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US Open Leaderboard 2019: Thursday Score Updates and Tournament Predictions
June 13, 2019
The opening round of the 2019 U.S. Open is just underway at Pebble Beach Golf Links in California.
Just like the 2015 edition of the tournament at Chambers Bay, the tee times are set so that the afternoon groups can play in the prime-time window on the East coast.
The first marquee groups tee off at 10:51 a.m. ET, with Zach Johnson, Martin Kaymer and Ernie Els starting on the first hole and the trio of Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Marc Leishman beginning at the 10th hole.
Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Jason Day and Rickie Fowler are among the top players participating in the first wave of tee times.
Two-time defending champion Brooks Koepka, Tiger Woods, Francesco Molinari and Jordan Spieth headline the afternoon wave of tee times.
U.S. Open Leaderboard
The tournament began at 9:45 a.m. ET.
You can view the leaderboard here all day as the scores begin to come in.
Tournament Predictions
Koepka, Woods End Up In Hunt For 2nd Major Win Of 2019
Both Koepka and Woods have decent chances to land at the top of the leaderboard Sunday.
Koepka has played the U.S. Open to perfection over the last two years, and he is vying to become only the second golfer to win the tournament three times in a row.
In the two years before his first U.S. Open triumph in 2017, Koepka landed in the top 20 of the event, so that shows us he has a good feel to attack a course designed specifically for the competition.
Koepka has three top-five finishes in his last five tournaments, including his second win at the PGA Championship and a tie for second at The Masters.
Woods comes into Pebble Beach with a decent chance to secure the title for different reasons.
The 15-time major winner achieved one of the biggest wins of his career at Pebble Beach in 2000 when he won the tournament by 15 strokes.
Woods is one of two past U.S. Open champions at Pebble Beach in the field, with 2010 winner Graeme McDowell being the other.
Even though Woods has not played at a high volume in between majors this season, he will still have a better feel for the course than most golfers in the field.
The mental advantage of conquering Pebble Beach once before at the U.S. Open should help Woods in his attempt to win major No. 16.
Spieth Bounces Back From Rough Few Years At U.S. Open
The U.S. Open has not been kind to a few of the best golfers in the world in recent years.
Since winning the tournament in 2015, Jordan Spieth missed the cut once and finished outside of the top 30 in the two years he made it to the weekend.
Spieth's overall major form has not been impressive since his conquest of Chambers Bay, but recent results have him trending in the right direction.
Starting with a tie for third at the PGA Championship, Spieth has landed in the top 10 in each of his last three tournaments.
In those 12 rounds, Speith has not shot over 73, which is a good sign for his consistency heading into Pebble Beach.
In order to conquer a U.S. Open course, you have to be consistent and not let an error on one hole affect you and multiply to other holes, because if it does, you will be out of contention in a heartbeat.
Since he dealt with the difficulties of playing Bethpage Black in New York last month, we believe Spieth has in it him to replicate his recent form and shine at another one of the most difficult courses in the United States.
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