US Open 2022: Jon Rahm leads the 9 golfers most likely to win the championship at The Country Club

BROOKLINE, Mass. – Jon Rahm walked off the 17th pitch with venom in his eye. He just hit a sweet little spinning wedge a few feet and poured it in for the third time in a row as well as his third birdie four holes. Unexpectedly, he took a solo lead at the 2022 US Open when he reached the 18th tee on the 54th hole of the tournament.

Three shots from the bunker eventually resulted in a double, and all that Rahm had accomplished in the back nine – of a golf course that had seemingly vented three decades of frustration in just one day – was accomplished. . Rahm is now seated to enter Round 4 on Sunday, two strokes better than last year as he went on to win his first major championship at Torrey Pines.

Rahm looked conflicted after his third inning.

“I am very satisfied,” Rahm said. “I’m not going to lie. It’s angry to end that way with how well I played those holes. But like I told myself, if on the 14th, what if on the 14th? [hole] you tell me you can post 1 over par and don’t play the last five holes I’ll run to the club because it’s hard to play. I’ll take it, no questions asked.

“I think I have to consider that. I have 18 holes, and I only shoot back once. That’s what matters.”

It To be important thing, and who stands before Rahm also matters. Will Zalatoris and Matt Fitzpatrick not only combined to not claim a major win, but also failed to win a PGA Tour event title. Rahm was thunder, and they would certainly hear his footsteps as he led it home around the old racecourse where part of the Country Club was built.

Despite being stuck in 18th place and one-shot lead and the final pairing falling short of one-shot and placing penultimate, Rahm still has to be considered the favourite. While the statistical records of both Zalatoris and Fitzpatrick are better indicators of a champion, Rahm is an attractive champion who has the look of a man who wants to join Ben Hogan, Curtis Strange and Brooks Koepka are the only back-to-back champions at the US Open since World War II.

That’s not to say he’s going to win – and he’s not a 4-1 favorite, according to Caesars Sportsbook, behind Zalatoris and Fitzpatrick – but if you had told me earlier in the week that Rahm would back on Sunday, I said that he is someone who can beat anyone in front of him. That he will be chasing two long-term players for talent but lacking in major success only reinforces that fact.

However, Rahm’s chaotic 3-6 finish proved one thing. The 122nd US Open is going a long way and we won’t be crowned champions anytime soon. I think Rahm’s birdie in 17th place to be relegated to 5th in round 3 is the beginning of the end of this tournament. That’s what it feels like. As it turns out, the way he closes the door is a reminder that now is just the beginning.

Here are the remaining golfers who can take home the US Open on Sunday..

2. Will Zalatoris (-4, team leader): I’m not sure if this is on television, but Brookline feels like an Open Championship on Saturday. It was colder than it should be in June and windier than anyone expected. And Zalatoris shot himself 67. 67! “I mean, Will’s 67 shots today were unbelievable,” said Rory McIlroy, who shot 73.

Zalatoris has the most top 10 in professional leagues since the beginning of 2021 such as current top 10 players in the world Patrick Cantlay, Justin Thomas, Viktor Hovland, Sam Burns and Cameron Smith combine, so he’s no stranger to this stratosphere. He’s nearly in the Masters 2021 (losing to Hideki Matsuyama due to a stroke) and the 2022 PGA Championship (losing to Thomas in the playoffs) so served him well on Sunday.

3. Scottie Scheffler (-2, two back): The masters The champion had a wild Saturday. He managed to give the par-5 eagle a two-goal lead but ended the day two down. He’s trying with Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth to be the only golfers to win the Masters and US Open in the same year, and the best he’s got for him is him. He is sinking into the frenzy of this event.

“I think the US Open is very taxing, mentally and physically,” said Scheffler. “I think that’s all that makes this tournament so exciting. You’ll be tested all different ways, whether it’s physical, mental, whatever. This golf tournament will test you That’s why I’m here I think it’s exciting If every golf tournament is like this, it’s going to be a long season for all of us. A few times a year, I think it’s a very interesting thing.”

4. Matt Fitzpatrick (-4, co-head): The 2013 US Amateur champion on this court didn’t quite have the massive success that Zalatoris (or Scheffler certainly) showed, but his game has improved a lot from last year and he’s quiet. probably didn’t make any batting so far this week. Fitzpatrick is leading the field in tee-to-green shots and is essentially an average golfer. If they start to fall on a Sunday for one of the better hitters in the world, he’ll repeat what he did in 2013 on a bigger stage and Be the first non-American to win both the US Am and the US Open.

5. Rory McIlroy (-1, three backs): McIlroy played his last 12 holes at par when 3 more or 4 more seemed more. He called Saturday “one of the hardest days on the golf course I’ve had in a long time,” and that’s how it feels to be out there. He pulled some Houdini level magic at number 13 from the forest, going up and down from 170 meters for equal measure. He does a 9 foot on 15 and an 11 foot on 17, both horizontals. He dodged bogeys and then literally dodged a turkey going down one of the holes near the end of his round. McIlroy’s grand finale was judgment number 18 that gave him relief from underneath a tree. Somehow, he saw the birdie on that hole but settled for par and somehow (somehow!) just three back on Sunday.

“Even though it was such a tough day and I feel like I put up a good fight,” McIlroy said. “To remain just three come back on [Sunday] I feel is a good thing for me. … Just keep yourself in the league. That’s all I tried to do. Just keep walking around. I feel like I did well to get it on par for the tournament at the end of the day. “

Who Wins At Brookline? Rick Gehman and Greg DuCharme recap a wild Saturday at The Country Club. Follow and listen to The First Cut on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

6. Sam Burns (-1, three back): Burns has been pretty sneaky this week and finds himself one of only nine golfers under par. However, he is the only one in that group who is losing shots off the tee. If that doesn’t improve by Sunday, he likely won’t stand a chance. However, Burns was an outright threat and only needed to come back from seven to win the Charles Schwab Challenge. He will swing and will be a blast to watch in the finale.

7. Keegan Bradley (-2, two backs): The New England-born player will be among the fan favorites on Sunday, and he certainly hit his approaches well enough to win. Only Scheffler and Matsuyama had more strokes. Bradley is technically a big winner, but it’s been a while. He won the first major tournament he’s ever played and hasn’t won in his most recent 34th round. It wouldn’t be too shocking if he wins on Sunday, but there will be a bit of a surprise.

“[The reception I got on No. 18 today] was one of the best moments of my life,” said Bradley. I have to feel the feeling of playing at Fenway, playing in [Boston] Garden, to play at Gillette Stadium. I felt like a Boston player there. It was a moment that I will never forget for the rest of my life, and I appreciate the fans who have given me that, and I hope to be cheered on again by them. [Sunday]. ”

8. Joel Dahmen (-1, three backwards): The good news for Dahmen is that he beat playing partner and two-time major champion Collin Morikawa on Saturday. The bad news is that Morikawa shot 77. Dahmen played well to make 74 because it went the other way in a great hurry and he stayed in it even if he needed a little bit of magic on Sunday to get through. McIlroy, Rahm, Scheffler, Zalatoris and Fitzpatrick. “If you tell me on Thursday morning, I’ll be three years old back on Sunday of the US Open… Where do I want my game to be,” he said. “I feel comfortable being out there. Maybe I can sneak behind them [Sunday]. “

9. Adam Hadwin (-2, two backwards): For the second year in a row, a Canadian tennis player entered the US Open. Although Hadwin is third in the field from tee to green so far this week, he will be the most surprising winner of the top nine.