U.S. Open: 3 bold predictions for Los Angeles Country Club
The third major of the season is here as the best professional golfers in the world will tee it up for the 2023 U.S. Open at LA Country Club. After such a jam-packed PGA Championship, the expectations for this week are at an all-time high, so let’s make some predictions.
LA Country Club may be new to hosting, but this has to be one of the most anticipated U.S. Open events ever. Since this track has never hosted a major before, the 156-man field will be tested in very interesting ways.
Sitting at 7,423 yards, this par-70 course consists of five par-3s and three par 5s. Those five par-3s can range from 78 to 290 yards, meaning it will take skill to get through them unscathed. The rough will be high Bermuda grass, which isn’t a normal rough for the U.S. Open.
The fairways are surprisingly wide but lined with bunkers and undulations.
This track will favor the bombers, but golfers will have to have precision around the greens, and they cannot let the putter go ice cold. With undulating greens similar to Augusta National, those who struggle with their putter may go home early.
Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm are still among the favorites, but will they be able to win in Southern California? Will Max Homa be the hometown hero and win his first major? Can Brooks Koepka go back-to-back in major championships, or could the golf world get blessed with another Michael Block viral situation?
There is still no Tiger Woods, which is disappointing because we all know he likes to win in So. Cal, but the buzz surrounding LA Country Club and the U.S. Open is hard to ignore. Nevertheless, let’s move on to our U.S. Open bold predictions.
3. A first-time major winner will take home the 123rd U.S. Open
LA Country Club isn’t a place everyone knows, but hometown guy Max Homa does. He holds the course record on this track. He hasn’t played great in majors, but something about this week, with it being in Los Angeles, it’s a perfect scenario for him.
Sahith Theegala also has played LA Country Club over 30 times, per an episode of Beyond the Clubhouse podcast. That course knowledge will be beneficial for him as he eyes his first major. He and Homa are two southern California players that know what it takes to play this course well.
However, someone like Viktor Hovland could also take home his first major championship this week. He finished T2 at the PGA Championship and T7 at the Masters already this year. Hovland got close both times, but after his mature win at The Memorial, it could come together this week as well. He is due for a major championship, and his game fits this course.
2. Phil Mickelson misses the cut and career grand slam again
One major championship stands between Phil Mickelson and the career grand slam— the U.S. Open. He defied the odds and won the PGA Championship as a 51-year-old, but Mickelson will not make it happen in LA. He will miss the cut and go home early.
Mickelson may have played well in Augusta, finishing T2, but then he struggled at Oak Hill, where the former champ went T58. He will be fighting hard to win this championship with all of the LIV Golf and PGA Tour news going on, but it will not be enough.
1. One of the LIV Golfers will win the 123rd U.S. Open
Mickelson will try and give LIV Golf another major win, but he won’t be the rival tour player to make it happen. Koepka won the PGA Championship, and he very well could do it again at LA Country Club. There are 15 players from the rival tour in the field, per a LIV Golf press release.
The biggest names on the LIV Golf scene like Koepka, Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Cam Smith, Bryson DeChambeau, and Patrick Reed have won a major. But there are still others that are extremely talented like Mito Pereira and Juaquin Niemann have a legit shot.
Do you think we will get a first time major winner, or have a repeat champ? Chime in below with your own comments.
Source: SB Nation
