The Post’s Brett Cyrgalis and George Willis break down the top 10 players to watch in this year’s U.S. Open:
Tiger Woods
There have been glimmers of hope with Woods’ game since he returned this season after four back surgeries. And despite regaining his distance, accuracy with the driver has been a problem; his 54.66 percentage of fairways hit ranks him 182nd on the PGA Tour. Woods’ putting also has been a sore point, having a .108 strokes-gained putting that ranks him 89th. The most recent of Woods’ 14 major championships came at the 2008 U.S. Open — his third national championship — but his game will have to improve if he wants to compete this week.
Phil Mickelson
The struggle for Mickelson to win a U.S. Open and complete the career Grand Slam has been well-documented. Mickelson has six second-place U.S. Open finishes, including 2004 here at Shinnecock, and last year skipped the event to attend his daughter’s high school graduation. But earlier this year, the fan-favorite lefty got his first Tour victory since 2013 and has six other top-10 finishes this season. At 47 years old, Mickelson doesn’t seem like he’s slowing down any time soon, but the native Californian really wants this one title to round out his career.
Rory McIlroy
It seemed as if McIlroy’s season was going to get on track with a win at Bay Hill in March, and despite a fifth-place finish at the Masters, he has generally been inconsistent. His putting has improved (.237 strokes-gained, good for 55th on Tour), but his driving accuracy (57.54 percent of fairways hit) belies his distance (314.7 average, good for third on Tour). Still, nobody in the golf world has forgotten the 29-year-old Irishman’s four career major championships, including his runaway victory at the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional.
Justin Thomas
The 25-year-old solidified himself as one of the best young players in the game with his first career major at last year’s PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, and climbed to reach No. 1 in the world rankings earlier this season. Thomas won the Honda Classic in February and has made the cut in all but one of his events this season. His slight frame but aggressive swing makes his towering tee shots always must-watch, and his stellar short game enables him to average 4.5 birdies per round, the fifth-most on Tour.
Dustin Johnson
Not only did the long-hitting Johnson regain the No. 1 ranking with a win this past week in Memphis, but he holed out from the fairway on the 72nd hole to do it in style. It was Johnson’s second victory this season, to go along with a pair of runner-up finishes, and he has his eyes set on reclaiming his status as PGA Player of the Year, as he was in 2016. The 33-year-old knows how to win this championship, securing his lone major at the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont despite being penalized for a ball slightly moving on him when trying to putt on the super-slick greens.
Jason Day
A two-time winner on tour this year, Day captured the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines and the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow. The former No. 1 player in the world is back in form after going winless in 2017 and earning just five top-10 finishes after posting 21 the previous two years. Day has said he became “burned out” while striving to become the No. 1 player in the world in 2015, when he won five times. This will be his eighth U.S. Open. He was second in 2011 and tied for second in 2013 and has five top-10 finishes overall.
Rickie Fowler
This could be a special few days for Fowler. He got engaged to his girlfriend Allison Stokke a few days ago and could win his first major this week. He finished second at the Masters, shooting 65-67 on the weekend, and hopes to carry that form into the year’s second major. This will be the 10th U.S. Open for the Oklahoma State alum, who tied for second in 2014. Though he is winless on tour this year, he had a promising showing at the Memorial where he tied for eighth.
Brooks Koepka
The defending U.S. Open champion seems to be fully recovered from a torn tendon in his left wrist that sidelined him from January to April this year. Koepka is accustomed to bouncing back from injuries, having endured a dislocated rib and a torn ligament in his ankle in recent years. Koepka shot 67 on Sunday at Erin Hills last year for a four-shot win to capture his first major. He has been up and down since his return, shooting a 63 on the final day in Fort Worth to finish second and 73 on the final day at the FedEx St. Jude Classic last week to fall to T30.
Patrick Reed
The 2018 Masters champion is the only player in the field who can win the Grand Slam this year, but he will have to play better than has in his past two events. He was never in contention at the Players or the Memorial, where he was T41 and T29, respectively. It looks as if he still trying to regain some normalcy after his family life and personality were heavily scrutinized after winning the Green Jacket. He has yet to reach the top-10 in his four previous U.S. Opens, though his 13th-place finish last year at Erin Hills was his career best.
Jordan Spieth
It has been an awful season by the standards of this three-time major champion. Spieth not only hasn’t won this year, he really hasn’t come close. His Sunday charge at the Masters — where he shot 64 to finish tied for third — was a case of too little, too late, and his outings since have been pedestrian. In his past five PGA Tour events, the 2015 U.S. Open champion has missed the cut twice and finished no better than T21. Once one of the Tour’s top putters, he has struggled with the flat-stick this year.