Scottie Scheffler will be looking to add to his major tally at the US Open this week, but what can challenge his bid for a sixth win in nine starts on the PGA Tour?
Scheffler held on to claim a one-shot victory at the Memorial Tournament on Sunday, a fifth win in a remarkable start to the season that has also seen him become a back-to-back winner of The Players and claim a second Masters title in three years.
The world No 1 wasn’t quite at his brilliant tee-to-green best during the final round at Muirfield Village on Sunday but was still able to reach the winner’s circle, his first victory since becoming a father, with Scheffler the overwhelming favourite for US Open victory this week.
This week’s Sky Sports Golf podcast looked ahead to the US Open and the tough test that Pinehurst Resort & Country Club’s Course No 2 will offer the players, with Sky Sports’ Robert Lee expecting Scheffler’s game to be suited to the historic major layout.
“You’re not going to win it around here by spraying it all over the place, because of the green designs and how penal they are if you start running off with any speed,” Lee said. “You can say every week about wanting to be playing from the fairways, but you really do this week!
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“Five yards with an iron is going to make a big, big difference. You’re five yards from the top of the ridge where the pin is and it starts rolling backwards, or if you pitch it five yards too far then you’re going to be bouncing into some awful place.
“It has to be somebody who has a lot of control in their game and guess who has the most control of his game out of anyone?! He’s a brilliant, underrated chipper and wedge player. There’s barely a player better from inside 150 yards than Scottie Scheffler and from around the greens he’s fantastic.
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Speaking on the Sky Sports Golf Podcast, Rob Lee and Jamie Spence explain the difficult test that faces the players around the greens at the US Open
“Scheffler’s getting to the point where, if we were going to have some fun and have a bet, where you could have him or the rest or the field!”
Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau are among the others expected to impress at the US Open, where Wyndham Clark is defending champion, Xander Schauffele chases back-to-back major titles, although Sky Sports’ Jamie Spence believes it will take an accurate player to prevail this week at Pinehurst.
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The men’s major season continues this month at the US Open, live on Sky Sports. Can anyone stop Scheffler at Pinehurst?
“You need a lot of patience around here,” Spence said. “When you look at the last three winners around here, Payne Stewart, Michael Campbell and Martin Kaymer, they’re all not the longest but all very controlled players.
“We’re looking for a player who keeps the ball in play and not necessarily someone who attacks golf courses. I just don’t think some of the longer players are going to irons off the tee and the likes of Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau are going to have the patience for it.”
Live US Open Golf
Thursday 13th June 12:30pm
What else in on the podcast?
Regular host Josh Antmann and his two guests look back at a dramatic finish to the Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed, where Sebastian Soderberg blew an eight-shot lead on the final day as Linn Grant came from 11 behind to snatch an unlikely finish.
The panel reflect on Soderberg’s nightmare finish and whether he ‘choked’ on his opportunity to complete a second DP World Tour victory, plus reflect on the other talking points from the final day of Scheffler’s hard-fought Memorial win.
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Sebastian Soderberg squandered an eight-shot lead to hand fellow Swede Linn Grant victory at the Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed in Helsingborg
They look at the challenges facing the players this week at the US Open and some of the players who could impress in North Carolina, with all three offering their predictions on who might be the player who completes major victory.
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Who will win the US Open? Watch throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Live coverage begins on Thursday from 12.30pm on Sky Sports Golf. Stream the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, LPGA Tour and more with NOW.
