This article is part of our Major Power Rankings series.
2023 U.S. Open Power Rankings
Below are RotoWire's rankings for the 123nd U.S. Open, which begins Thursday on the North Course at Los Angeles Country Club.
This list is an asset for any fantasy or gaming format, including wagers, season-long fantasy leagues, daily fantasy sports and any other contest you could enter.
This will be the first men's major golf tournament in Los Angeles in 28 years, since the 1995 PGA Championship, and the first U.S. Open there in 75 years, since 1948 at Riviera Country Club.
LACC opened at its present location in Beverly Hills in 1911, and in the early 1920s the North and South courses were redesigned by famed architect George C. Thomas Jr., who also designed Riviera. The North played host to the Los Angeles Open five times -- the inaugural LA Open in 1926, 1934-36 and 1940 – but never a major.
In 2010, noted architect Gil Hanse with design partner Jim Wagner and consultant/Thomas biographer Geoff Shackleford restored the North course in Thomas' vision. It's a par-70 with a scorecard yardage of 7,421 but with a twist – there are five par-3s and three par-5s.
The 2017 Walker Cup was contested at LACC. Two players in that Walker Cup are also in this U.S. Open field -- Scottie Scheffler and Collin Morikawa. Going back a decade, the 2013 Pac-12 Championships were held there, with Max Homa shooting a course-record 61 and Jon Rahm also competing.
Golf fans are very familiar with Riviera, which annually plays host to the Genesis Invitational. Despite the Thomas connection, LACC and Riviera do not have much in common. One similarity is a gift opening hole, in this case the par-5, 590-yarder that is a must birdie. Hanse called Thomas the master of the short par-4 and, like the famed 10th at Riviera, LACC features the 330-yard sixth.
But LACC is longer with wider fairways – wider than usual U.S. Open fairways, way wider on some holes – and with different grasses from Riviera. There are some enormously long par-3s, one topping out at 284 yards. And then there's a longer one, at 290, though it is downhill. On the other hand, there is a very short one; it's 124 yards on the scorecard but could play as short as 78. There are six long par-4s exceeding 450 yards, including all three in a brutal closing stretch with two 500-yarders and a near-500-yarder that plays into the wind. The longest hole on the course is the 623-yard 14th, which also goes against the prevailing winds. Shackleford has said he expects the 507-yard 13th to be the hardest hole on the course, so the final six holes will collectively be brutish closing stretch with maybe one real birdie opportunity.
This is not a traditional U.S. Open-type track and, for all its length, it's more of a second-shot golf course. The USGA says the yardage of the holes and therefore their characteristics could change daily. We'll delve more into the course in the RotoWire Picks and Strategy for DraftKings games.
2023 U.S. Open Field and Rankings
There are 156 players in the field. The final five spots will officially be filled on Monday, though three of them will be Emiliano Grillo, Pablo Larrazabal and Adam Schenk, none of whom can fall out of the top-60 in the world rankings, and therefore will be in the Open field. They are in our rankings. The other two will come from qualifying-site alternates or USGA special exemptions. Almost half of the field was determined through local and final qualifying around the United States, Canada, England and Japan.
For the first time, the winner of the NCAA men's individual championship received a berth, in this case Florida senior Fred Biondi, but he decided to turn pro last week in a Korn Ferry Tour event and therefore forfeited his exemption into both the U.S. Open and next year's Masters.
There are 17 amateurs in the field denoted with an (a). There are 19 golfers (some amateurs) who started in local qualifying listed separately at the bottom.
Unlike regular PGA Tour events, 60 and ties will make the cut.
These rankings were compiled before the completion of the Canadian Open. Twenty-six golfers in the U.S. Open field were competing in Canada.
The list is broken down into six categories:
- Favorites
- Contenders
- Making the Cut
- Borderline
- Long Shots
- Local Qualifiers
To discover our 2023 U.S. Open Power Rankings, scroll down to see the entire U.S. Open field.
Field changes and news updates will be noted in the comments at the bottom.
FAVORITES
1. Scottie Scheffler
Scheffler is amid an incredible stretch in which he has finished no worse than T12 in 16 straight events dating back to last fall. He has won two of them, the Waste Management and THE PLAYERS Championship. He hasn't won more because his putting has fallen off, though his ball striking has been at historic levels. At the Memorial, he gained more than 20 strokes on the field from tee to green -- but lost more than eight on the greens. Scheffler was runner-up to Matt Fitzpatrick at last year's U.S. Open and tied for seventh the year before.
2. Brooks Koepka
Koepka is coming off a win at last month's PGA Championship, his fifth career major title, which followed his co-runner-up to Rahm at the Masters. It is clear he his healthy once again. Koepka won the 2017 and '18 U.S. Opens, was second in 2019 and fourth behind Rahm again in 2021. There's not much more to say: The man shows out for majors.
3. Jon Rahm
Scheffler was ranked first, Koepka was second and now Rahm is third. Each has a claim to be No. 1. The 2021 U.S. Open winner at Torrey Pines, Rahm won his second major earlier this year at the Masters. He has four wins already in 2023. His last four U.S. Opens have gone T3-T23-1-T12. He has made 16 straight major cuts since last missing at the 2019 PGA, though he could only muster a T50 at last month's PGA.
4. Viktor Hovland
Hovland burst through with the biggest win of his career two weeks ago at the Memorial. He's been close in majors too. His last three have been T4 at the 2022 Open Championship, T7 at the 2023 Masters and T2 to Koepka last month at the PGA. He could've won all of them. The weak spot in Hovland's game -- short game -- clearly is vastly improved, bordering on a strength. Even his putting is now an asset, if not more.
5. Cameron Smith
Smith has been largely off the grid playing with LIV Golf, and his T34 at the Masters did little to change that. But he sneakily tied for ninth at the PGA last month, once again showing off his putting prowess by leading the field. The U.S. Open has never been his forte. Since tying for fourth in his 2015 debut, he's never cracked the top-35, and missed the cut the past two years. But … 2015 was at quirky Chambers Bay, and LACC is not a traditional U.S. Open track. Smith, as we all know, is a short-game maestro.
6. Rory McIlroy
McIlroy won his first major at the 2011 U.S. Open. He didn't come close again for years, but lately has turned it around in this major. In the past four Opens, he's finished T9, T8, T7 and last year's T5. He also tied for seventh at last month's PGA. So he's been close. In light of the recent seismic shifts in golf, it's hard to know where McIlroy's head is at. He played in the Canadian Open and made the cut.
7. Xander Schauffele
Schauffele's first five U.S. Opens were perhaps the best collectively ever for a non-winner: T5-T6-T3-5-T7. In his sixth Open last year, he tied for 14th. Schauffele has cooled since his incredible run of major top-10s a few years back. Now they are top-20s. He's finished top-20 in his past five. He was 18th at last month's PGA and 10th at the Masters.
8. Jordan Spieth
We don't normally associate Spieth with distance. He's never been short, just not overly long. At the PGA last month, he ranked seventh in the elite field in driving distance and second in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green. It was his short game and putting that lagged, and he tied for 29th. The point is, he has the distance to compete this week, even though he's never come close again after winning at Chambers Bay in 2015. Spieth has come very close to winning multiple times in 2023, but he has not performed his best on Sunday.
9. Bryson DeChambeau
DeChambeau has seen the error of his ways and ditched the protein regimen that bulked him up some 50 pounds. He was far slimmer at the PGA last month – and didn't lose any of his length. He led the field in driving distance, putted well and tied for fourth. He also tied for eighth at last year's Open Championship. In other words, top-10s in two of his past three majors. The key for DeChambeau this week will be his play around the greens.
10. Hideki Matsuyama
Matsuyama continues to battle a neck injury going on two years now. He withdrew before the Wells Fargo last month. But when he plays, it continues to do so at a pretty high level. He was T5 at The PLAYERS and T16 at the Masters. His U.S. Open record is strong with a fourth-place showing last year. His five Opens before that were T2-T16-T21-T17-T26. He is a sneaky good short-game player.
CONTENDERS
11. Matt Fitzpatrick
The defending U.S. Open champion, Fitzpatrick followed up his first major win with a top-25 at the Open Championship, then a top-10 at the Masters before a missed cut at the PGA. Along the way, he won his second PGA Tour event at the RBC Heritage the week after Augusta. Fitzpatrick tied for ninth last time out at the Memorial.
12. Patrick Cantlay
The Long Beach, Calif., native and UCLA alum is quite familiar with LACC. He also has the game well suited for the course – really, as one of the great drivers of the golf ball, Cantlay's game can play anywhere. After a bumpy stretch in the majors, he's turned it around of late, finished in the top-15 in his past four. But top-15 and not top-10 and not really contending. He was T14 at last year's U.S. Open and T15 the year before.
13. Tyrrell Hatton
Hatton hasn't won in 2023, but he's done everything but, finishing runner-up, third, fourth, fifth and sixth over the past four months. The Englishman has no trouble competing on long, hard golf courses – he tied for sixth at the U.S. Open in 2018 and for 21st the next year. He's missed the cut two of the past three years with a T56 last year – that's the other side of Hatton, with the propensity to go through rough stretches. He tied for 15th at the PGA last month. He played in the Canadian Open last week at made the cut.
14. Collin Morikawa
It's now close to two years since Morikawa's last PGA Tour win at the 2021 Open Championship (he also won the DP World Tour Championship in November 2021). But he's still performing at a high level in the majors. He was 10th in April at the Masters and just missed a top-25 at the PGA. He's been top-5 at the past two U.S. Opens. His short game and putting may keep him from winning, but the rest of his game is more than enough for a top-10 finish. The thing is, Morikawa pulled out of the Memorial before the final round citing back spasms, and that caused a slight shift downward in the rankings as a hedge.
15. Max Homa
Homa's track record at the majors is now well known – he doesn't play well in them. For a long time, he had trouble making cuts. He's now made five of his past six, including both this year and last year's U.S. Open, but he's been far back in all three. Enter Los Angeles Country Club, where Homa holds the course record of 61 shot in the 2013 Pac-12 tournament. Homa's all-around game, plus good memories of LACC, provide ample reason why this week could be different for him.
16. Justin Rose
Turning 43 next month, this has been a renaissance year for Rose. He won at Pebble Beach, tied for sixth at THE PLAYERS, for 16th at the Masters and for ninth at the PGA. He has finished in the top-15 in at least one major for 13 years running. Rose won the U.S. Open in 2013 and tied for third in 2019, yet he has gone MC-MC-T37 in the past three, Still, his game is a good fit for the Open and for LACC. He made the cut at the Canadian Open last week.
17. Patrick Reed
Always distance-challenged, the tenacious Reed still has managed to carve out some very good results at the U.S. Open, highlighted by a solo fourth in 2018. He has four other top-20s through the years. Now with LIV Golf, Reed has missed only one cut in his past 15 majors. He was T4 at the Masters in April, then T18 at the PGA. His short-game magic should be on display this week.
18. Rickie Fowler
A rejuvenated Fowler will return to the U.S. Open for the first time in three years – and he didn't even have to go through qualifying. He had a great stretch of Opens in the previous decade, tying for 10th in 2013, for second in 2014 and for fifth in 2017. Fowler has finished in the top-20 in seven of his past eight starts, highlighted by a T6 at Colonial and a T9 at the Memorial. He has the distance to compete, and he's turned around his putting. But he also missed the cut at the PGA last month.
19. Justin Thomas
Thomas's U.S. Open history has been good but not great. He tied for ninth in 2017 and for eighth in 2020. He followed that up with a T19 in 2021 and a T37 last year. He missed the cut at the Masters in April, then tied for 65th at the PGA. He's now outside the top-10 in the world at No. 15, and he's simply not the same golfer he was a few years ago.
20. Tony Finau
In a stretch from 2018 into mid-2021, Finau amassed nine top-10s in 15 majors. But now none in his past eight. He's clearly one of the best 15 or so golfers in the world, yet he hasn't played that way in recent majors. In fact, he's missed the cut in three of the past four U.S. Opens, albeit with a T8 in 2020. As we noted in the PGA Championship Value Meter, Finau's game is good enough that if he puts it together for four days, he can win a major. He tied for 72nd at the PGA.
21. Sam Burns
Burns is a lot like Homa in that he is a proven top-10-caliber player – except in the majors. At 26, he is significantly younger than Homa, so he is in a better position to turn it around. He has only one top-20 in 12 career majors and is coming off missed cuts at the PGA and Canadian Open after tying for 29th at the Masters. Burns tied for 27th at last year's U.S. Open. He won the WGC-Match Play earlier this year and has three other sixth-place finishes. He can be so good and so … not good.
22. Joaquin Niemann
After an impressive tie for 16th at the Masters gave him 10 straight made majors cuts, LIV Golf's Niemann surprisingly missed at the PGA. His U.S. Opens have not been great – T23-T31-T47 in his past three – but he's still only 24. Niemann's biggest win on the PGA Tour came in Los Angeles, at Riviera in 2022.
23. Shane Lowry
Lowry had a good U.S. Open mini-stretch in 2015-16 with a tie for ninth and then a co-runner-up. But in his past six he hasn't cracked the top-25 and missed two cuts. This year may be different, as he's shown great form in the first two majors, a T16 at the Masters followed by a T12 at the PGA. He also tied for 14th at Riviera. Lowry made the cut at the Canadian Open.
24. Sungjae Im
Im's three best results in majors have all come at the Masters, including his T16 in April. He's cracked the top-25 at the U.S. Open only once in four tries (2020) and missed the cut last year. His lack of distance has hurt him, but it won't be as critical this week. Besides, Im did tie for eighth at the Wells Fargo last month at Quail Hollow, one of the longest tracks around and far longer than LACC. Two weeks later, Im missed the cut at the PGA.
25. Tommy Fleetwood
Fleetwood famously has never won on the PGA Tour. Two of his closest calls came at U.S. Opens, with a solo fourth in 2017 and a runner-up in 2018. But he's struggled since then, going T65-MC-T50-MC. The 32-year-old Englishman is still ranked top-25 in the world and still strong in every strokes-gained stat, even putting. His play around the greens is elite – ranked first on Tour, and that will be a huge asset this week. With five top-20s already in 2023, there's no reason Fleetwood can't add another this week. He made the cut last week at the Canadian Open.
MAKING THE CUT
26. Jason Day
Day disclosed before the Memorial that he was battling a wrist injury. He played through it, though not well and missed the cut by a stroke. It's resulted in a downgrade here heading into Day's first U.S. Open in three years. He was a stud through the early 2010s, with two runners-up, a top-5 and two more top-10s. And he's turned his career around this year culminating with a win at the Byron Nelson. But this wrist injury could change everything.
27. Denny McCarthy
Is this the first big shocker of the rankings? Maybe. McCarthy came within an eyelash of his first PGA Tour win two weeks ago, eventually losing in a playoff to Hovland. It's a testament to the great putter greatly improving other aspects to his game this season. He played in a U.S. Open for the first time in six years in 2022 – and he tied for seventh. That's his only top-25 in seven career majors. His second best was a tie for 29th last month at the PGA. He tied for 13th at THE PLAYERS and was top-10 at the Wells Fargo at uber-long Quail Hollow.
28. Sahith Theegala
The 25-year-old Theegala rides a streak of 17 straight made cuts heading into the U.S. Open. Almost half of them have been top-25s and six were top-10s, including at the Masters, Riviera and Torrey Pines. But he has cooled off of late. Perhaps the biggest weakness in Theegala's game is driving the ball straight. But LACC has unusually wide fairways for a U.S. Open. He played last week at the Canadian Open.
29. Cameron Young
In his past five majors, Young has finished second (2022 Open Championship). T3 (2022 PGA) and T7 (2023 Masters). He's played three career U.S. Opens and missed every cut. Which doesn't make much sense and seems random. But Young has had some struggles of late, finishing outside the top-50 in four straight events leading into last week's appearance in the Canadian Open.
30. Kurt Kitayama
In his past nine starts, Kitayama has won (Bay Hill), has two other top-5s (one at the PGA) and also missed five cuts (including the Masters). Talk about all or nothing. Kitayama has great distance but is also wildly inaccurate. The wider fairways of LACC should help in that regard. He's missed the cut in his two U.S. Opens, including last year.
31. Adam Scott
This will be Scott's 89th major and 22nd U.S. Open. He's had seven top-25s, which doesn't seem like a lot, and only three top-10s. But he tied for 14th last year, part of a majors run of seven made cuts in his past eight starts. That includes T39 at the Masters in April and T29 at the PGA last month. Scott has upped his game of late, with top-10s in three of his past four starts, including the Wells Fargo and the Memorial.
32. Ryan Fox
Since registering a top-25 the PGA last month, the new Zealander has accepted Special Temporary Membership on the PGA Tour. He then notched another top-25 at Colonial. Fox doesn't have enough rounds to qualify to be ranked in the stats, but if he did, he'd be top-30 in driving distance, top-60 in tee-to-green and top-15 in putting, He's missed the cut in his past three U.S. Opens, including last year.
33. Russell Henley
Henley is known as a great iron player that seemingly is a good fit for majors. But his tie for fourth at the Masters in April was his first career top-10. He's had three top-25s in nine U.S. Opens, including a best of T13 two years ago. Henley followed up his great week at Augusta National with top-20s at the RBC Heritage, Charles Schwab and the Memorial, but in between he missed the cut at the PGA.
34. Dustin Johnson
While some LIV golfers have impressively represented their breakaway tour in majors, Johnson has not been one of them. He tied for 48th at the Masters and 55th at the PGA. The 2016 U.S. Open winner has finished top-25 the past three years, but that seems a long time ago for a golfer whose game started to regress even before he left the PGA Tour and who will turn 39 the week after the Open concludes.
35. Wyndham Clark
Just two weeks after his maiden PGA Tour win at the Wells Fargo, Clark missed the cut at the PGA. It's tough to play in such a big event right after a life-altering moment, and that was his first missed cut in seventh months. Overall of late, he's been great, with four top-12s in his past seven starts, including at the Memorial. Clark has been in six majors and missed four cuts, including both of his U.S. Opens.
36. Si Woo Kim
This will be Kim's seventh U.S. Open and he's made only two cuts. Overall in majors, only 12 of 25. One of them was a T29 at the Masters in April, signaling this Open might be different. Further, Kim was co-runner-up to Day at the Byron Nelson, then solo furth last time out at the Memorial to move to No. 30 in the world rankings.
37. Chris Kirk
It's hard to believe, but this will be Kirk's first U.S. Open in seven years and only his fifth ever. He turned 38 last month. Kirk is not a long hitter, but he did manage a T29 at the PGA last month and a T5 last year. He also had a top-25 at the Masters in April. That followed a win at the Honda Classic in February.
38. Mito Pereira
Pereira returned to the scene of his 72nd-hole meltdown at last year's PGA and, rather than crumble under all the bad vibes, he tied for 18th in this year's PGA. He also made the cut (T43) at the Masters. The LIV golfer has not fared as well at the U.S. Open, missing two cuts in two tries, last year and in 2019. But last year's came in the very-recent aftermath of blowing the PGA on the final hole, so he can be excused for not having his head ready to go.
39. Mackenzie Hughes
Hughes' strengths are short game and putter and, while those are quite valuable assets at the U.S. Open, it's hard to imagine succeeding without a good driver and long irons. But he's pulled it off with top-25s the past two years. Hughes also just missed another at the Masters a couple of months back (T29). He then missed the cut at the PGA. He has not had a great 2023, though he did recently tie for 14th at the Byron Nelson. That's his one made cut in his past six starts, which included a miss last week at the Canadian Open.
40. Keegan Bradley
Bradley has not had the record at the U.S. Open you would associate with such a great ball striker -- only two top-25s in 10 starts. But one of them was last year's tie for seventh (the other was a T4 in 2014). He's been good in the first two majors this year, T23 at the Masters and T29 at the PGA. He's made his past six cuts, but the Masters was the only top-25.
41. Cam Davis
Davis turned in perhaps his finest effort since joining the PGA Tour with his tie for fourth at last month's PGA -- even more than his victory at the 2021 Rocket Mortgage. Davis was also T6 at THE PLAYERS and T7 at the RBC Heritage, turning his 2023 around after recovering from an illness. This will be Davis' first U.S. Open and sixth career major. He's never missed a cut.
42. Corey Conners
Conners was near the top of the leaderboard at the PGA last month before settling into a tie for 12th. Two weeks before, he tied for eighth at the Wells Fargo and five weeks before that he won the Valero Texas Open, shifting a down year into a good one. You'd think a ball striker of Conners' caliber would be well suited for the U.S. Open, but he's never made a cut in four tries. He made the cut at the Canadian Open last week.
43. Adam Schenk
Schenk used an 11th-hour push to surge into the top-60 in the world rankings just in time. He was runner-up at the Charles Schwab and then tied for seventh at the Memorial. He also was runner-up at the Valspar back in March. This will be his second Open, having tied for 24th last year. Schenk missed the cut at the PGA last month.
44. Harris English
English impressively has never missed a cut in seven U.S. Opens – and even more impressively he has two top-5s, in 2020 and 2021. Last year he tied for 61st soon after returning from hip surgery. It took English many months to return to form, but he's done so with a runner-up at Bay Hill, a tie for third at the Wells Fargo and a tie for 12th at the Charles Schwab, though that included a big Sunday fade.
45. Abraham Ancer
Ancer has played in the first two majors with little success – T39 at the Masters, MC at the PGA. And his U.S. Open history is no better, with a T49 in 2019 his best showing. It doesn't quite add up because Ancer is among LIV's better golfers and was quite good on the PGA Tour. He won the Saudi International on the Asian Tour back in February.
46. Min Woo Lee
Lee has shown some fortitude in the aftermath of a Sunday collapse in the final pairing at THE PLAYERS Championship in March. He wound up tied for sixth that week, then missed three of his next four cuts. But he redeemed himself with a top-20 at the PGA and made cuts at the Byron Nelson and Memorial. The Australian has had a great, albeit brief, majors career, with three top-25s in seven starts, plus a near-miss for another when tying for 27th at last year's U.S. Open.
47. Seamus Power
Power has missed the cut at THE PLAYERS and PGA this year, in between sandwiching a tie for 46th at the Masters. Until recent back-to-back top-20s at the Wells Fargo and Byron Nelson, it had been a rough couple of months for the Irishman. He tied for 12th in his debut U.S. Open last year.
48. Thomas Pieters
One of LIV Golf's more recent additions, Pieters has made the cut in the past five majors, including T48 at the Masters and T40 at the PGA this year, plus T27 at last year's U.S. Open. He also tied for 23rd at the 2020 U.S. Open. Overall, has made the cut in 14 of his 20 career majors.
49. K.H. Lee
After missing the cut in his first five majors, Lee has reached the weekend in four of his past five. He's coming off a T29 at the PGA, which followed a top-25 at the Masters. Last year at the U.S. Open, he tied for 37th. He has put a poor start to 2023 in the rear-view mirror, making eight straight cuts, including a T8 at the Wells Fargo, until missing at the Memorial.
50. Adam Svensson
The Canadian played in his first two career majors in 2023, missing the cut at the Masters before tying for 40th at the PGA. Svensson also tied for 13th at THE PLAYERS. He had top-25s at Riviera and Bay Hill, continuing his good play after his maiden PGA Tour win at the RSM Classic in the fall. He had made of his past 10 cuts before missing at the Canadian Open.
51. Tom Kim
Kim turns 21 a few days after the U.S. Open ends. The question is, will Kim's Open end on Sunday, or Friday? He clearly has taken a step back in 2023, which is not uncommon in the second year for a successful rookie. Yes, he tied for 16th at the Masters, but that's been his only top-20 in five months. He missed the cut at the PGA and at the Memorial in his final two tuneups. Kim tied for 23rd at last year's Open.
52. Hayden Buckley
This will be Buckley's fourth career major. He's coming off a tie for 26th at the PGA last month and also tied for 14th at last year's U.S. Open. Those were high finishes, for sure, but he is well equipped for these tournaments with a very strong driving game, having ranked in the top-5 in SG: Off-the-Tee for much of the season.
53. Emiliano Grillo
This will be Grillo's first U.S. Open in four years, since a tie for 58th in 2019. He hasn't played many majors the past few years; he missed the cut at the PGA last month. Grillo has long been a great ball striker and of late his putting is much improved. That's why he won the Charles Schwab, had top-10s at the RBC Heritage and Mexico Open and had a top-25 at the Wells Fargo – all in the past two months.
54. Justin Suh
In his two biggest tournaments so far in 2023, Suh tied for sixth at THE PLAYERS and for 26th at the PGA. He's played in two other career majors, missing the cut in the 2016 and '21 U.S. Opens. Suh had a T16 the Charles Schwab, his best showing since The PLAYERS three months ago. At the Memorial, he was among the leaders on the weekend before plummeting to a tie for 41st.
55. Adam Hadwin
Hadwin has made the past three U.S. Open cuts, with a career-best T7 last year, and five of seven overall. He finished T13 at THE PLAYERS in March, didn't qualifying for the Masters, then tied for 40th at the PGA. Hadwin made the cut at the Canadian Open last week.
56. Eric Cole
Cole just made it out of the toughest Open qualifier in Columbus, Ohio, continuing a run of success that began with his playoff loss at the Honda. This will be just his third career major, but his second turned out really well – a tie for 15th at last month's PGA. Cole also missed the cut at the 2021 U.S. Open. He made the cut at the Canadian Open last week.
57. Sam Bennett (a)
Bennett, a first-team all-American at Texas Tech, won the 2022 U.S. Amateur to qualify. He's played in some other PGA Tour events this season. He tied for 16th at the Masters – yes, 16th – then made the cut at the Memorial and again at the Canadian Open. He also tied for 49th in last year's U.S. Open.
58. Sepp Straka
Straka has turned things around after a pretty slow start to 2023. He made the cut at the Masters, then tied for seventh at the PGA and, in his last outing before this week, tied for 16th at the Memorial. Straka has made the cut in four of his past six majors, though he missed at last year's U.S. Open.
59. Phil Mickelson
Mickelson impressively tied for second at the Masters, then hung on to barely make the cut at the PGA and tied for 58th. He would've faced scrutiny this week no matter what, but in light of the recent PGA Tour-LIV Golf developments, he'll face even more. For the record, Mickelson needs to win a U.S. Open to complete the career grand slam, but a made cut is far from certain. This will be his 33rd U.S. Open and he's made 26 cuts, but he's missed two of the past three years and tied for 62nd in between. The fact that this Open will not be as driver-focused as most, with more of a short-game requirement, will be a big help for Mickelson.
60. Sebastian Munoz
Munoz gained entry via the Maryland qualifier and will play his first make major this season. Before heading to LIV Golf, he made the cut in the final three majors last season, including 14th at the U.S. Open.
BORDERLINE
61. Patrick Rodgers
Rodgers, who gained entry via the Columbus, Ohio, qualifier, has a curious majors history. He rarely plays in them, but when he does, he does pretty well. He tied for 29th last month at the PGA, and also had twin T31s the past two years at the U.S. Open. Those were his only majors in that span. Rodgers has made six of his past seven cuts on Tour.
62. Gary Woodland
The 2019 U.S. Open winner has only two other top-25s in 12 Open starts. One of them came last year with a tie for 10th. He was T14 at the Masters in April before missing the cut at the PGA. Woodland remains an elite driver and long iron player. But he is remarkably bad close to the hole, ranking close to 180th in both SG: Around-the-Green and Putting. He'll need to do better to see Saturday.
63. Aaron Wise
Wise missed the Masters on a mental-health break, then returned to tie for 50th at the Byron Nelson before missing the cut at the PGA. It was a very short break for such a potentially serious issue. Wise made three cuts in three tries at last year's majors, including T27 at the U.S. Open.
64. Lucas Herbert
Herbert has been propping his world ranking with great play overseas. He won in Japan in April and tied for third in two other international events at the beginning of the year. So he's still ranked 55th in the world, yet his PGA Tour play has been pretty poor. His best finish in a stroke-play event was 40th at the PGA. He's missed two cuts since then. Herbert also missed the cut at the U.S. Open last year and tied for 31st in 2020.
65. J.T. Poston
Poston qualified by playing in the Tour Championship last season. His current season has not gone as well, though he has made the cut in the first two majors, and also last time out at the Memorial. Poston last played in the U.S. Open in 2021, when he tied for 40th.
66. Taylor Moore
After his breakthrough win at the Valspar, Moore has made the cut in his first two career majors. He did likewise at THE PLAYERS the week before his maiden PGA Tour victory. Moore also tied for 11th the RBC Heritage and just missed another top-25 at the Wells Fargo (T27). He's a great putter but a terrible statistical iron player, hence being placed in the Borderline category.
67. Sergio Garcia
Garcia went through the Dallas qualifier and will play in his 24th U.S. Open. He didn't qualify for last month's PGA, the first major this century he wasn't allowed to enter. The only other major he's missed since 1999 was the 2020 Masters after testing positive for COVID. Now with LIV, Garcia has five top-10s and 12 top-25s in the Open, most recently with a T19 in 2021. He missed the cut last year.
68. Matt Kuchar
Kuchar turns 45 a few days after the tournament ends. This will be his 20th U.S. Open; surprisingly, he's made only 11 cuts. On the other hand, seven of them have been top-25s. A very odd Open resume indeed. The trouble this week for Kuchar starts at the tee – he's just not that long. He'll have to scramble his butt off to make up for it. He missed the cut at the PGA last month and didn't qualify for last year's U.S. Open. He made the cut at last week's Canadian Open.
69. Austin Eckroat
This will be the 24-year-old Eckroat's first major after emerging from the Dallas qualifier. He's made his past five cuts, three of them coming in designated events, to move close to 100th in the world rankings (110th). Eckroat is very good off the tee, ranked 18th in Total Driving, and a better than average putter.
70. Victor Perez
The 30-year-old Frenchman has played in the past three U.S. Opens and missed every cut. But he also tied for 12th last month at the PGA and made the cut at the Valspar in his only other PGA Tour start in 2023.
71. Keith Mitchell
Mitchell is on the other side of 30 and has played in the U.S. Open only once. That was a missed cut in 2019. He's far more accomplished now, coming off made cuts at the Masters and PGA this year. Despite ranking top-5 on Tour in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee, Mitchell has only average greens-in-regulation numbers and is ranked around 150th in SG: Approach. That won't cut it this week. But he did have three straight made cuts before missing at the Canadian Open last week.
72. Michael Thorbjornsen (a)
The darling of last year's Open at The Country Club, Thorbjornsen missed the cut then. But he came right back the next week at tied for fourth at the Travelers. Heading into his senior season at Stanford, he's one of four Cardinals who qualified. He went through the New Jersey qualifier and was the medalist. Thorbjornsen made the cut at the 2019 U.S. Open. He missed the cut last week at the Canadian Open.
73. Billy Horschel
Horschel has been pretty good about making major cuts the past six or seven years, except at the U.S. Open. He's missed the past two and three of the past six with no finish inside the top-30. He's also coming off recent missed cuts at the PGA and Memorial, where he was the defending champion. Outside of the WGC-Match Play, Horschel doesn't have a top-25 in 13 starts in 2023.
74. Tom Hoge
Hoge can have a wide range of results this week. To wit: He tied for third at THE PLAYERS, missed the cut at the Masters and tied for 58th at the PGA. He also missed the cut at last year's U.S. Open after finishing in the 40s in 2019 and 2021. He's made his past four cuts on Tour but with no finish inside the top-40.
75. Adrian Meronk
This will be Meronk's second U.S. Open at missing the cut in 2021. He also missed the cut at the Masters in April but came back and tied for 40th at the PGA. Poland's best golfer has spent much of the spring in Europe, where he won the Italian Open and was fifth at the KLM Open. He hasn't played a non-major on the PGA Tour since the WGC-Match Play.
LONG SHOTS
76. Carson Young
1st U.S. Open. Dallas qualifier medalist. Four top-25s in past five PGA tour starts. Ranked No. 277 OWGR.
77. Joel Dahmen
3rd U.S. Open. Qualified via top-10 in 2022 U.S. Open. T69 in 2023 PGA. Ranked No. 124 OWGR.
78. Andrew Putnam
4th U.S. Open (T31 in 2022). Qualified via FedExCup standings on May 22. MC in 2023 PGA. Ranked No. 61 OWGR.
79. Carlos Ortiz
3rd U.S. Open. Florida qualifier. LIV Golf. Missed cut in five of past six majors, including 2021 U.S. Open.
80. Davis Thompson
2nd U.S. Open (MC in 2020). Columbus, Ohio, qualifier. MC in 2023 PGA. Ranked No. 88 OWGR.
81. Dylan Wu
2nd U.S. Open (T31 in 2021). Springfield, Ohio, qualifier. Ranked No. 302 OWGR.
82. Pablo Larrazabal
2nd U.S. Open (MC in 2014). Won twice on DP World Tour in 2022 and twice more in 2023. Made five of 18 career cuts in majors, one last month at the PGA. Ranked 50th OWGR.
83. Nick Taylor
5th U.S. Open (MC in 2022). Qualified via FedExCup standings on May 22. Ranked No. 69 OWGR.
84. Luke List
7th U.S. Open (6 MCs). Columbus, Ohio, qualifier. Ranked No. 113 OWGR.
85. Taylor Montgomery
3rd U.S. Open (MC in 2022). Qualified via FedExCup standings on May 22. T65 in 2023 PGA. Ranked No. 63 OWGR.
86. Stewart Cink
87th major. 23rd U.S. Open (MC in 2022). Columbus, Ohio, qualifier. 50 years old, recently made Champions Tour debut. Ranked No. 273 OWGR.
87. Alex Noren
10th U.S. Open (7 MCs, including 2022). MCs in both 2023 Masters and PGA. Ranked No. 63 OWGR.
88. Sam Stevens
2nd U.S. Open (T29 in 2022). Springfield, Ohio, medalist. Ranked No. 126 OWGR.
89. Ryan Gerard
2nd U.S. Open (MC in 2022). Toronto qualifier medalist. Ranked No. 258 OWGR.
90. Taylor Pendrith
3rd U.S. Open (MC in 2022, T23 in 2020). Springfield, Ohio, qualifier. T29 in 2023 PGA. Ranked No. 115 OWGR.
91. Nick Hardy
5th U.S. Open (T14 in 2022). Springfield, Ohio, qualifier. MC in 2023 PGA. Ranked No. 181 OWGR.
92. Jordan Smith
2nd U.S. Open (MC in 2021). Qualified via DP World Tour rankings on May 22. MC in 2023 PGA. Ranked No. 95 OWGR.
93. Kevin Streelman
9th U.S. Open (T15 in 2021). Columbus, Ohio, qualifier. 44 years old. Ranked No. 141 OWGR.
94. Brian Harman
8th U.S. Open (T43 in 2022). MCs in both 2023 Masters and PGA. Ranked No. 40 OWGR.
95. Scott Stallings
4th U.S. Open (MC in 2022). Qualified via 2022 Tour Championship. T26 in 2023 Masters and MC in 2023 PGA. Ranked No. 72 OWGR.
96. Thriston Lawrence
1st U.S. Open. Qualified via DP World Tour rankings on May 22. MC in 2023 PGA. Ranked No. 101 OWGR.
97. Paul Haley II
1st U.S. Open. Dallas qualifier. Finished solo fifth at Charles Schwab last month. Ranked No. 144 OWGR.
98. Vincent Norrman
1st U.S. Open. Toronto qualifier. Ranked No. 299 OWGR.
99. Charley Hoffman
9th U.S. Open (T57 in 2021). Los Angeles qualifier. 46 years old. Ranked No. 389 OWGR.
100. Romain Langasque
2nd U.S. Open (T34 in 2021). DP World Tour Qualifying Series. Italian Open runner-up to Meronk last month. Ranked No. 148 OWGR.
101. Gordon Sargent (a)
1st U.S. Open. Georgia qualifier medalist. 20-year-old Vanderbilt sophomore. 2022 NCAA Division I individual champion. MC in 2023 Masters.
102. Nico Echavarria
1st U.S. Open. Columbus, Ohio, qualifier. MC in 2023 PGA. Won 2023 Puerto Rico Open. Ranked No. 300 OWGR.
103. Simon Forsstrom
1st U.S. Open; DP World Tour Qualifying Series. Won Soudal Open in Belgium last month. Ranked No. 224 OWGR.
104. Padraig Harrington
82nd major. 17th U.S. Open, most recently in 2013. Qualified by winning the 2022 U.S. Senior Open. T50 in 2023 PGA. Ranked No. 218 OWGR.
105. Francesco Molinari
52nd major. 13th U.S. Open (MC in 2022). Qualified as winner of 2018 Open Championship. MCs in both 2023 Masters and PGA. Ranked No. 142 OWGR.
106. Yuto Katsuragawa
1st U.S. Open. North Carolina qualifier co-medalist. Played on Japan, DP World and Korn Ferry Tours in 2023. No. 187 OWGR.
107. Ryo Ishikawa
7th U.S. Open (MC in 2021). Japan qualifier. Ranked No. 263 OWGR.
108. Matthieu Pavon
3rd U.S. Open (MC in 2019, T25 in 2018). England qualifier. Ranked No. 171 OWGR.
109. Wilco Nienaber
2nd U.S. Open (T68 in 2021). England qualifier. Ranked No. 387 OWGR.
110. Roger Sloan
2nd U.S. Open (MC in 2022). Dallas qualifier. Ranked No. 703 OWGR. Made the cut at the Canadian Open last week.
111. Jens Dantorp
1st U.S. Open. England qualifier. 34-year-old Swede on DP World Tour. Was runner-up last month at Soudal Open in Belgium. Ranked No. 173 OWGR.
112. Alejandro Del Rey
1st U.S. Open. England qualifier. 25-year-old Spaniard on DP World Tour. Ranked No. 314 OWGR.
113. Brent Grant
1st U.S. Open. Dallas qualifier. Ranked No. 373 OWGR.
114. Ryan Armour
1st U.S. Open. Toronto qualifier. 47 years old. Ranked No. 344 OWGR.
115. Paul Barjon
3rd U.S. Open (two MCs). North Carolina qualifier co-medalist. Ranked No. 568 OWGR.
116. Deon Germishuys
1st U.S. Open. England qualifier medalist. 23-year-old South African on DP World Tour. Ranked No. 223 OWGR.
117. Mac Meissner
1st U.S. Open. North Carolina qualifier. Korn Ferry Tour player. Ranked No. 372 OWGR.
118. Ben Carr (a)
1st. U.S. Open. Qualified as 2022 U.S. Amateur runner-up. 22-year-old Georgia Southern golfer.
119. Hank Lebioda
1st U.S. Open. Dallas qualifier. Ranked No. 553 OWGR.
120. Ross Fisher
6th U.S. Open, first since 2018 (T5 in 2009). England qualifier. Ranked No. 367 OWGR.
121. Barclay Brown (a)
1st U.S. Open. Los Angeles qualifier. 22-year-old Stanford Cardinal. T79 in 2022 Open Championship.
122. Preston Summerhays (a)
2nd U.S. Open (MC in 2020). Los Angeles qualifier. 20-year-old Arizona State junior.
123. Michael Brennan (a)
1st U.S. Open. Maryland qualifier. 21-year-old Wake Forest all-American. MC in 2023 Genesis Invitational.
124. Gunn Charoenkul
1st U.S. Open. Japan qualifier medalist. 31-year-old Thai. Ranked No. 407 OWGR.
125. Karl Vilips (a)
1st U.S. Open. Maryland qualifier co-medalist 21-year-old Stanford junior.
126. Aldrich Potgieter (a)
1st. U.S. Open. Qualified as 2022 British Amateur champion. MCs in 2022 Open Championship, 2023 Masters, 2023 Memorial.
127. Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira (a)
1st U.S. Open. Qualified as 2023 Latin American Amateur champion. 23-year-old Arkansas senior. MC in 2023 Masters. Also qualified for 2023 Open Championship next month.
128. Matthew McClean (a)
1st. U.S. Open. Qualified as 2022 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion. 30-year-old optometrist from Northern Irishman.
129. David Horsey
2nd U.S. Open (MC in 2009). England qualifier. 38-year-old Englishman on DP World Tour. Ranked No. 596 OWGR.
130. Martin Kaymer
15th U.S. Open. Qualified as 2014 Open winner (final year of eligibility). LIV Golf.
131. Ryutaro Nagano
1st U.S. Open. Japan qualifier. 35-year-old Japanese. No. 515 OWGR.
132. Berry Henson
1st U.S. Open. New Jersey qualifier. 43 years old. Asian Tour player. Lives in Rancho Mirage, Calif., where he drives an Uber (true!). Ranked No. 438 OWGR.
133. Jordan Gumberg
1st U.S. Open. England qualifier first alternate. 28-year-old Floridian plays on DP World and European Challenger Tours. Ranked 1,556 OWGR.
134. Nick Dunlap (a)
2nd U.S. Open (MC in 2022). Columbus, Ohio, qualifier. 19-year-old Alabama freshman.
135) Wenyi Ding (a)
1st U.S. Open. Qualified as 2022 U.S. Junior Amateur champion. 18-year-old Chinese will be freshman at Arizona State.
LOCAL QUALIFIERS
These are golfers who had to first get through local qualifying before final qualifying. We list them alphabetically and at the bottom, much like we did with the 20 club pros who qualified for the PGA Championship. Some certainly can make the cut -- and have made U.S. Open cuts -- but they likely all will be far back.
Bastien Amat (a)
1st U.S. Open. Washington qualifier first alternate. New Mexico junior from France.
Olin Browne Jr.
1st U.S. Open. Columbus, Ohio, medalist. 17th attempt at qualifying. 34-year-old son of former PGA Tour player and 2011 Senior Open winner Olin Browne. Has played 24 career Korn Ferry Tour events.
Frankie Capan
1st U.S. Open. North Carolina qualifier. 23-year-old Korn Ferry Tour player. Finished third at a KF tournament in April and sixth earlier this month. Ranked No. 566 OWGR.
Christian Cavaliere (a)
1st U.S. Open. New Jersey qualifier. 25-year-old former Boston College player. Never turned pro. Instead, founded Tremont Sports, a company that makes specialized golf headcovers and other accessories.
Patrick Cover
1st U.S. Open. North Carolina qualifier co-medalist. 27 years old. Played two PGA Tour events in 2020-21. Now on Korn Ferry Tour. Ranked No. 906 OWGR.
J.J. Grey
1st U.S. Open. Georgia qualifier. 30-year-old from London. Has played on Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour Canada.
Omar Morales (a)
1st U.S. Open. Los Angeles qualifier medalist. 20-year-old UCLA junior.
Kyle Mueller
2nd U.S. Open (MC in 2016). Georgia qualifier. 27-year-old who has played on PGA Tour Canada and Latinoamerica Tour.
David Nyfjall (a)
1st U.S. Open. Columbus, Ohio, qualifier. 23-year-old Swede and former Northwestern player making pro debut in Open.
Corey Pereira
1st U.S. Open. Columbus, Ohio, qualifier. 28 years old. Played on Korn Ferry Tour in 2022 with one top-10. 2018 winner on PGA Tour Canada.
David Puig
1st U.S. Open. Los Angeles qualifier. 20-year-old Spaniard and LIV golfer. 2018 European Junior Ryder Cup team.
Alex Schaake
1st U.S. Open. Springfield, Ohio, qualifier. Won 8-hole playoff for final Springfield berth. 25-year-old former two-time Big Ten Conference Player of the Year at Iowa.
Jesse Schutte
1st U.S. Open. Washington qualifier co-medalist. 35 years old. Played one career PGA Tour event (2014) and one career Korn Ferry Tour event (2012).
Isaac Simmons (a)
1st U.S. Open. Maryland qualifier co-medalist. 23-year-old Liberty University senior.
Jacob Solomon
1st U.S. Open. Dallas qualifier. 26-year-old Korn Ferry Tour player. Four top-25s this season. Ranked No. 731 OWGR.
Andrew Svoboda
5th U.S. Open (T71 in 2008). New Jersey qualifier. 43-year-old former PGA Tour player. 2014 Zurich Classic runner-up. Three Web.com Tour (now Korn Ferry Tour) wins.
Austen Truslow
1st U.S. Open. Florida qualifier medalist. 27 years old. Seven career PGA Tour starts, two this season (both MC). T10 at 2019 Puerto Rico Open. Chips one-armed (true!).
Brendan Valdes (a)
1st U.S. Open. Florida qualifier. 20-year-old junior at Auburn. Won Boys 14-15 Division of the Drive, Chip & Putt Championship at the 2018 Masters.
Alexander Yang (a)
1st U.S. Open. Washington qualifier co-medalist. 20-year-old Stanford golfer.
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