Big guns could be spiked at wide-open US Open

It is likely that a premium iron player wins the US Open this week at Pebble Beach, where Zach Johnson has almost the same chance of winning as Dustin Johnson in the third championship of the year.

Brooks Koepka deserves his classification as favorite in the championship, with Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson right behind him, while Tiger Woods will undoubtedly attract the most attention.

The consensus of the experts, however, is that dozens of players could win an Open Open, as in 2010, when the then-ranked Graeme McDowell 37 triumphed, a blow ahead of the longest of the long shots in Gregory Havret.

There are likely to be many more players in the mix at Pebble than at the recent PGA Championship at Bethpage Black, a design beast that knocked out the shortest hitters in the competition even before they ended.

It was not a coincidence that Koepka and Dustin Johnson finished first and second.

But Pebble Beach, which will play a pair of 71 to 7,075 yards for the Open, is considerably shorter, and the streets should offer a lot of roll.

Many of them will be narrow, and the rough ones will be the US Open. UU Of old style, thick and penal, that will give great importance to the precision from the tee.

"Driving distance is one of the least important factors at Pebble Beach," three-time PGA Tour winner Brad Faxon told Reuters.

"I think it opens the door to many types of players, and at Pebble Beach, the knowledge of the course is as important as any event you will play at the US Open, knowing really where to put the ball on the greens."

"I'm not saying do not go see Koepka, Dustin and Rory, I'm just saying you'll see more Furyks and Zach Johnsons than usual."

In the great champions Jim Furyk and Zach Johnson, he was referring to the small hitters who are not at a disadvantage in the fields where the bombing has 300 yards is not a prerequisite.

Faxon, who will be part of Fox's broadcast team on American television, was perhaps the best putter in the world at that time.

He says that the green outlines in Pebble are severe.

"At each hole, you can find the amount of rest you'll see in the putts you've hit throughout the year," he said.

"Rarely is there a putt in a hole where you are not playing a ball with two or three balls from the hole in the shorter putts.

"There are many complicated readings there, people could call it the ocean factor, the pauses go in a certain direction, but having played a lot in that field, you can know and understand the pauses."

Which brings us to wood. If he loses a putt, it is not due to the lack of knowledge of the course in a place where he accumulated his best performance, a record victory of 15 strokes at the US Open in 2000.

If Woods can compete for a title 16, it's just one of many stories that will captivate fans around the world.

Can the Mick Mickelson Open six times complete the grand slam in a course where he won the Pebble Beach Pro-Am four months ago?

Can Dustin Johnson finally add a second major to his resume, nine years after he was the leader of 54 holes there before exploding at the start of the final round?

Can Koepka become the first man to win three consecutive starts in the United States in more than a century?

Can McIlroy, full of confidence after his victory at the Canadian Open on Sunday, end a five-year drought and become the second consecutive North Irishman to win a US Open? UU In Pebble?

Can the United States Golf Association avoid a similar debacle to Shinnecock Hills last year, where greens 13 and 15 became almost impossible to play during the third round?

The answers will be announced for four days, but one thing is clear: Pebble Beach has established itself as the main venue for the US Open. UU The United States and whoever has the trophy on Sunday will have a special place in the history of golf.

Woods returns to the scene of his biggest performance in this week's tournament, not necessarily the man to win, but a definite threat to win his 16th main title.

Woods' form at the recent Memorial tournament, where he tied for the ninth, combined with his love and knowledge of Pebble Beach, suggests he will not be far Sunday on the legendary California coast.

When he won with a record of 15 hits in 2000, Woods was able to break his units more than most others, although he only had a minor role in his emphatic and fugitive success, so he was from another world in all facets of the game. game . . game . . game . . game. .