The third major of 2024 is upon us, as the 124th U.S. Open gets underway this week at famed Pinehurst resort, home to the USGA.
The ionic No. 2 golf course has hosted the United States’ national golf championship three previous times, including the 1999 edition when Payne Stewart won his third and final career major – coming just four months before his shocking death in an airplane accident at the age of 42.
Tiger Woods, 48, will headline the USGA major in more of a ceremonial role. The 15-time major winner, who never fully recovered from his 2021 car accident, is no longer a serious threat to contend (or even make the cut) but remains box-office gold.
The serious contenders this week at Pinehurst feature stars from both of golf’s top tours, including Brooks Kopeka, Jon Rahm, Cam Smith and Bryson DeChambeau of LIV Golf; and Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa from the PGA Tour.
Other marquee names, who are considered top-25 favorites, include Viktor Hovland, Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Tony Finau, Hideki Matsuyama, and defending champion Wyndham Clark, among others.
U.S. Open Skinny
Name: United States Open Championship
Debut: 1895
Edition: 124th
Dates: June 13-16, 2024
Where: Pinehurst, NC
Course: Pinehurst (No. 2)
Distance: Par 70, 7548 yards
Architect: Donald Ross (1907)
Renovation: Robert Trent Jones (1974)
Renovation: Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw (2011)
Format: Stroke, 72-holes, 36-hole cut
Purse: $20,000,000
Winning Share: $3,600,000
Winner’s Pts FEC/OWGR: 750/100
Defending Champion: Wyndham Clark
How to Follow the U.S. Open
TELEVISION: Thu: 6:30 a.m.-5 p.m. (USA), 5-8 p.m. (Peacock); Fri: 6:30 a.m.-1 p.m. (Peacock), 1-7 p.m. (NBC), 7-8 p.m. (Peacock); Sat: 10 a.m.-12 p.m. (USA), 12-8 p.m. (NBC); Sun: 10 a.m.-12 p.m. (USA), 12-8 p.m. (NBC)
LINKS: Website | Instagram | Facebook | X/Twitter
U.S. Open History
It is now one of, if not the, grandest show in golf, but at its beginning, the U.S. Open was just an ancillary tournament to the highly regarded U.S. Amateur.
That inaugural event occurred in 1895, making the U.S. Open the second oldest of the four majors, and was held at the opulent Newport Golf Club in Newport, R.I., the “in” summer hideaway of America’s wealthy and social elite at the time.
Played on Newport’s nine-hole course, the first U.S. Open was held in one day, with each of the 11 golfers in the field playing the course four times. Horace Rawlins, a 21-year-old from England, posted 91-82 to win the tournament by two strokes. He was awarded a $150 share of the $335 purse.
Eighteen years later, the 1913 U.S. Open was held at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass. The heavy favorites were English legends Harry Vardon (1900 U.S. Open winner; four-time British Open winner) and Ted Ray (reigning British Open champion). After 72 holes the pair found themselves tied with an unknown 20-year-old amateur named Francis Ouimet, who had grown up across the street from the course and was a former caddie at the club — forcing an 18-hole playoff the next day.
In a shocking upset, Ouimet soundly defeated the two professional golfers in front of huge galleries, resulting in newspaper stories which captured the imagination of the American public. The number of golfers in the country at least tripled in the subsequent decade, with a corresponding increase in golf courses (including many public courses, opening up the game to a larger segment of the population).
The story of Ouimet’s triumph at the 1913 US Open was commercialized by Mark Frost’s 2002 book, ‘The Greatest Game Ever Played: Harry Vardon, Francis Ouimet, and the Birth of Modern Golf,’ which Frost then adapted for a 2005 film.
Over time, the tournament developed a reputation for being the most challenging event in golf, allowing it to draw in the best of the best.
The U.S. Open boasts perhaps the most prestigious list of winners of any tournament. That list includes Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen, Bobby Jones, Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Lee Trevino, Payne Stewart, Tom Watson, Tiger Woods and Ernie Els.
Modern-day superstars who’ve won the U.S. Open include Rory McIlroy (2011), Jordan Spieth (2015), Dustin Johnson (2016), Brooks Koepka (2017-18), Bryson DeChambeau (2020) and Jon Rahm (2021).
Hogan, Jones, Nicklaus, and Willie Anderson all share the tournament record for most wins with four apiece. Tiger and Hale Irwin are next with three victories, followed by two apiece by Alex Smith, John McDermott, Ralph Guldahl, Cary Middlecoff, Julius Boros, Billy Casper, Andy North, Curtis Strange, Lee Janzen, Payne Stewart, Retief Goosen, Trevino, Hagen, Sarazen, Els and Koepka.
A testament to just how difficult the U.S. Open has played historically: In 123 editions of the tournament just five players have finished double-digits under par: Woods (-12) at Pebble Beach in 2000, McIlroy (-16) at Congressional Country Club in 2011, Koepka (-16) at Erin Hills in 2017, Gary Woodland (-13) at Pebble Beach in 2019, and Wyndham Clark at L.A. Country Club in 2023.
U.S. Open History: Recent Winners
2023: Wyndham Clark (-10)
2022: Matt Fitzpatrick (-6)
2021: Jon Rahm (-6)
2020: Bryson DeChambeau (-6)
2019: Gary Woodland (-13)
2018: Brooks Koepka (+1)
2017: Brooks Koepka (-16)
2016: Dustin Johnson (-4)
2015: Jordan Spieth (-5)
2014: Martin Kaymer (-9)
2013: Justin Rose (+1)
U.S. Open History: Records
SCORING
(268) – Rory McIlroy (2011)
(-16) – Rory McIlroy (2011), Brooks Koepka (2017)
WINS
(4) – Ben Hogan (1948, 1950, 1951, 1953)
(4) – Bobby Jones (1923, 1926, 1929-30)
(4) – Jack Nicklaus (1962, 1967, 1972, 1980)
(4) – Willie Anderson (1901, 1903-05)
(3) – Tiger Woods (2000, 2002, 2008)
(3) – Hale Irwin (1974, 1979, 1990)
The Course: Pinehurst (No. 2)
Pinehurst No. 2, the most famous course at Pinehurst Resort, was first opened in 1907 and designed by Donald Ross. Considered to be Ross’ best work, he continued to tweak it until his death in 1948.
The course is famous for its exceptionally difficult green complexes which were a signature of Ross designs with many of the greens being crowned, causing shots that are short to roll off the green, leaving a difficult chip shot.
Johnny Miller once famously compared trying to land a shot on a Pinehurst green as “like trying to hit a ball on top of a VW Beetle.”
The Course Skinny
Name: Pinehurst Resort
Course: No. 2
Established: 1907
Where: Pinehurst, NC
Architect: Donald Ross (1907)
Renovation: Robert Trent Jones (1974)
Renovation: Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw (2011)
Par: 35-35-70
Yards: 7548
Par 3s: 4 (6, 9, 15, 17)
Par 5s: 2 (5, 10)
Par 4s: 12
Pinehurst No. 2: Hole-By-Hole
Hole 1: Par 4, 398 Yards
Hole 2: Par 4, 500 Yards
Hole 3: Par 4, 387 Yards
Hole 4: Par 4, 528 Yards
Hole 5: Par 5, 588 Yards
Hole 6: Par 3, 216 Yards
Hole 7: Par 4, 426 Yards
Hole 8: Par 4, 492 Yards
Hole 9: Par 3, 184 Yards
Hole 10: Par 5, 617 Yards
Hole 11: Par 4, 478 Yards
Hole 12: Par 4, 486 Yards
Hole 13: Par 4, 381 Yards
Hole 14: Par 4, 472 Yards
Hole 15: Par 3, 199 Yards
Hole 16: Par 4, 536 Yards
Hole 17: Par 3, 207 Yards
Hole 18: Par 4, 448 Yards
U.S. Open Field
Who plans to seize the moment this week?
At 3-1, Scottie Scheffler is an overwhelming favorite in North Carolina. The Texan enters in absolute tip-top form, highlighted by five wins in last eight starts, all coming against elite fields: the Players and the Masters, along with three Signature Events (Bay Hill, Harbour Town, and the Memorial). The three tournaments he did not win? He finished T2, T2 and T8! Just an historical heater.
At 12-1, far behind Scheffler, is Rory McIlroy and newly-minted PGA champion Xander Schauffele.
McIlroy followed up his win last month at the Wells Fargo with three solid results: T12 (PGA), T4 (Canadian Open), and T15 (Memorial). Schauffele, meanwhile, enters off three impressive results: T8 at the Memorial, win at the PGA, and runner-up at Quail Hollow.
A trio of superstars are next at 16-1, headlined by Bryson DeChambeau, who has been terrific in the season’s two majors: T6 at the Masters and runner-up at the PGA. Collin Morikawa, who also enters in top form (three straight top-5s), and Viktor Hovland are the others at 16-1.
Five-time major winner Brooks Kopeka was another top-10 favorite. The two-time U.S. Open champ is joined by young Swedish star Ludvig Aberg at 25-1.
Up next is Jon Rahm, who won the U.S. Open in 2021. The Spaniard, who is not playing poorly but seems to be in a funk since moving to LIV, is offered at 30-1.
A pair of major winners from 2022 round out the top-10 favorites at 40-1: Matt Fitzpatrick (U.S. Open) and Cameron Smith (The Open).
Tommy Fleetwood and Hideki Matsuyama were 45-1, followed by Justin Thomas and Sahith Theegala at 50-1.
Big names who are longer shots this week include Patrick Cantlay (60-1), who arrives off a missed-cut at the Memorial (which he’d won twice). The UCLA alum is in the midst of his worst season on tour. Max Homa (60-1) also enters in suspect form with a missed-cut sandwiched between two mediocre results (T22 and T35).
What about 2015 U.S. Open champion Jordan Spieth? Now ranked No. 26 in the world, Spieth (70-1) enters in terrible form, including five missed-cuts in his last 10 starts. And in the five starts where he made the cut, he finished inside the top-25 just once.
Can fan fav Dustin Johnson win a second U.S. Open? DJ (80-1) also arrives in North Carolina in terrible form: he won LIV Golf Las Vegas early on but in his next six starts, he owns just one top-10 finish (T7 Singapore). He’s been a non-factor in the majors since joining LIV Golf.
With all that said, many eyes will be focused on Phil Mickelson, who will turn 54 on June 16. Could the golf media’s most hated man pull off a second miracle, and complete the career grand slam? Doubtful (he’s 200-1). But still a good pre-game storyline.
Top-10 Betting Favorites
1. Scottie Scheffler (3-1)
2. Rory McIlroy (12-1)
2. Xander Schauffele (12-1)
4. Bryson DeChambeau (16-1)
4. Collin Morikawa (16-1)
4. Viktor Hovland (16-1)
7. Brooks Koepka (25-1)
7. Ludvig Aberg (25-1)
9. Jon Rahm (30-1)
10. Cameron Smith (40-1)
10. Matt Fitzpatrick (40-1)
Full Field & Odds
Credits: Carey Hoffman, Joel Cook, USGA, Getty Images, PGA Tour Media, LIV Golf Media
