The U.S. Open at Torrey Pines gets underway Thursday, and a mix of the world’s top pro golfers and amateurs will take on golf’s most challenging week at the course just outside San Diego. Here’s a preview of some of the favorites followed by those with North Carolina connections who will be competing this week.
Top 4 Contenders
Bryson DeChambeau
Age: 27
Country: United States
World ranking: 5
Worldwide victories: 9
Majors: U.S. Open (2020)
U.S. Open history: His only top 10 in six appearances was his victory last year at Winged Foot.
U.S. Open moment: Winning by six shots and posting the lowest score (274) in a U.S. Open at Winged Foot.
Backspin: Is there a better way to get back at Brooks Koepka than to join him as a back-to-back U.S. Open champion? DeChambeau hit driver often at Winged Foot when he realized no one would be hitting the fairways. That’s a recipe that might
work at Torrey Pines, too. Often overlooked at Winged Foot was how well DeChambeau putted.
Dustin Johnson
Age: 36
Country: United States
World ranking: 1
Worldwide victories: 25
Majors: Masters (2020), U.S. Open (2016)
U.S. Open history: Along with winning at Oakmont in 2016, he had at least a share of the 54-hole lead in three other U.S. Opens.
U.S. Open moment: Winning his first major at Oakmont while playing the final seven holes without knowing the score as the USGA debated whether to penalize him for a ball that moved on the fifth green.
Backspin: Johnson is at his best in the U.S. Open. He has never played Torrey Pines particularly well, and hasn’t played the PGA Tour there at all since 2017. Of greater concern is the state of his game. Johnson, who was playing the week before in South Carolina, has he not seriously contended since the Genesis Invitational at Riviera in February.
Patrick Reed
Age: 30
Country: United States
World ranking: 9
Worldwide victories: 9
Majors: Masters (2018)
U.S. Open history: In seven appearances his only top 10 was fourth place in 2018 at Shinnecock Hills, three shots behind Brooks Koepka.
U.S. Open moment: Snapping a wedge over his knee in frustration on the 18th green at Pebble Beach in 2019.
Backspin: Reed won at Torrey Pines in January and will try to join Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only players to win a tour event and a U.S. Open on the same course in the same year. He has not finished out of the top 20 in his last six majors.
Jordan Spieth
Age: 27
Country: United States
World ranking: 23
Worldwide victories: 15
Majors: Masters (2015), U.S. Open (2015), British Open (2017)
U.S. Open history: Has only one top 10 (his victory at Chambers Bay) in nine previous appearances. He was low amateur at Olympic Club in 2012.
U.S. Open moment: Making a 25-foot birdie on the 16th, a double bogey on the 17th and a birdie on the final hole at Chambers Bay, and then watching in disbelief as Dustin Johnson three-putted from 12 feet that gave Spieth the victory.
Backspin: Spieth’s record in the U.S. Open is surprisingly ordinary given his level of play. The U.S. Open he won was not a typical U.S. Open course. He has never played the South course at Torrey particularly well. Spieth his hopeful that playing in June when it’s drier, and when he’s in midseason form, will make a difference.
Contenders from North Carolina
Akshay Bhatia
Age: 19
Country: United States, lives in Wake Forest
World ranking: 879
Worldwide victories: 2
Majors: This will be his first start in a major
U.S. Open moment: Beat out Zach Sucher and Ben Martin in a 3-for-1 playoff to earn his spot in the U.S. Open.
Backspin: The former top-ranked amateur turned pro at age 17. Like Phil Mickelson, he’s a lefthander, and the oldest major winner in history has taken the prodigy under his wing to show him the ways of the tour.
Tom Hoge
Age: 32
Country: United States, born in Statesville
World ranking: 120
Worldwide victories: 1
Majors: Best finish was 43rd in the 2019 U.S. Open. Finished 58th and 64th at the PGA Championship the last two years.
U.S. Open history: Didn’t make the cut in his first two Opens before finishing in the money in 2019.
U.S. Open moment: Had his lowest U.S. Open round ever with a first-round 71 in 2019, then matched it on both weekend days to finish 2 over.
Backspin: Hoge made his way into the field at a qualifier in Columbus, Ohio, last week. He battled rain to win a four-man playoff for one of the final three spots after getting a late birdie to even make it into the playoff.
J.T. Poston
Age: 28
Country: United States, Hickory native, played at Western Carolina
World ranking: 91
Worldwide victories: 1
Majors: Has made the cut in two of his six appearances in majors. Finished 60th in the 2019 PGA Championship and 75th the next year.
U.S. Open moment: Poston has not made the cut in his two Open appearances. He shot 78-72 to finish 6 over in 2017, 71-82 to finish 13 over last year while battling an eye injury.
Backspin: Poston shot back-to-back 67s to finish tied for third at last week’s qualifying event in Columbus, Ohio. He had 11 birdies and an eagle in the 36 holes.
Matthew Sharpstene
Age: 22
Country: United States, lives in Asheville, plays for University of Charlotte
World ranking: 257 in the amateur rankings
Worldwide victories: 0
Majors: This will be his first appearance in a major
U.S. Open moment: Sharpstene tied for first at the Dallas qualifying event last week after shooting a 9-under-par 133 over 36 holes.
Backspin: He transferred to Charlotte after starting his college career at West Virginia. Sharpstene plans to return to Charlotte for his final year of eligibility next season and then will take a shot at the pros.
Webb Simpson
Age: 35
Country: United States, lives in Charlotte, played for Wake Forest
World ranking: 12
Worldwide victories: 7
Majors: Won the U.S. Open in 2012. Has had top-10 finishes at the U.S. Open three times and the Masters twice.
U.S. Open history: Simpson won in his second appearance at the U.S. Open. He has made the cut in nine out of 10 years and has finished 10th, 16th and eighth in the last three Opens.
U.S. Open moment: He chipped out of a tough spot to make it to the green on 18 and save par on his last hole. That shot, combined with his four late birdies, allowed him to hold off Graeme McDowell and Jim Furyk to win the 2012 tournament by one stroke.
Backspin: Simpson is playing his best golf since his U.S. Open title nine years ago. He has two wins on the tour this season, his first multi-win year since 2011, and he moved into the world top 10 earlier this year for the first time since 2012.
Kevin Streelman
Age: 42
Country: United States, played for Duke
World ranking: 53
Worldwide victories: 3
Majors: Finished eighth in this year’s PGA Championship, his best finish in a major in his 14 years on the tour.
U.S. Open history: This will be the first time he’s played the tournament two years in a row since 2013-14. He missed the cut both of those years as well as last year. His last time in the money at the Open was 13th in 2016. He made three other cuts, all prior to 2013.
U.S. Open moment: Streelman opened with a 69 in 2016, then matched it on Saturday to help him to the best Open finish in his seven times in the event, a tie for 13th place.
Backspin: Streelman went through three cars, logging 300,000 miles on minor tours while trying to find a home in the PGA. His first round in the U.S. Open was his best round in the tournament to date — a 68 in 2008.
Cameron Young
Age: 24
Country: United States, played for Wake Forest
World ranking: 172
Worldwide victories: 2
Majors: Playing in his first major as a pro. Played in the 2019 U.S. Open as an amateur
U.S. Open history: Qualified for the 2019 Open at Pebble Beach, taking one of four spots available at the Purchase, New York, qualifying event. Shot 9 over for the first two rounds and didn’t make the cut.
U.S. Open moment: He shot 8 under in two rounds at this year’s qualifying event in Westchester County, earning the top spot and making his way into his first Open as a professional.
Backspin: The qualifying success capped a strong month for Young. He won back-to-back events on the Korn Ferry Tour to close out May.
Will Zalatoris
Age: 24
Country: United States, played for Wake Forest
World ranking: 29
Worldwide victories: 1
Majors: He’s at his best on the big stage. After missing the cut in the 2018 U.S. Open, he’s made the top 10 in all three majors he’s played, topped by a second in this year’s Masters.
U.S. Open history: Last year’s Open was his breakthrough as a pro, as he finished tied for sixth.
U.S. Open moment: He had a rags-to-riches story last year. After earning $404,000 in 16 starts on the Korn Ferry tour, his sixth-place finish at Winged Foot earned him $424,000 and earned him an exemption into this year’s tourney.
Backspin: It’s still very early in his career, but Zalatoris has shown a flair for the spotlight, so expect him to provide drama this weekend.
