This week in Brooklyn, Massachusetts is going to make history forever. It was inevitable. However, Boston believers could not have imagined the best leaderboard going on the weekend at the 2022 US Open. Defending champion John Rahm and four-time key winner Rory McIlroy are in the lead with a stroke, the name of which has the potential to create a real jaw coming up on Sunday.
That name belongs to Colin Morikawa, who reached 5 for the championship on Friday from the 4th player under the age of 66 and led the way alongside Joel Dahman. The 25-year-old Moroccan seems to have been on television for the past decade, but in reality, this week’s US Open marks only the 11th major championship appearance of his career.
In his 10 early starts, Morikawa captured startling milestones including a win in his PGA Championship debut and a win in his Open Championship debut at Royal St George’s last summer. A win at The Country Club can make a once-in-a-lifetime life even more memorable.
Three big wins in 11 starts will be unprecedented considering the depth of skill in the game of golf – Note: Jordan Speed needs 19 trips to get his three – the ability to beat those majors in three completely different settings will do it all. Very impressive achievement. Make no mistake though: Morikova is battling over the final 36 holes with names like McIlroy, Rahm and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.
This event will not be like his last two wins because Morocco did not get a 36-hole lead in his key career – add it to his list of achievements – and some may continue to doubt his success or his indescribable lack. Hope in his iron game, history says Morocco will be fine.
T1. Colin Morikawa and Joel Dahmen (-5): Last year, the floor in Scotland could not be found by Morikawa. He won the Open Championship. This year, he could not beat his patent blur with his irons. Behold, he is in the mix for his third major title. Not only will he continue his incredible pace on the golf giant’s podium, but with one win, Morocco will be a Masters winner and he will end his career Grand Slam. Whether the irons are good or not, he has left his mark on the greens with his acting. He has lost strokes with his putter at every start since the Masters, and this week at The Country Club, he has received more than three strokes with a flat stick.
T3. John Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Aaron Weiss, Hayden Buckley and Beau Hossler (-4): Rahm played with Morikawa for the first two days and may have been hidden by him. However, the defending champion is in a state of envy and has a fantastic chance to follow in Brooks Kopka’s footsteps by winning the US Open again. Since Rahm is by far the best in the world in that field by a significant margin, it is not surprising that Rahm is at the forefront of strokes received from Dee; However, the improvement he has shown in green this week has the potential to push him to another big win.
T8. Scottie Scheffler, Nick Hardy, Matthew NeSmith, Patrick Rodgers and Brian Harman (-3): Taking the pace of his birdie-bye decision from Thursday, Scheffler is adamant Was like the No. 1 in the world On Friday. Although it did not start without a hitch, Texan combined the best approach performance of his career with a stroke perspective. With the 67-year-old finally signing to 3, Scheffler will be in conversation following Sunday’s nine, until his short game reflects his basic statistical output in other ways. He is currently number one on the stroke approach, number three on strokes ranging from tea to green, number six on strokes derived from tea, and he is out of the top 80 in green and around it.
T13. Sam Burns, Matt Fitzpatrick, Adam Hodwin and Beau Hossler (-2): Burns was one of only three players to sign for 67 in the morning wave, and the next logical step in his career progression was the weekend at the main championship. Since he is firmly in the mix of this championship he can check if he is coming off the list and he should like the chances of progress. A three-time winner of the PGA Tour this season, this week’s win will pull him along with his good friend Sheffler on an annual total. The LSU product has only reached 15 fairways in the first two rounds, so he will have to improve in this field to set up higher scoring opportunities.
T16. Xander Schauffele, Will Zalatoris, Davis Riley and four others (-1): His US Open resume is fantastic on paper, but it gives Shaffelle the best opportunity to date. Of his five previous Top-10 results, he has yet to truly compete; However, with 36 holes left, he is only four feet away from speed. The names he has to jump on are huge in the game.
T24. Brooks Copca, Hidegi Matsuyama, Brandon Mathews and four others (c): The two-time US Open champion now has 73-67 rounds under his belt, a truly impressive bounce back round. As the chip on his shoulder somehow grew tenfold, Kopka was his usual self with the media after his second round. Only four men have dropped him in his last four US Open appearances, and if he does not want to add a significant amount to that total, he cuts his work. An improvement around the green would be huge, with only one part of his game stopping him through 36 holes.
T31. Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Joaquin Neiman and six (+1): I can only imagine how frustrated Thomas was when he started his second round with a double bogey and eventually signed for 2-over 72. Short has twice won the Players’ Championship, the PGA Championship and now the US Open. The end of the stick when it comes to being weather dependent on some of the big events of the season. He’s only six feet from the front, and considering the firefighter in his arsenal, he’s still in this case, though there is little room for error now.
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