Spieth says it's the toughest course in America, but Day, Oosthuizen and Fitzpatrick are among the players who should enjoy the year's second major
Jason Day
Jason Day is the favourite to win at Oakmont and an obvious pick.
The world No. 1 has been playing stunning golf for almost a year now, with seven wins and just one missed cut in 19 starts since the 2015 US Open.
Day won the Players Championship last month and is in better form than Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth, even though the trio will begin the tournament at similar prices.
The course suits him, too. He is the best putter in the world and therefore best-equipped to deal with Oakmont’s treacherous, lightning-fast greens.
Day is occasionally shaky off the tee, but this is a relatively short course at 7,255 yards.
The Australian will likely use the driver sparingly, instead relying on his world-class approach play from the fairways.
If he plays steadily and does not chase birdies and eagles, Day has the best chance of anyone in the field.
Rickie Fowler
Rickie Fowler’s age, fashion sense and behaviour on social media have contributed to his reputation as a streaky player without the killer mentality needed to win a major.
In reality, the 27-year-old has been one of the steadiest players on tour this year.
Fowler has not entered the winner’s circle since September, with a play-off defeat at the Phoenix Open in February the closest he has come to victory.
But with the third-highest greens in regulation percentage in 2016, he has the steady swing needed to be successful at Oakmont.
Fowler rarely misses the green with his approach, but when he does he is a fine chipper.
Putting is his weakness, but he has vastly improved that area of his game and is always capable of finding a hot streak.
In the chasing pack behind the aforementioned big three, Fowler is a more likely winner than the flaky Dustin Johnson, the often-wayward Phil Mickelson and the unfit Justin Rose.
Fowler to win the US Open – 28/1
Matt Kuchar
Aside from Day, no player at the US Open is in better form than Matt Kuchar.
The American has five top-10 finishes in his last six tournaments and is perhaps playing the best golf of his 16-year career.
Kuchar is one of the best players on tour to have never won a major, but that could change at Oakmont – a course that suits his precise playing style.
Currently ranked in the top 40 in strokes gained both off the tee and around the greens, Kuchar has won big events in the past – the 2012 Players Championship and 2013 Match Play – on home soil.
The 37-year-old has not triumphed in a PGA Tour event for over two years, while he has also fallen short in majors when contending in the final round – most notably at the 2012 Masters.
Nevertheless, odds of 40/1 to win are generous for a man playing this well, and while he will perhaps not have enough to triumph, he should be in the mix at the end of days one and two.
Kuchar to be first round leader – 40/1
Paul Casey
Paul Casey will be one of the few teeing up at the US Open to have played well at Oakmont in a major.
The tournament was last held at the course in 2007, when Casey began the final day in third before a disappointing fiver-over-par final round dropped him to tied 10th.
The world No. 24 has been resurgent of late and finished fourth at the Masters in April, one of his five top-10 finishes since November.
Casey ranks among the top 25 players from tee to green this year, which bodes well for his chances at Oakmont.
European players have fared well at the tournament in recent years, with the continent producing four of the last six winners.
Casey has a great chance to at least be the top European this weekend. And possibly more.
Casey to finish as top European – 18/1
Louis Oosthuizen
The narrow fairways and brutal greens at Oakmont will intimidate plenty of players this weekend.
But Louis Oosthuizen will not be one of them.
The world No. 14 has missed the cut in his last two tournaments, but throughout his career he has played his best golf at the majors.
The 2010 Open winner finished runner-up in two of the big four tournaments – the Open and the US Open.
Ranked in the top 20 in the world from tee to green, his approach play is comfortably good enough to deal with the tricky course conditions.
And while not a fast starter, he has a knack of stringing together solid scores and creeping up the leaderboard in the last two rounds.
Time and again Oosthuizen has been unflappable while other players struggle under pressure, and he will be a real threat if inside the top 10 heading into the final day.
Oosthuizen to finish in the top five – 12/1
Matthew Fitzpatrick
In 2015, Jordan Spieth became the youngest US Open winner since 1923 at the age of just 21 years, 10 months, 26 days.
When this year’s tournament begins, Matthew Fitzpatrick – the most exciting young golfer in Europe – will be 41 days younger than the American was when he triumphed.
Since turning professional two years ago, the world No. 34 has shown that he has the class to challenge for – and win – majors.
He tied for seventh at this year’s Masters after an impressive final-round of 67 – the joint-lowest score of the day – and won his second European Tour event at the Nordea Masters just a fortnight ago.
Oakmont is clearly no ordinary course – Spieth has called it the most difficult in the country – and Fitzpatrick will have never faced a challenge like it in his fledgling career.
But with his win in Sweden he showed the natural touch on the greens and accuracy with the driver that will be crucial to his chances here.
