US Open Leaderboard 2015: Thursday Score Updates and Tournament Predictions
After all the preamble, Chambers Bay finally plays host to competitive U.S. Open golf on Thursday as the second major of 2015 gets under way.
All the usual suspects lead the way, with Rory McIlroy the favourite and Americans Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson all expected to do well.
However, at a new venue that has been described by Ian Poulter as a "complete farce," per GOLF.com's Brendan Mohler, anything could happen, with the links-like quality of the Washington course expected to cause some problems.
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Read on for the live leaderboard as well as predictions as to how the top players will fare during the week.
Rory McIlroy
Rory McIlroy is a perennial favourite these days ahead of major championships and deservedly so; the 26-year-old world No. 1 already has four of them to his name.
He comes into the 2015 U.S. Open on the back of some pretty poor form having missed the cut at both the Irish Open and BMW PGA Championship in May.
However, the Northern Irishman says he is in a much better frame of mind now having taken some time off, per BBC Sport: "I feel a lot better coming into this tournament than I did going into the last two. The two weeks off helped to refresh the mind a little bit. I had not played five weeks in a row for a long time. This is hugely important, a chance to win a second U.S. Open and my fifth major."
Whether he can produce his top form at the U.S. Open remains to be seen, though, and McIlroy will need to be playing at a high level to triumph come Sunday.
Chambers Bay is expected to frustrate players—its numerous quirks and idiosyncrasies are set to produce awkward bounces and interesting lies that could prove challenging. For a McIlroy not necessarily in form, this will not play in his favour. As a player who has not consistently flourished on links courses, this year's U.S. Open looks out of reach for McIlroy.
He arrives at the tournament having failed in his last two tournaments, and although he will not miss the cut in Seattle, he will not mount a serious challenge come Sunday.
Predicted finish: Outside top 10
Justin Rose
Justin Rose, the 2013 U.S. Open champion, comes to Chambers Bay having just missed out on victory at the Memorial, where he lost a play-off to David Lingmerth.
He is clearly in good shape ahead of the week's action, and a good start on Thursday would see him become a firm favourite to prevail.
Since his maiden major win two years ago, Rose's major returns have not been the best, per Sky Sports News HQ:
However, last time out at Augusta was his best finish in a major since 2013 as he was tied second.
Rose has the temperament to prevail at Chambers Bay as well as the experience of having won a U.S. Open in challenging conditions.
The Golf Channel's Lauren Thompson is backing Rose to win:
While a victory may be out of reach, the Englishman should certainly be in the mix near the top of the leaderboard come Sunday, especially if he can produce a solid opening round to settle the nerves.
Predicted Finish: Top five
Rickie Fowler
It feels like it is Rickie Fowler's time to win a major. He did not finish outside the top five in any of last year's four tournaments, and he has the game to triumph at Chambers Bay.
A consistent golfer with a cool head and bags of imagination and confidence, if the 26-year-old Fowler brings his A-game this week, he will compete for the title for sure.
His win at the the Players Championship last month silenced the naysayers, having previously been labelled "overrated" by Tour players, per ESPN's Jason Sobel:
He unquestionably has the talent to win a major, and he is in good shape ahead of the U.S. Open.
Chambers Bay is going to challenge the players, and it will frustrate some so much that they will be out of contention by the first day.
That will not happen to Fowler. The 26-year-old has a steady temperament and all the shots to see him prevail. Come Sunday, he might claim a maiden major victory.
Predicted Finish: Winner
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