U.S. Open 2019: Preview and predictions
By Luke Norris
A preview of the 2019 U.S. Open from Pebble Beach, including a look at the top 10 in the world, five stories that could be fun on Sunday and a prediction of the winner.
The attention of the golf world heads to Pebble Beach Golf Links this week as the U.S. Open heads to the famed venue for the sixth time. 2019 marks the 100th anniversary of the course, which is why the USGA chose it to host America’s national championship this season.
The U.S. Open was first played at Pebble Beach in 1972, marking the first time the tournament was played at a public course, and Jack Nicklaus won his third U.S. Open title that year. The tourney returned a decade later with Tom Watson’s famous win over Nicklaus and Tom Kite was the next to win at Pebble in 1992. Eight years later, Tiger Woods put on arguably the best performance in the history of major championship golf with a brilliant performance and Graeme McDowell came back from three strokes down on the final day to capture the 2010 title.
Moving on to what lies ahead for this week, this should be nothing short of a spectacular four days of championship golf. 156 of the best players in the world will take on what should be a difficult USGA layout that will not only provide a dramatic tournament but also some of the most scenic shots in the game.
Leading the field this week is two-time defending U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka, who put on amazing shows the past two years at Erin Hills and Shinnecock and has recently returned to the top spot in the Official World Golf Ranking. That win at the PGA Championship last month certainly didn’t hurt.
All the other big names are here as well so let’s go ahead and get into what we usually do for the majors. I’ll take a look at the top 10 players in the world, which includes other big names like DJ, Rory and Tiger, and also at five other stories that could make for a lot of fun come Sunday afternoon. Then I’ll go ahead and make my official pick for the week.
It’s a little strange to say this given the new schedule in 2019, but let’s dive into a quick preview of golf’s third major championship of the year: the U.S. Open from Pebble Beach.