The first tee balls will be in the air at the 113th edition of the U.S. Open when Cliff Kresge, Roger Tambellini and Ryan Yip tee off at 6:50 a.m. EST Thursday. A rain-soaked Merion Golf Club plays host to the game’s best, and traditional U.S. Open contenders may be bypassed by bomb-and-gougers and players who love to take the low line and strike their putts with pace, due to the soft and soggy conditions.
Of course, the grounds crew and legion of volunteers (many of them superintendents themselves) will invest endless hours and devote all available resources to getting the course ready to play in a collective Herculean effot.
However, with thunderstorms forecasted for Thursday and a 90 percent chance of rain, they appear to be fighting a losing battle with Mother Nature in general, and the remnants of Tropical Storm Andrea, in particular.
Here’s a look at who could win at muddy Merion.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Tiger Woods: 9-2 odds
In what is surely a surprise to no golf fan, Tiger Woods is the prohibitive favorite to win at Merion. He’ll be able to keep his driver in the bag this week and lean on his new friend (no, not Sergio Garcia) the Nike VR_S Covert 3 wood. He’s hitting nearly 68 percent of greens in regulation this year and is fifth in strokes gained-putting. With his atrocious putting performance at the Memorial Tournament firmly in the rearview mirror, Woods is more ready to return to major glory than he has been at any point during his five year drought.
Sergio Garcia: 33-1 odds
Bear with me on this one. Yes, there’s the saga that would make Colonel Sanders blush, and yes, Sergio Garcia melted down at The Players, has said he’ll never win a major, etc. However, with minimal winds and soft conditions, Garcia’s ball-striking prowess could leave him in position to pour in a lot of putts at Merion. Also, if you hadn’t been paying attention, Sergio, with his new grip and his, well, new grip, has moved from 144th in strokes gained-putting in 2011 to second this year.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Matt Kuchar: 20-1 odds
The hottest golfer in the game right now has had two fantastic performances in a row. The newly bearded Matt Kuchar finished second at the Crowne Plaza Invitational and then won the Memorial Tournament in just the sort of “fairways and greens” manner that wins U.S. Opens. His confidence in his arm-lock putting style has paid dividends as well, and should again at Hugh Wilson’s Pennsylvania masterpiece.
Adam Scott: 22-1 odds
It’s obviously improbable that the Masters champion will win the U.S. Open. However, Adam Scott, who did well at the U.S. Open at the Olympic Club last year (placing 15th), has finished inside the top 20 in both of his starts since winning the Masters. Scotty is a good high-ball hitter who could go flag hunting at Merion. If his putter performs, there’s no reason this couldn’t be the brace for the Australian.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Graeme McDowell: 20-1 odds
The most accurate driver on Tour this season and one of the best putters (13th in strokes gained-putting), Graeme McDowell has won twice in his last four starts. He’s also a U.S. Open stalwart, making the cut in all seven of his appearances. The Ulsterman won in 2010 and placed second last year. The only concern with McDowell on paper is his length, however at this year’s shorter U.S. Open venue, with its rain-soaked and receptive greens, G-Mac could easily hoist his second U.S. Open Trophy.
Justin Rose: 22-1 odds
It’s almost fashionable in golf circles to remember the lanky amateur at the 1998 Open Championship, and ask, “Where has the time gone?” Justin Rose, now 15 years removed from that seminal moment, is now 32. He’s a card-carrying member of the best golfers without a major club. Rose just finished tied for eighth at the Memorial, so he enters Merion in good form. The Englishman is 156th in strokes gained-putting, but if he starts to roll a few in this week, the tournament could be his.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Brandt Snedeker: 28-1 odds
Beware the sick golfer, as they say. Brandt Snedeker has struggled since withdrawing from the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship with a rib injury earlier this year. At the Memorial Tournament, he fired a second-round 80 and missed the cut, and he missed the cut at last week’s FedEx St. Jude Classic, as well. However, if Snedeker, one of the most accurate drivers on Tour, keeps the ball in the fairway and doesn’t have to wage war on Merion’s rough, he can certainly make the putts to win.
Lee Westwood: 28-1 odds
Another injured golfer, Lee Westwood, who hurt a finger at the Players Championship, could overpower Merion. Once comically bad around the green, Westwood now ranks third and eighth in scrambling and sand save percentage, respectively. Westy also finished inside the top 10 at the past two U.S. Opens. In 2011, at a soft venue with accessible pins at Congressional, he finished second. Last year, at the difficult Olympic Club, he finished tied for tenth. Clearly then, he’s comfortable with both extremes of the U.S. Open venue spectrum.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Phil Mickelson: 16-1 odds
It’s doubtful that anyone is happier about the receptive greens which await the players at Merion than Phil Mickelson. The perennially aggressive pinseeking left-hander won’t need a driver in his hand at the U.S. Open this year. Thus, he should find more fairways than the 53 percent he has averaged for the year. If he does, and he continues to putt well (eighth in strokes gained-putting), Lefty could carry the momentum of last week’s tie for second at the FedEx St. Jude to victory. On another note, after Mickelson’s Monday practice round was rained out he decided to return to San Diego to attend his daughter’s 8th-grade graduation. He’ll be back for his 7:11 a.m. tee time on Thursday, and we’ll quickly see if it has caused him to be more focused or out of sorts.
Steve Stricker: 40-1 odds
It’s tough to get a read on the state of Steve Stricker’s game, as he hasn’t played in a while. Stricker, who is beginning the long walk into the sunset, is playing a limited schedule this year… and he’s playing it pretty well. One can assume he’ll come into the U.S. Open practiced, prepared, and relaxed. If he does this, and putts like he’s capable of putting, he could be a major champion come Sunday.
*odds according to Bovada.com