When is it on?
The third men’s major of the year, the 2023 US Open, will begin at the North Course at Los Angeles Country Club in California on Thursday, June 15th and will run until Sunday, June 18th (Father’s Day, as is tradition).
How can I follow it all?
The US Open is being broadcast exclusively on Sky Sports and NowTV all week. Coverage will run from 3pm on Thursday and Friday to 4am, 6pm on Saturday until 3am and 5.30pm on Sunday until 3am. As you may have guessed by those times, Los Angeles is eight hours behind Dublin, so don’t expect the golf to finish until the early hours of the morning. The US Open app is unlikely to match the Masters app in perfect shot-by-shot coverage but is still the best way to follow the leader board and scores as they progress.
What are the tee-times?
For the first round Rory McIroy has been paired with Brooks Koepka and Hideki Matsuyama while Shane Lowry will play with Justin Thomas and Tommy Fleetwood.
Round one: Thursday, June 15th - Starting at hole one (all times BST)
14:45 O Morlaes (Mex)*, D Germishuys (SA), J Solomon (US)
14:56 R Gerard (US), Katsuragawa (Jpn), M Brennan (US)*
15:07 H Buckley (US), A Svensson (Can), P Larrazabal (Spa)
15:18 C Young (US), D Wu (US), R Sloan (Can)
15:29 R Ishikawa (Jpn), K Streelman (US), M Pavon (Fra)
15:40 S Lowry (Ire), J Thomas (US), T Fleetwood (Eng)
15:51 Sungjae Im (Kor), KH Lee (Korea) JT Poston (US)
16:02 G Woodland (US), Scott (Aus), C Conners (Can)
16:13 C Morikawa (US), M Homa (US), S Scheffler (US)
16:24 D McCarthy (US), J Dahmen (US), A Hadwin (Can)
16:35 M McLean (NI)*, S Power (Ire), R Fox (NZ)
16:46 M Meissner (US), B Brown (Eng), G Charoenkul (Tha)
16:57 A Yang (HK)*, J Schutte (US), A Svoboda (US)
20:15 B Grant (US), V Norman (Swe), C Hoffman (US)
20:26 S Forsstrom (Swe), C Ortiz (Mex), M Moldovan (US)*
20:37 E Cole (US), T Lawrence (SA), A Schenk (US)
20:48 L List (US), W Nienaber (SA), A Del Rey (Spa)
20:59 A Meronk (Pol), H English (US), J Niemann (Chi)
21:10 A Noren (Swe), W Clark (US), A Eckroat (US)
21:21 K Kitayama (US), C Davis (Aus), R Henley (US)
21:32 C Smith (Aus), S Bennett (US), M Fitzpatrick (Eng)
21:43 B Horschel (US), C Kirk (US), B Harman (US)
21:54 B Koepka (US), H Matsuyama (Jpn), R McIlroy (NI)
22:05 S Muniz (Col), N Taylor (Can), T Montgomery (US)
22:16 O Browne Jr (US), D Puig (Spa), K Vilips (US)*
22:27 C Pereira (US), I Simmons (US)* JJ Grey (Eng)
Starting from hole 10
14:45 B Henson (US), R Nagano (Jpn), H Lebioda (US)
14:56 M Kim (US), J Smith (Eng), W Ding (Chn)*
15:07 S Stallings (US), P Summerhays (US)*, L Herbert (AUs)
15:18 J Dantorp (Swe), P Rodgers (US), R Armour (US)
15:29 T Pieters (Bel), A Wise (US), G Sargent (US)*
15:40 B DeChambeau (US), F Molinari (Ita), T Hatton (Eng)
15:51 T Hoge (US), S Garcia (Spa), S Straka (Aut)
16:02 J Rose (Eng), R Fowler (US), J Day (Aus)
16:13 P Reed (US), M Kuchar (US), SW Kim (Kor)
16:24 X Schauffele (US), V Hovland (Nor), J Rahm (Spa)
16:35 M Kaymer (Ger), S Cink (US), M Thorbjornsen (US)*)
16:46 D Horsey (Eng), B Valdes (US), P Barjon (Fra)
16:57 J Gumberg (US), K Mueller (US), B Amat (Fra)*
20:15 R Fisher (Eng), N Echavarria (Col), P Haley II (US)
20:26 N Dunlap (US)*, N Hardy (US), S Stevens (US)
20:37 T Pendrith (Can), N Potgieter (SA), R Langasqu (Fra)
20:48 A Puttnam (US), V Perez (Fra), A Ancer (Mex)
20:59 P Mickelson (US), P Harrington (Ire), K Bradley (US)
21:10 M Pereira (Chi), E Grillo (Arg), Fernandez de Oliveira (Arg)*
21:21 T Kim (Kor), S Theegala (US), C Young (US)
21:32 S Burns (US), D Johnson (US), K Mitchell (US)
21:43 T Finau (US), J Spieth (US), P Cantlay (US)
21:54 D Thompson (US), MW Lee (Aus), J Suh (US)
22:05 T Moore (US), M Hughes (Can), B Carr (US)*
22:16 P Cover (US), D Nyfjall (Swe)*, F Capan III (US)
22:27 A Truslow (US), C Cavaliere (US)*), A Schaake (US)
What is the course like?
Los Angeles Country Club is located in Beverly Hills, a five-minute trip from Rodeo Drive, the haunt of celebrities and the rich and famous. Unsurprisingly, then, it is one of the most exclusive and wealthiest country clubs in the US, but it also has a rich history in the game, as Philip Reid writes. Established in 1897, it hosted five Los Angeles Opens from 1926 to 1940. In 2017, it hosted the famous amateur team competition, the Walker Cup, played in by Scottie Scheffler and Collin Morikawa. This is the first time it has hosted a major championship.
[ US Open: Los Angeles Country Club set to be more a test of brain than brawnOpens in new window ]
The rolling, treelined course was enhanced by course architect Gil Hanse – working with his design partner Jim Wagner and golf historian Geoff Shackelford – in 2006 to make it fit for the modern game. The par-70 North Course is unusual in its configuration, presenting a scorecard that features five par threes and three par fives. Expect a similar feel to Riviera Country Club on the PGA Tour, which hosts the Genesis Invitational.
Can Rory end his major drought here?
Any player of his ability could, but you wouldn’t put your mortgage on it. McIlroy has posted three straight top 10s on the PGA Tour to show a bit of form, but had a mediocre finish to last week’s Canadian Open. McIlroy does not have a stellar record on the west coast: out of 23 PGA Tour wins his only victory in that part of the world has been the 2015 WGC Match Play at Harding Park.
The world number three flopped at the Masters this year, missing the cut when well fancied, and played decently at the US PGA for a top 10 but always taking one step forward and two steps back. The British Open at Royal Liverpool provides a better chance to win his first major since 2014, but coming in under the radar might suit the Northern Irishman, who has found it difficult to deal with expectation in major weeks.
What are the other Irish prospects?
There are four other Irish players in the field: amateur Matthew McClean, who also played at the Masters, as well as Pádraig Harrington, Shane Lowry and Séamus Power. Lowry has a habit of playing his best golf in majors. In fact, his two best performances since March have been in majors – T16 at the Masters and T12 at the US PGA. Another high placing would not be a surprise.He was also tied 14th this season at the nearby Riviera. But ultimately Lowry would have to be two to three strokes better with his putter to contend this week. Despite some nice ball-striking this season, he is 176th on tour in putting. A high finish well inside the cut would be a good week for Harrington and Power. The latter has lost a bit of form since spring.
Who are the favourites?
The three favourites with the bookies are Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka. Unlike McIlroy, Masters champion Rahm has shown a flair for the west coast, with five PGA Tour wins in California including his US Open in 2021. Rahm also won the Genesis Invitational this year. World number one Scheffler has been a ball-striking machine this season, best on tour by a large margin and amazingly has not been outside the top 12 for 15 consecutive events. He would have more than two wins in that time with better putting. Koepka underlined his credentials as the best major golfer of his generation with a fifth major at last month’s US PGA and also finished second in the Masters. Koepka has already won the US Open twice – in 2017 and 2018.
Who else to watch out for, and who is missing?
Tiger Woods will not play this year’s US Open as he underwent a procedure to address post-traumatic arthritis after struggling to walk at this year’s Masters. Fourteen players qualified through the various stages of local qualifying – the US Open is open to any professional, or amateur with a handicap index not exceeding 1.4, so watch out for Michael Block-like stories. Expect a few awkward questions to be asked about the PGA Tour merger with Saudi’s PIF in the pre-tournament press conferences, even though the USGA and players want to avoid the topic.
What is the US Open winner’s prize?
The winner’s prize is a cool $3,150,000, as well as the US Open trophy, and a gold medal named the Jack Nicklaus Medal after the tournament’s four-time winner.
What is the weather forecast for Los Angeles Country Club?
A dry week, not a surprise for Los Angeles, with temperatures between 21 and 25 degrees. Wind is not expected to be a major factor.
