24-year-old Ludvig Aberg of Sweden holds halfway lead at the U.S. Open
The 124th U.S. Open Championship, the third major of 2024, is being played this week at the iconic Pinehurst Resort No. 2 in South Carolina with 156 players earning exemptions through Tour & world rankings and qualifiers held at 109 sites in the U.S., Japan, Canada, and the UK.
The tournament purse was raised to a record US$ 21.5mn up from US$ 20mn in 2023, with US$ 4.3mn going to the winner. This compares favourably with the money being offered at the other majors in 2024:
The Masters – US$ 20 million
The PGA Championship – US$ 18 million
The Open Championship – US$16.5 million
Scheffler starts with amazing odds of 3 to 1 to win
Scottie Scheffler will play the weekend @USOpenGolf. https://t.co/VbQcDDRsEt pic.twitter.com/MvuQUiXV2P
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 15, 2024
Given World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler’s run of 5 wins in 2024, including The Masters, bookmakers were offering 3 to 1 odds for him to win, which has only been matched by Tiger Woods in his heyday who regularly started the majors with 2-1 and 3-1 odds to win – which is rare considering around 140 to 150 players compete for each title.
Scheffler for the past two years has been dominating the PGA Tour like Tiger Woods used to. He has amassed a record US$ 24 million in winnings this year which is more than double the 2nd ranked Xander Schauffele who has $11.5 million and Scheffler’s lead atop the world rankings and the Fedex Cup is similar to the way Tiger distanced himself from the rest of the Tour twenty years ago.
After a mediocre start to the tournament in Rd 1, it remains to be seen if Scheffler can bounce back to be in contention in the Final Round again this week.
DeChambeau leads LIV Golfers
Living up to his nickname ‘The Scientist’!
Bryson DeChambeau discussing the Earth’s gravitational pulls with Sir Nick Faldo! pic.twitter.com/CIXXJMtVoL
— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) June 14, 2024
With the PGA Tour banning players who joined the LIV Tour, golf’s four annual major championships are the only occasions fans can see LIV golfers compete against PGA TOUR players.
Bryson DeChambeau once again is off to a strong start lying at Tied 3rd with a 69 after Rd 1. This follows his strong showings at the previous two majors of 2024 – The Masters where he finished 5th and the PGA Championship where he finished 2nd.
This year, 13 LIV golfers earned exemptions to participate at the US Open but former winner Jon Rahm withdrew at the last moment due to a foot infection.
LIV Golf superstar Jon Rahm on his foot infection: “The infection is now controlled, but there’s still swelling and there’s still pain. There’s a reason I walked out here in a shoe and a flip-flop, trying to keep the area dry and trying to get that to heal as soon as… pic.twitter.com/5T9gJZLEQk
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) June 11, 2024
The LIV contingent boasts 5 previous U.S. Open winners – Martin Kaymer (2010), Dustin Johnson (2016), Brooks Koepka (2017,2018), Bryson DeChambeau (2020). Fans and organisers of the majors will be watching to see how the LIV players perform this week.
USGA gives 16 invites to amateurs
Interestingly the USGA, who oversees all the national amateur championships in the USA, has shown their commitment to giving invaluable exposure to the next generation of players by inviting 6 amateurs to play the US Open, with 10 others making their way through the qualifiiers.
World No.1 ranked amateur Gordon Sargent who plays college golf for Vanderbilt University, will be keenly watched.
Sargent earned a PGA TOUR card through the PGA TOUR University Accelerated program last month after the 2024 NCAA Division I National Championship, but he chose to stay with college golf for his fourth year, thus prioritising his education over the allure of riches on the PGA TOUR. – a valuable lesson for other amateur golfers in a hurry to jump to the pro ranks.
Eyes on Indian origin golfers
With no Indian golfers participating at the US Open, interest is being kept alive by the Indian origin Americans who have been making waves on the PGA Tour – young Akshay Bhatia who opened strongly with a round of -2 this week and Sahith Theegala who had an uncharacteristically poor start with +7 in Rd 1.
Photo – Titleist