Matt Fitzpatrick returns as defending champion, while Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka will be looking to add to their major wins this season; this week’s major is the first since new agreement announced between PGA Tour, DP World Tour and PIF, who fund LIV Golf
After a week where the golfing world delivered a plot twist worthy of a blockbuster movie, it seems somewhat fitting that the sport heads to the home of Hollywood for the US Open.
Los Angeles Country Club hosts this week’s major, just a few miles away from the home of cinema, where conversation will continue to be dominated by last Tuesday’s extraordinary announcement that stunned players and fans alike and signalled significant change at the top of the men’s game.
The PGA Tour and DP World Tour agreeing a new commercial partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), who bankroll the previously-considered-rival LIV Golf circuit, had been almost unfathomable at times after a year of heated comments, divided opinions and burned friendships between those involved in golf’s ‘civil war’.
But now the script has been rewritten and attempts to unify the game have been made, with all litigation between the tours ended and steps created to give players pathways to restore memberships they lost by joining the Saudi-backed team circuit.
The majors – for this year at least – have been the only way for LIV players to go head-to-head against their PGA Tour counterparts, with any question marks about their ability to compete against the world’s best quickly quashed during The Masters and the PGA Championship.
Brooks Koepka bounced back from his runner-up finish at Augusta National – where Phil Mickelson also shared second – to win the Wanamaker Trophy last month and all-but secure LIV participation in the Ryder Cup later this year, while Cameron Smith and Patrick Reed are among the others to have impressed in at least one of those two events.
There is a 15-strong LIV contingent in action in Los Angeles, including major stalwart Sergio Garcia and former US Open champions Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau, with this week’s event the first opportunity to hear from those players at a tournament since the ground-breaking announcement.
Rory McIlroy has likened golf lately to being “part of a soap opera” because “it feels like every week there’s something new”, although the world No 3 has also said the commercial entity will eventually be “good for the game”. READ MORE
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