US Open sleepers 2023: 5 dark horse picks who could win at LACC

US Open sleepers No. 2: Phil Mickelson (+18000)

Not only are we including a 52-year-old in our dark horse picks, it’s the 52-year-old who infamously has never been able to win the US Open. But such is life when we look at Phil Mickelson.

Truth be told, we don’t have a ton of numbers on Mickelson’s recent form as LIV Golf doesn’t provide strokes gained data. However, we saw him end up at T2 at The Masters and we know that nothing gets Mickelson’s blood pumping in the right ways on a golf course like having to exercise creativity and playing out of funky situations.

That’s going to be in order this week at LACC and, with Mickelson reportedly spending a ton of time practicing in Los Angeles over recent weeks, it’s hard not to believe in him potentially making his noise at what might be his last best chance to win a US Open in his career.

US Open sleepers No. 1: Denny McCarthy (+10000)

The narrative has finally turned a bit with Denny McCarthy, who has long been widely regarded as perhaps the best putter on the PGA Tour. He’s still that, without question, but he’s also been a guy who has played extremely well at tough courses, most recently losing in a playoff at the Memorial.

McCarthy has improved his ball striking tremendously, gaining 1.14 weighted strokes on approach over the last 16 rounds and driving the ball accurately overall (though the 18th hole at Memorial would beg to differ there). When you combine that with his short game, it’s hard to not like what you see.

It’s understandable that McCarthy isn’t one of the favorites, but his improved game and the trends suggest that he could very much be a factor at LACC with the test that 2023 US Open will ask him and this field to pass.

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