U.S. Open storylines: Scheffler's dominance, DeChambeau's chances and how hard Oakmont will play

In the 9 erstwhile U.S. Opens astatine Oakmont, lone 23 players finished nether par. Three of the past champions present had scores implicit par, and the lowest 72-hole scoring full for a victor astatine Oakmont was 5 under.

Thanks to ankle-high unsmooth and lightning-fast greens, the astir hard trial successful play is adjacent much treacherous connected a people with nary h2o hazards and fewer trees.

"It's going to beryllium a challenge," said LIV Golf League skipper Jon Rahm, the 2021 U.S. Open winner. "A batch of unfortunate things are going to happen. It's hard fairways to hit, atrocious lies, hard bunkers, hard greens. It's going to beryllium a bully test, a hard test. And I deliberation 1 of the truest representations of what a U.S. Open is each about."

Will Scottie Scheffler's dominance proceed arsenic helium looks to drawback the 3rd limb of the vocation Grand Slam? Can Masters champion Rory McIlroy hole his problems disconnected the tee, which plagued him successful his past 2 starts? Who are the acheronian horses who mightiness beryllium poised to assistance the U.S. Open trophy Sunday?

World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler has won successful 3 of his past 4 starts, including his 3rd large astatine the PGA Championship. Is helium the golfer to bushed again?

Mark Schlabach: About the lone mode I don't spot Scottie Scheffler contending this week is if he's chaotic disconnected the tee, and that didn't hap successful his past triumph astatine the Memorial. He seems to person figured retired immoderate was bothering him with his operator successful the last circular of past month's PGA Championship astatine Quail Hollow Club. And, yes, the feline is truthful bully that it mightiness person been a elemental lawsuit of him aiming the incorrect direction.

The satellite No. 1 golfer has won 3 times successful his past 4 starts, including his third large astatine the PGA Championship. He has gained an mean of 14 strokes connected the tract implicit his past 5 starts, and that's going to beryllium astir intolerable to bushed if it happens again. He leads the circuit successful astir each strokes-gained metric erstwhile it comes to ballstriking and driving the ball. He's ranked successful the apical 25 successful putting. Yeah, bully luck.

Paolo Uggetti: Is the entity blue? Yeah, Scheffler is decidedly the subordinate the full play satellite is chasing, and with bully reason. Scheffler looks unbeatable. While I bash deliberation that this people and setup volition necessitate his A-game -- helium astir apt won astatine Quail Hollow with his B-game astatine champion -- Scheffler has been trending backmost to his elite 2024 signifier the past fewer months.

I hold with Mark that a shaky operator would eject Scheffler from contention this week, but I'm besides funny to spot however Scheffler's putting fares connected Oakmont's vexing greenish complexes. Scheffler has seemingly fixed that weakness, oregon astatine slightest vastly improved it (he's a top-20 putter successful the satellite this season), but if helium has a hard clip seeing putts spell successful early, I could spot him getting frustrated with that and letting it dilatory seep into the remainder of his game. At Pinehurst past year, the course's autochthonal areas adjacent the fairways appeared to springiness Scheffler immoderate occupation with their unpredictability. If you squint and effort to find a crushed Scheffler won't beryllium capable to excel this week, the greens whitethorn beryllium the answer.

What's going connected with Rory McIlroy, and bash you deliberation helium tin find his crippled astatine Oakmont?

Schlabach: Obviously, Rory McIlroy hasn't been comfy connected tee since the operator helium utilized to triumph the Masters was deemed nonconforming successful testing astatine the PGA Championship. He wasn't a origin astatine Quail Hollow, wherever helium had won 4 times, and couldn't get his drives successful the abbreviated grass.

McIlroy utilized a antithetic mentation of the caller TaylorMade Qi35 operator astatine past week's RBC Canadian Open -- and his results were worse. He utilized a shorter shaft (44 inches) successful an effort to person greater power of the ball, but helium deed lone 42% of the fairways. He recovered lone 4 successful the 2nd round, erstwhile he posted an 8-over 78. That's a look for catastrophe astatine Oakmont.

He's utilizing a antithetic TaylorMade operator this week, and helium feels that he's successful a amended place.

While McIlroy volition yet fig things retired connected the tee, I'm much acrophobic astir his mindset and information aft helium completed the vocation Grand Slam astatine the Masters. He has talked openly astir however it's much hard to spell to the signifier scope and grind for 3 oregon 4 hours. He has talked astir however nary substance however galore much times helium wins connected the PGA Tour, nary of them volition lucifer his triumph astatine Augusta National Golf Club.

"You imagination astir the last putt going successful astatine the Masters, but you don't deliberation astir what comes next," McIlroy said Tuesday. "I deliberation I've ever been a subordinate that struggles to play aft a large event, aft I triumph immoderate tournament. I ever conflict to amusement up with information the adjacent week due to the fact that you've conscionable accomplished thing and you privation to bask it and you privation to benignant of relish the information that you've achieved a goal.

"I deliberation chasing a definite extremity for the amended portion of a decennary and a half, I deliberation I'm allowed a small spot of clip to unbend a small bit. But present astatine Oakmont, I surely can't unbend this week."

I deliberation it's going to beryllium a fewer much weeks, astatine least, earlier we spot Rory instrumentality with his A-game.

Uggetti: It sums play up, doesn't it? One second, McIlroy is connected apical of the world, having won 3 tournaments this season, including the Masters to implicit the Grand Slam, and the wide mentation is that he's present freed up and whitethorn conscionable support playing astatine a precocious level the remainder of the year. Not truthful fast.

The fickle quality of the athletics comes for adjacent the best. Maybe it's a plaything feel, a putting stroke, oregon successful the lawsuit of McIlroy, a caller driver, but adjacent a tiny item gone awry tin derail a due tally of bully golf, and it appears that McIlroy is going done that close now.

On Tuesday, McIlroy played 18 holes aboriginal and helium appeared to spell backmost to the exemplary and specs of the operator helium utilized astatine the Masters, which is not the newest TaylorMade driver. Maybe that volition spark a instrumentality of sorts to the benignant of play helium played astatine Augusta. But if helium recovered a mode to triumph without hitting astir fairways there, astatine Oakmont helium volition not beryllium afforded the aforesaid leeway.

What bash you expect from defending champ Bryson DeChambeau this week?

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Bryson DeChambeau: Grateful for the twelvemonth since U.S. Open win

Bryson DeChambeau joins "SportsCenter" to bespeak connected the twelvemonth that has passed since his U.S. Open triumph and what's up successful his play journey.

Schlabach: I expect him to beryllium close backmost successful the mix. Not to dependable similar a breached record, but Bryson DeChambeau volition besides person to bash a amended occupation of keeping his drives betwixt the lines than helium did a twelvemonth ago.

At Pinehurst No. 2 successful North Carolina past year, DeChambeau recovered astir lone fractional the fairways (57%) disconnected the tee. He can't bash that again astatine Oakmont. He made up for his inaccuracy by hitting greens and putting brilliantly to triumph his 2nd U.S. Open, and DeChambeau's putter is 1 of the reasons I similar him to beryllium successful contention this week.

For arsenic agelong arsenic DeChambeau is disconnected the tee, helium is 1 of the amended putters around, which volition beryllium a bonus connected Oakmont's diabolical greens.

Uggetti: DeChambeau has not-so-quietly been the astir accordant large title subordinate not named Scottie Scheffler implicit the past 2 years. In his past 9 large starts, helium has six finishes wrong the apical six, including 2 runners-up and a win. I would beryllium shocked if helium doesn't contend astatine Oakmont, which presents the benignant of canvas that suits his game.

That being said, I'll beryllium fascinated to spot wherever DeChambeau's attack crippled is aft that portion of his crippled was arguably what held him backmost astatine some Augusta and Quail Hollow. During the Masters, DeChambeau deed 60% of his greens during the week, and astatine the PGA, helium mislaid astir fractional a changeable to the tract connected his attack game.

Sure, Oakmont's magnitude and unsmooth favors a agelong hitter similar DeChambeau, but if his attack crippled isn't improved (he has caller LA Golf irons successful the container this week), past it could beryllium different adjacent miss for the defending champion.

How volition Oakmont play this week?

Schlabach: I'd beryllium disappointed if it's thing little than carnage. Each of the past six U.S. Open winners had a people of 6 nether oregon better, and they were a combined 47 nether par. That's not expected to beryllium however the U.S. Open works.

"I don't deliberation radical crook the TV connected to ticker immoderate of the guys conscionable deed similar a 200-yard changeable connected the green, you cognize what I mean?" said two-time large champion Xander Schauffele. "I deliberation they crook connected the U.S. Open to spot a feline shooting 8-over and suffer. That's portion of the enjoyment of playing successful the U.S. Open for viewers."

I walked the people with Scheffler and Gary Woodland connected Monday. The USGA says the unsmooth is going to beryllium 5 inches, and it's juicy and thick. It was beauteous bedewed connected Monday and Tuesday, but wide skies are forecast done Friday, truthful the blistery upwind should adust things retired considerably.

I saw the grounds unit mowing the unsmooth connected No. 18 earlier successful the week. Or, astatine slightest I thought they were cutting it with propulsion mowers. I'm beauteous definite they were lone fluffing it up and drying it out.

"I conscionable deliberation it requires patience and discipline," Justin Thomas said. "If you conscionable get lazy, similar connected immoderate drive, immoderate wedge shot, immoderate chip, immoderate putt, you tin benignant of look anserine beauteous fast, particularly astatine a spot similar this."

If upwind forecasts are correct, the greens are going to steadfast up and get slick, overmuch faster than immoderate greens the golfers person seen this season, extracurricular of Augusta National.

"Anything adjacent to par is what they privation here," Schauffele said of the imaginable winning score. "The members perfectly emotion their property, and the members perfectly privation it to beryllium implicit par. I cognize what they're rooting for."

Uggetti: I'm going to pivot the different mode connected this. I bash deliberation Oakmont volition beryllium hard -- each you person to bash is instrumentality a locomotion astir the gigantic spot and look down astatine the luscious writer to cognize that the victor volition person golfed his shot each week. And yet I deliberation we often hide some however bully these guys truly are and besides however bully the exertion that they're playing with is, adjacent compared to what players utilized successful 2016.

The modern crippled and the modern operator combined with a hyper-emphasis connected skill, velocity and spot from an earlier property person produced players similar DeChambeau, McIlroy and respective of the amateurs who are successful the tract this twelvemonth who tin thrust it a mile. Oakmont is acold much nuanced than a elemental bomb-and-gouge test, and its intricacies volition sift retired those who don't belong. But the crippled is excessively heavy and excessively bully now, and the USGA acold excessively evolved arsenic a governing body, to expect immoderate benignant of over-par finish.

Oakmont volition play hard, but it volition not beryllium impossible. Not for these guys.

Give america 1 acheronian equine to contend/win this week?

Schlabach: Harris English is coming disconnected his champion decorativeness astatine a major, and helium is astir apt a bargain astatine 100-1 odds. He finished successful the apical 12 successful each of his past 4 large events, tying for 12th astatine the Masters, 10th astatine the Truist Championship, 2nd astatine the PGA Championship and 12th astatine the Memorial. He has a bully way grounds successful the U.S. Open with 3 top-eight finishes successful his past 5 starts. He'll support it successful the fairway, deed capable greens and he's 1 of the champion putters retired there.

Uggetti: Does Keegan Bradley acceptable the bill? He is presently 90-1 likelihood to triumph this week, but it wouldn't wholly daze maine to spot him adjacent the apical of the leaderboard travel the weekend. The U.S. Ryder Cup skipper is simply a top-15 people fit, according to Data Golf, and it's mostly owed to however close helium is disconnected the tee. This play he's top-20 successful the satellite successful strokes gained disconnected the tee portion besides being top-15 successful strokes gained: approach. Seems similar a beauteous decent look to marque immoderate sound astatine Oakmont this week and truly ramp up the treatment of whether Bradley should beryllium a playing skipper astatine Bethpage.