The 2020-21 PGA Tour season may just have started this past week, but we already have a major tournament on our hands. You read that right folks, major championship golf this week. It’s the 120th playing of the U.S. Open as the tournament returns to the grounds of Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York for the first time since 2006.
Typically played at the end of June, the U.S. Open was postponed until this week due to COVID-19. With that being said, the anticipation for the tournament is just like normal.
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Gary Woodland heads into the weekend as the defending champion, after a gutsy performance at Pebble Beach a year ago. The win marked the first major of Woodland’s career, as he’s looking for a repeat performance this weekend. However, it won’t be easy.
If there’s one thing you can expect from Winged Foot, its carnage. It’s a course that is made for major championship golf, and whoever plans on rising to the top will certainly have to earn it. The Par 70, 7,477 yard course is known for its thick rough, and tenacious greens. Plain and simple, hitting the fairway is going to be the name of the game this weekend. Players can’t afford to be playing out of the rough that’s expected to be anywhere between 5-7 inches.
Don’t be surprised to see this weekend’s winner have a score that is over par. This will be the sixth time Winged Foot has hosted the U.S. Open, only once has the winner had a score under par.
In 2006, Geoff Oglivy was the winner at 5-over. His victory is known for the famous collapse of Phil Mickelson on the 72nd hole of the tournament. Mickelson sent his tee-shot and approach wayward and went on to double-bogey, letting the tournament slip right out of his grasp.
Mickelson returns to Winged Foot looking to avenge his defeat, joined by a stacked field of the top professional and amateur golfers in the game. The world No. 1 and FedEx Cup Champion Dustin Johnson enters the week as the favorite (+800) and rightfully so. Johnson has been on an absolute tear the last two months and is playing the best golf of his career. He’s always been known as a bomber, but he’s got the putter working, and that’s a scary sight for the rest of the field.
Then there’s Jon Rahm (+1000). The feisty Spaniard was right on Johnson’s tail for the FedEx Cup but didn’t have the performance he expected in the Tour Championship. However, this weekend could serve as a great opportunity for Rahm to pick up his first career major. The tougher the challenge is, it seems like Rahm just rises to the occasion. He picked up two wins last season at arguably the toughest venues, Muirfield Village and Olympia Fields. If Rahm can get the driver working and find himself in the fairway, his short game around the greens can take him to the top.
Rounding out the top five of best odds according to Vegas are Justin Thomas (+1200), Rory McIlroy (+1400), and Xander Schauffele (+1600). Before Dustin Johnson caught fire, Thomas appeared to have the FedEx cup all but locked up with his three tour wins last season. However, Thomas cooled down some, but he can still be a threat at Winged Foot if the putter can get hot. As for McIlroy, he hasn’t played his best golf since the June restart. His wife did however just give birth, and he said that his mind wasn’t totally focused on the game and who can blame him. With a new baby girl at home, maybe McIlroy can lock back in and find his A-game.
And of course, a major championship wouldn’t have the same feel if the Big Cat wasn’t in the field. 15-time major champion Tiger Woods (+4000) makes his season debut after missing out on the Tour Championship for the second straight year. He did pick up his 82nd career win in 2019, but Woods has struggled for the most part since the Presidents Cup in December. His game off the tee has hurt him, and he hasn’t been the same with the putter in his hands. With that being said, it’s never wise to count out Woods when golf’s lights are the brightest.
The field in Winged Foot will be missing some fire power this week. Two-time U.S. Open champ and four-time major winner Brooks Koepka withdrew from the tournament early last week. Koepka has been nursing a knee injury for quite some time and just didn’t look like himself in the 2019-20 season. Another notable withdrawal came this weekend from Scottie Scheffler, who tested positive for COVID-19. Scheffler was named rookie of the year for last season after notching seven top-10 finishes. He finished 5th overall in FedEx Cup points and notched a top-5 in the only major of the year, the PGA Championship.
Notable Tee Times
Thursday – All times ET
7:56 AM: Hideki Matsuyama, Patrick Reed, Jordan Spieth
7:56 AM*: Webb Simpson, Sergio Garcia, Jason Day
8:07 AM: Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, Tiger Woods
8:07 AM*: Rory McIlroy, Adam Scott, Justin Rose
1:16 PM: Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Tony Finau
1:27 PM: Phil Mickelson, Paul Casey, Jon Rahm
*10th Tee Start
Coverage will return to NBC after the USGA and FOX went their separate ways. Buckle up everybody, major championship golf is back, and it’s going to be a sight to see.
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