The Field Is Extremely Close In Historic U.S. Open | OSB
2023 U.S. Open: The Final Two Days
By Sam Batz
Tournament Details:
- Date: June 15-18, 2023
- Course: Los Angeles Country Club
- Watch on: USA, NBC, Peacock
- Purse: $20,000,000
The 123rd US Open entered Round 3 on Saturday, June 17th and those who didn’t make the cut have officially been eliminated. Out of the 156 golfers who qualified for the US Open, 65 now remain to battle it out at LACC in the final two rounds on Saturday and Sunday. The cut-line was +2, and any golfers that ended +3 or worse are done.
Before the U.S. Open began, many experts were predicting low scores due to the irregularity of the LACC course, which features 5-par 3’s, something we haven’t seen in a major in 76 years. But after record setting performances through the first two rounds, this U.S. Open is shaping up to be one of the greatest in history. Some big names have been eliminated after failing to make the cut, and several new names are competing for their first major.
Notable eliminations include:
- Phil Mickelson, +3
- Jordan Spieth, +3
- Justin Rose, +4
- Max Homa, +4
- Nick Taylor, +4
- Adam Scott, +5
- Jason day, +9
- Justin Thomas, +14
Players like Spieth, Rose, Homa, and Thomas will be disappointed in their US Open performances. They fell behind early, and were never able to recover. Mickelson, Taylor, Scott, and Day were not expected to make the cut entering the competition, but will be disappointed nonetheless, as it’s never easy to be cut from a major.
Top-10 golfers on the leaderboard
- Rickie Fowler, -10
- Wyndham Clark, -9
- Xander Schauffele, -8
- Rory McIlroy, -8
- Harris English, -7
- Dustin Johnson, -6
- Min Woo Lee, -6
- Scottie Scheffler, -5
- Sam Bennett, -5
- Cameron Smith, -4
For the entire leaderboard, click here.
Rickie Fowler is playing out of his mind, and leads the entire field at -10. Fowler set the U.S. Open 36-hole scoring record at 130 with 18 birdies, which is four off the event record for the entire tournament, and Fowler did it in just 2 rounds. Fowler, along with Xander Schauffele, shot a 62 on Thursday in the opening round, which was the lowest score in U.S. Open history, and matched the lowest at any major.
Schauffele failed to back up his record setting Round 1 performance, but shot a respectable E (0) in Round 2, and is two shots back from Fowler. Rory McIlroy shot a 67 on Friday, and is alongside Schauffele at -8, while Wyndham Clark splits the difference at -9 entering Round 3. Dustin Johnson, who shot a quadruple bogey on Hole 2 Friday but made a miraculous recovery to end E, is in a strong position at -6. Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1 golfer in the world entering the U.S. Open and the favorite to win, is sitting at -5. McIlroy, Johnson, and Scheffler are the closest former major winners trying to catch the revived Fowler.
2023 U.S. Open Top-10 odds:
- Rory McIlroy (+300)
- Rickie Fowler (+330)
- Xander Schauffele (+500)
- Wyndham Clark (+600)
- Scottie Scheffler (+650)
- Dustin Johnson (+1000)
- Harris English (+2200)
- Min Woo Lee (+2500)
- Cameron Smith (+3500)
- Tony Finau (+6000)
Rory McIlroy now tops the list as the favorite to win the U.S. Open. McIlroy is 3-0 in major championships when scoring 67 or lower through the first two rounds, and is playing like a former major winner. Fowler is not expected to keep his current pace, but if he does, we could be looking at the greatest U.S. Open score of all-time. Rickie Fowler is the fan favorite, as his resurgence on the professional golf scene is something everyone can root for, but whether or not he can continue his current form is yet to be determined.
U.S. Open will be determined by a single stroke, as the current field is separated by a hair thin margin. The champion will need to have an extremely clutch final round on Sunday. McIlroy enters the final two rounds as the favorite to collect his 5th major, while Rickie Fowler is looking to win the first major of his up and down career. However, don’t count out the newcomers, like Clark, English, and Min Woo Lee, who is trying to match his sister Minjee Lee, the reigning U.S. Open Champion. Sunday at Los Angeles Country Club will be must watch golf for fans around the world.
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