip to Chambers Bay. The Northern Irishman has been stellar in big tournaments of late, and despite his recent form, we shouldn't expect anything different this time around.
Jordan Spieth
Spieth continues to nip at McIlroy's heels, ranking No. 2 in the world by a respectable margin. The 21-year-old phenom finished his 2014 campaign with two consecutive victories, and he didn't let up in the beginning of 2015, notching five top-10 finishes and two wins—including the Masters—in his first nine tournaments.
His form has wavered a bit of late. Spieth missed the cut at The Players Championship, went on to post a runner-up finish in the Crowne Plaza Invitational, followed that up with a disappointing tie for 30th in the Byron Nelson—his hometown event—and finished up with a tie for third in the Memorial. That's quite a roller-coaster ride.
If anyone has the ability to come up big in a major, it's Spieth. We saw it at times last year, and we certainly saw it in this year's Masters. The world No. 2 has taken a liking to Chambers Bay but admitted a certain difficulty during an interview with Bill Nichols of The Dallas Morning News:
"You literally have to land the ball in a one-yard circle to get it within 20 feet. It can be done, but I just didn't do it.
I absolutely love the golf course. but I just felt like the greens were too hard, too difficult.
"
Spieth hasn't been overly accurate on his approach shots this year, ranking 62nd on the PGA Tour in greens-in-regulation percentage. Although, he's more than made up for that with the flat stick, as Spieth currently leads the PGA Tour in average putts per round. That statistic will come in handy this week.
Phil Mickelson
It's been an interesting couple of years for Mickelson. For the first time since 2003, Lefty finished a season (2014) without a win. So far, that trend has continued in 2015, as he's tallied just as many missed cuts (three) as top-10 finishes. Although, there's light at the end of the tunnel for Mickelson.
His best showing this season was at Augusta. Lefty managed to right the ship and finish tied for second in the Masters—his best finish on the year. While he can be unpredictable, Mickelson always tends to show up on the biggest stages. He's done that consistently over the years in U.S. Opens; however, the tournament continues to elude him. He's never won but has accumulated a whopping six runner-up finishes.
Will Chambers Bay be the course that allows Lefty to finally complete the Grand Slam?
This will be an interesting challenge for Mickelson. Due to the difficulty of holding the greens at Chambers Bay, a stellar short game will be necessary to emerge victorious. Well, that just happens to be Lefty's forte.
In fact, an anonymous tour pro put it best during an interview with Golf.com: "I had high hopes for Phil this year. He worked on his conditioning, got some clubhead speed back and has played better. His short game could really shine at Chambers Bay, but it all hinges on how he putts. His driver is his Achilles' heel, just like Tiger."
That's exactly right. Mickelson has the length off the tee to flourish at Chambers Bay, but keeping his ball in play and out of the fescue will be a big test. Lefty is also a very streaky putter, but if he catches fire, he'll certainly be a name to watch.
Tiger Woods
There hasn't been a bigger fall from grace in the history of golf. Woods held strong as the world's No. 1 golfer for the better part of 13 years. However, constant tinkering with his swing, personal issues and health trouble saw his game quickly decline. If it weren't for his fame, he'd be completely irrelevant at this point in his career.
Although, there's something intriguing about Woods entering this year's U.S. Open. While he's entered just five tournaments this season, missing one cut, withdrawing once and failing to earn a single top-10 finish, his tie for 17th in the Masters gives us hope that there's still a little bit of Tiger magic that's yet to be seen.
After all, some of the golfer's best moments of his career have come during his three U.S. Open titles. Remember his 15-stroke victory at Pebble Beach in 2000, his duel with Mickelson in 2002 and his triumph over Mediate in a playoff in 2008? Those were all historical moments in golf's history.
Woods wants to win the tournament again. In fact, he's been feverishly practicing at Chambers Bay in an effort to get acclimated with the course. Here's what he had to say during an interview with Steve DiMeglio of USA Today: "You see more options. And this is a different wind so that changes all your numbers. You just have to take in as much as you can."
He'll need as much preparation has he can muster after his dreadful showing in the Memorial. His confidence can't be too high right now after posting a career-worst 18-hole score of 85 in the third round and a career-worst 72-hole score of 302.
Those are some ugly numbers, but this is the U.S. Open, and anything's possible.
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