The 73rd Hole: US Open & Open Championship predictions, Koepka validates LIV Golf, more after PGA Championship

2. Predicting the 2023 US Open winner at Los Angeles Country Club

Because of the Gil Hanse redesign of LACC since the 2017 Walker Cup was played there, the only true major event we’ve really seen in recent memory at one of the United States’ oldest courses, particularly on the west coast, there are a lot of unknown factors about what kind of test it will offer.

What we can discern is that distance won’t be a prerequisite to winning as much as it is about shot-making and the ability to decipher greens that should be baked extremely firm in a summer California sun and green complexes that on the surface and around it offer a similarly cruel and difficult test to that of Riviera for the Genesis Invitational.

So with that in mind and also taking into account form and pedigree, I’m left with two options in my mind for the 2023 US Open winner: Scottie Scheffler and Viktor Hovland.

In the end, Hovland gets the nod for me. While I do tend to favor the shot-making of Scheffler based on his track record slightly over Hovland in addition to longer-term around-the-green play, Hovland has improved that aspect of his game and, frankly, has been a better putter more often than Scheffler this year.

On these greens and with Hovland trending in the right direction while also playing well in California, specifically with three Top 20s and two Top 5s in three starts at the Genesis, I think he follows the trend to get his first major victory.