The US Open heads back to the West Coast this June as the state of Washington hosts the historic tournament for the very first time. World No. 1 Rory McIlroy will be chasing his second US Open crown at Chambers Bay, but Masters champion Jordan Spieth will be hot on his heels as he goes for a second major this year. Can anyone from the field catch up with the two front-runners?
Read on below as we preview the favorites, possible sleepers and long shots for the 115th US Open Championship. Meanwhile, check out our preview of the FedEx St. Jude Classic here.
World No. 1 Rory McIlroy is currently the +400 favorite to add to his growing collection of majors at Chambers Bay. His very first major, of course, was the 2011 US Open in Bethesda. After winning both The Open Championship and the PGA Championship last year, McIlroy finished fourth in this year’s Masters, his best ever finish at Augusta.
[sc:Golf240banner ]That top-four finish was one of McIlroy’s five top 10 finishes in seven PGA events this year. He won two of those tournaments, his most recent victory coming in the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow in mid-May. However, he has missed the cut in his last two tournaments, the Irish Open and the BMW PGA Championship, over at the European Tour.
McIlroy’s relative lack of form could open the door for Masters winner Jordan Spieth, who’s priced at +750 to win. Spieth was a hot pick in last year’s US Open, but finished a disappointing 17th at Pinehurst. He fared much better at Augusta back in April to claim his first career major.
Spieth will come into this year’s US Open in stellar form. He’s had nine top 10 finishes in 17 events this season, including three wins. After missing the cut at The PLAYERS Championship last month, he has two top-three finishes in his last three tournaments. He finished in a three-way tie for second at the Crowne Plaza Invitational and placed third at the Memorial Tournament in early June.
It would’ve been justifiable to give Brandt Snedeker no chance of winning at Chambers Bay after the disastrous four-tournament stretch which saw him miss the cut of both the Masters and the PLAYERS Championship.
But the 34-year old has turned his game around since then, and looks like a sneaky sleeper at +4,000 to win. He will enter the second major of the year on the strength of a second-place finish at the Crowne Plaza Invitational and a sixth-place finish at the AT&T Byron Nelson Championship.
Meanwhile, Webb Simpson (+6,000) is also getting back to his best form after a string of disappointing finishes. Simpson finished second to McIlroy at the Wells Fargo Championship, his fourth top-10 finish in 11 cuts this year. Simpson, of course, won the US Open the last time the major was held on the West Coast – at the Olympic Club in San Francisco back in 2012.
Long Shots – Charley Hoffman and Miguel Angel Jimenez
Looking for a possible long shot winner? Then Charley Hoffman could be your man at +8,000 to win. After missing the cut in the Valspar Championship in mid-March, Hoffman has finished 11th or better in five of his last eight tournaments. One of those top 11 finishes includes a ninth-place performance at the Masters, his best ever showing at a major. Hoffman was also in a three-way tie for second at the AT&T Byron Nelson Championship in late May.
Also, don’t count veteran Miguel Angel Jimenez out despite his astronomical +20,000 odds. The 51-year old is still in search of that elusive first major, which could just come at Chambers Bay. Jimenez has only featured in three PGA Tour events this year, including a missed cut at Augusta. But the Spaniard has been in stellar form over in the European Tour. He has four top 10 finishes in nine tournaments, including back-to-back runner-up finishes in the Open de Espana and the BMW PGA Championship.
Writer’s Prediction
Spieth (+750) puts on a spellbinding performance as he claims the US Open at Chambers Bay.
