US Open Field 2015: Tee Times, Odds and Predictions for Favorites and Sleepers
The U.S. Open has prided itself on difficulty over the years, with the USGA opting for headache-inducing hole locations and impossible courses. But even for such an audacious event, the 2015 tournament is pushing the boundaries.
The second major of the year will be held at Chambers Bay Golf Course in University Place, Washington, which is setting firsts in a number of areas. Founded in 2007, it will be the youngest course to host the U.S. Open since 1970.
But it's more about the unfamiliar links-style layout and other non-traditional tweaks to the course that have led noted golfers such as Ian Poulter to call it a "complete farce," per New York Post's Mark Cannizzaro. Some unique characteristics of the course will be under the microscope, which is expanded upon below:
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It won't take a typical major approach for golfers to reign supreme this time. On a course that many of the world's best are just getting accustomed to, early preparation will prove pivotal along with traits like driving distance and accuracy, which are all the more crucial on links.
| 10 a.m. | 4 p.m. | Michael Putnam | Marcus Fraser | TBA |
| 10:11 a.m. | 4:11 p.m. | Garth Mulroy | Richard Lee | Lucas Bjerregaard |
| 10:22 a.m. | 4:22 p.m. | Jason Allred | Kyle Jones | Cody Gribble |
| 10:33 a.m. | 4:33 p.m. | Phil Mickelson | Bubba Watson | Angel Cabrera |
| 10:44 a.m. | 4:44 p.m. | Wen-chong Liang | David Hearn | Hiroyuki Fujita |
| 10:55 a.m. | 4:55 p.m. | Robert Streb | Lee McCoy | TBA |
| 11:06 a.m. | 5:06 p.m. | George McNeill | Masahiro Kawamura | Cameron Tringale |
| 11:17 a.m. | 5:17 p.m. | Henrik Stenson | Francesco Molinari | Brandt Snedeker |
| 11:28 a.m. | 5:28 p.m. | Jim Furyk | Miguel Angel Jimenez | Colin Montgomerie |
| 11:39 a.m. | 5:39 p.m. | Brooks Koepka | Russell Henley | Byeong-hun An |
| 11:50 a.m. | 5:50 p.m. | Jason Dufner | Marc Warren | Matt Every |
| 12:01 p.m. | 6:01 p.m. | Brandon Hagy | Matthew NeSmith | Sebastian Cappelen |
| 12:12 p.m. | 6:12 p.m. | Nick Hardy | Alex Kim | Rich Berberian Jr. |
| 10 a.m. | 4 p.m. | Troy Kelly | Seuk-hyun Baek | Cameron Smith |
| 10:11 a.m. | 4:11 p.m. | John Parry | Jack Maguire | --- |
| 10:22 a.m. | 4:22 p.m. | Timothy O'Neal | Stephan Jaeger | Kurt Barnes |
| 10:33 a.m. | 4:33 p.m. | Gary Woodland | Victor Dubuisson | John Senden |
| 10:44 a.m. | 4:44 p.m. | TBA | Morgan Hoffman | Bernd Wiesberger |
| 10:55 a.m. | 4:55 p.m. | Marcel Siem | Alexander Levy | Brian Harman |
| 11:06 a.m. | 5:06 p.m. | Hideki Matsuyama | Graeme McDowell | Matt Kuchar |
| 11:17 a.m. | 5:17 p.m. | Dustin Johnson | Adam Scott | Sergio Garcia |
| 11:28 a.m. | 5:28 p.m. | Martin Kaymer | Gunn Yang | Rory McIlroy |
| 11:39 a.m. | 5:39 p.m. | Patrick Reed | Chris Kirk | Jamie Donaldson |
| 11:50 a.m. | 5:50 p.m. | Webb Simpson | Keegan Bradley | Kevin Na |
| 12:01 p.m. | 6:01 p.m. | Sam Horsfield | Shunsuke Sonoda | Oliver Farr |
| 12:12 p.m. | 6:12 p.m. | Kevin Lucas | Pat Wilson | Cole Hammer |
| 4 p.m. | 10 a.m. | Jason Palmer | Roberto Castro | Andres Romero |
| 4:11 p.m. | 10:11 a.m. | Denny McCarthy | D.A. Points | Shiv Kapur |
| 4:22 p.m. | 10:22 a.m. | Bryson DeChambeau | Blayne Barber | Billy Hurley III |
| 4:33 p.m. | 10:33 a.m. | Geoff Ogilvy | Ernie Els | Retief Goosen |
| 4:44 p.m. | 10:44 a.m. | Bo Van Pelt | Charlie Beljan | Tony Finau |
| 4:55 p.m. | 10:55 a.m. | Lee Janzen | Oliver Schniederjans | Darren Clarke |
| 5:06 p.m. | 11:06 a.m. | Daniel Summerhays | Thomas Aiken | Danny Lee |
| 5:17 p.m. | 11:17 a.m. | Jordan Spieth | Jason Day | Justin Rose |
| 5:28 p.m. | 11:28 a.m. | Tiger Woods | Rickie Fowler | Louis Oosthuizen |
| 5:39 p.m. | 11:39 a.m. | Jimmy Walker | Zach Johnson | Ian Poulter |
| 5:50 p.m. | 11:50 a.m. | Ryan Moore | Anirban Lahiri | Erik Compton |
| 6:01 p.m. | 12:01 p.m. | Jake Knapp | Tyler Duncan | Matt Mabrey |
| 6:12 p.m. | 12:12 p.m. | Michael Davan | Davis Riley | Andrew Pope |
| 4 p.m. | 10 a.m. | Tom Hoge | Brad Fritsch | Tjaart van der Walt |
| 4:11 p.m. | 10:11 a.m. | Brad Elder | Beau Hossler | Jamie Lovemark |
| 4:22 p.m. | 10:22 a.m. | Ryo Ishikawa | Luke Donald | J.B. Holmes |
| 4:33 p.m. | 10:33 a.m. | Lucas Glover | Bradley Neil | Marc Leishman |
| 4:44 p.m. | 10:44 a.m. | Ryan Palmer | Joost Luiten | Danny Willett |
| 4:55 p.m. | 10:55 a.m. | TBA | George Coetzee | Alexander Noren |
| 5:06 p.m. | 11:06 a.m. | Brendon Todd | Branden Grace | Thongchai Jaidee |
| 5:17 p.m. | 11:17 a.m. | Billy Horschel | Paul Casey | Lee Westwood |
| 5:28 p.m. | 11:28 a.m. | Bill Haas | Charl Schwartzel | Hunter Mahan |
| 5:39 p.m. | 11:39 a.m. | Shane Lowry | Ben Martin | Stephen Gallacher |
| 5:50 p.m. | 11:50 a.m. | Charley Hoffman | Camilo Villegas | Tommy Fleetwood |
| 6:01 p.m. | 12:01 p.m. | Mark Silvers | Brian Campbell | Cheng-Tsung Pan |
| 6:12 p.m. | 12:12 p.m. | TBA | Jared Becher | Samuel Saunders |
| Rory McIlroy | 7-1 |
| Jordan Spieth | 8-1 |
| Phil Mickelson | 16-1 |
| Dustin Johnson | 18-1 |
| Justin Rose | 18-1 |
| Rickie Fowler | 18-1 |
| Henrik Stenson | 25-1 |
| Adam Scott | 28-1 |
| Bubba Watson | 28-1 |
| Hideki Matsuyama | 28-1 |
| Jason Day | 33-1 |
| Jim Furyk | 33-1 |
| Jimmy Walker | 33-1 |
| Sergio Garcia | 33-1 |
| Martin Kaymer | 40-1 |
| Matt Kuchar | 40-1 |
| Patrick Reed | 40-1 |
| Billy Horschel | 50-1 |
| Brandt Snedeker | 50-1 |
| Tiger Woods | 50-1 |
| Ryan Moore | 50-1 |
| Brooks Koepka | 50-1 |
| Byeong-hun An | 66-1 |
| Keegan Bradley | 66-1 |
| Lee Westwood | 66-1 |
| Paul Casey | 66-1 |
| Zach Johnson | 66-1 |
Odds courtesy of Odds Shark, last updated June 16.
Jordan Spieth
Who's got it better than Jordan Spieth entering the premier American major?
Well, perhaps Rory McIlroy if you're counting straight tournament odds. But there's no arguing that Spieth is on top of the golf world as it descends upon the Pacific Northwest. He's finished in the top three in two of his last three appearances and already has two titles in 2015—one being his historic Masters Tournament victory.
Spieth tops the PGA Tour statistically in a number of areas—birdie average, scoring average, money earnings and FedEx Cup points, just to name a few. But his streaky ability on the greens and just before them should pay dividends at Chambers Bay, as No Laying Up told:
The 21-year-old's advantages lie past his own personal form, although there's enough of that alone to carry him this weekend.
He'll also have critical help on the bag with longtime caddie Michael Greller, who grew up near Chambers Bay and has caddied there more than 40 times, per ESPN.com's Jason Sobel. With no major tournaments being held at Chambers Bay prior to this, that could prove to be a huge advantage.
Spieth himself, however, doesn't have fond memories of the setting. It's where he posted a final-round 83 at the U.S. amateur championships back in 2010, which he hopes to forget about completely, per NBC Sports Golf Central:
Of course, Spieth has aged light-years in terms of golfing intelligence, savvy and sheer talent since that appearance. That's not to say his aggressive mentality is the greatest thing to come into a course like this with, though, because it's not.
Experience from playing the course before and having Greller on the bag will prove beneficial and are sure to help keep Spieth from running astray. He'll remain in the hunt to up the nerves of fellow leaders, but his attacking-minded approach will burn him on too many holes to win.
Spieth's U.S. Open prediction: T4 (+2)
Byeong-hun An
Haven't heard much about Byeong-hun An before? You will after the U.S. Open.
The 23-year-old South Korean isn't well-known in the U.S., having little PGA Tour experience, but is carving out a name as one of the rising stars on the European Tour. He won the tour's marquee event, the BMW PGA Championship, in late May for his second European Tour title and undoubtedly the biggest of his young career.
His consistency is coming to the forefront over his last several appearances and also brings success at Chambers Bay that few if any golfers in the field can match, as Patrick Mayo of RotoExperts.com noted:
This isn't just a golfer who got hot at the right time in tournaments that were wide open. He just won the biggest event on the European Tour by a whopping five-stroke margin, finishing 21 strokes under par in a field including McIlroy, Justin Rose, Lee Westwood, Graeme McDowell and others.
As if that isn't enough proof, An showed in the 2014 British Open that the major stage doesn't scare him off. He finished tied for 26th with a four-under performance, one of the first times many devout golf fans even heard of the rising star.
After he torments the top of the leaderboard throughout the weekend before fading to a still-strong result, An won't be an unknown name any longer in the States.
An's U.S. Open prediction: T10 (+4)
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