US Open Golf Prize Money 2020: Latest Predictions for Top Projected Earners

Patrick Reed leads the U.S. Open field at four-under at the Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York, which saw golf's elite struggling for the entirety of the second round.

Only a handful of players entered the weekend relatively unscathed after an ugly Friday.

Bryson DeChambeau, Hideki Matsuyama and Bubba Watson were the only golfers in the 143-person field to shoot under par, with DeChambeau leading the way at two-under. Six players are under par for the tournament.

Bogeys may be bountiful this weekend if Friday is representative of what we're about to see. The champion may finish over par, which has happened five times since 2006.

Geoff Ogilvy won that year with Winged Foot as the host. Five U.S. Opens have been held there, and four have finished with the winner over par.

That may be the case this year as well, based on how Friday went down, but until we find out, here's a look at the top-10 prize money, a few predictions and a rundown of the current top 10.

Top-10 Prize Money

Source: Kyle Boone of CBS Sports

Current Leaderboard

1. Patrick Reed: -4

2. Bryson DeChambeau: -3

T3. Rafael Cabrera Bello: -2

T3. Harris English: -2

T3. Justin Thomas: -2

6. Jason Kokrak: -1

T7. Thomas Pieters: E

T7. Xander Schauffele: E

T7. Matthew Wolff: E

T7. Brendon Todd: E

T7. Hideki Matsuyama: E

Top-10 Predictions

1. Bryson DeChambeau

T2. Justin Thomas

T2. Hideki Matsuyama

T4. Bubba Watson

T4. Patrick Reed

T4. Xander Schauffele

T7. Harris English

T7. Tony Finau

T7. Jon Rahm

10. Brendon Todd

A Look at the Top 10

Reed won't go down without a fight.

"Captain America" knows what it takes to win on a big stage, having done so at the 2018 Masters when he held off Rickie Fowler by one stroke. 

Reed also led the United States with three-and-a-half points each in the 2014 and 2016 Ryder Cups.

After shooting four-under Thursday, Reed battled to an even-par finish Friday. He was in danger of ending the round over par and falling out of his then-co-lead with DeChambeau after his second shot on the par-five ninth landed in the greenside bunker.

However, an excellent recovery shot led to a relatively simple five-foot putt to earn the birdie and jump to four-under for the solo lead.

He'll have to hold off his Saturday playing partner, DeChambeau, who hasn't received the memo about Winged Foot Golf Club.

Despite missing 50 percent of fairways through the first two rounds, DeChambeau is three-under thanks to some long-range birdie makes and bombs off the tee.

DeChambeau is second in strokes gained off the tee to Rory McIlroy and second in strokes gained from tee to green to Matsuyama. He's arguably been the best and most consistent player in the field, even if he is second. DeChambeau is the only player to have shot under par for both rounds.

The best all-around golfer under par overall is arguably Justin Thomas, the 2017 PGA Championship winner and the third-ranked player in the latest Official World Golf Ranking.

JT led the field at five-under after Round 1, but he struggled on Friday, making four bogeys during a five-hole stretch in addition to shooting a double bogey on the first hole.

He was five-over on the day after 11 holes, but he grabbed hold of some momentum to finish his round with five pars and a pair of birdies to pull himself within two of the lead.

Like many golfers this week, hitting driveways has been problematic for Thomas, who has found just 43 percent of them through two days. But he's largely been excellent in every other facet of his game, namely his work around the green, where he is sixth in the field in strokes gained.

Speaking of greens, a trio of hot putters in Rafael Cabrera Bello, Jason Kokrak and Brendon Todd are in the top 10 entering the weekend. Those golfers form the top three in strokes gained putting thus far.

Improvement in other areas could go a long way toward further success for that group, as Cabrera Bello and Kokrak have lost strokes off the green while Todd is 122nd in driving distance (he is tied for second in fairways hit, however).

Harris English has been solid everywhere, as evidenced by his gaining positive strokes gained in all four categories through Friday. He's also been excellent in 2020 with nine top-20 finishes.

On the flip side, Thomas Pieters and Matthew Wolff both shot four-over after going four-under the day before. A continued slide on moving day will put them in danger of falling well out of contention before Sunday, but they each showcased their talent and ability to win this tournament Thursday, so the door isn't closed on either yet.

Four other golfers at even-par or one-over stand out with the potential to make headlines this week.

Xander Schauffele, ranked seventh in the world, has ground his way to an even-par performance. He's routinely in contention for tournament titles and has finished top-10 five times in 2020. He also ended with the best 72-hole score at the TOUR Championship.

Bubba Watson and Hideki Matsuyama joined DeChambeau as two of three golfers to shoot under par on Friday.

Matsuyama is No. 1 in strokes gained from the tee to green and could make a surge up the leaderboard if the flat stick cooperates. Watson has weekend major success on his resume after winning the Masters twice and finishing top-five on three other occasions.

And then there's Jon Rahm, who is No. 2 in the world and recently beat No. 1 Dustin Johnson in a duel at the BMW Championship.

The top few leaderboard tiers are loaded with talent, but if past U.S. Opens are any indication, then big swings up and down the leaderboard will occur often over the next two days.

In other words, we should be in for an exciting finish.

All statistics via U.S. Open official website, PGA Tour or Official World Golf Ranking.