Latest news with #SeppStraka
The Independent
10-06-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Tyrrell Hatton gives honest verdict on Oakmont rough for US Open: ‘I can't even see the ball'
Tyrell Hatton has given an honest verdict on the Oakmont rough ahead of this year's US Open. Hatton, 33, took to the course in preparation for the major, which kicks off on Thursday 12 June. But when his ball ended up to the side of a bunker in the rough, he was dismayed at the length of the grass as he struggled to find his ball. 'I only saw it because I'm stood here,' he said, standing directly over his ball, which was buried in thick green grass. 'Set up over it, I can't even see the ball.' As he shot his ball back towards the fairway, he took a hefty chunk of earth and grass with it, an inevitability in such rough. However, this was no anomaly for English golfer Hatton, with the video documenting his practice round later showing him land in similarly thick rough time and time again. Another shot with his rescue club ended with him 'skying' the ball after taking a divot out of the ground, which was met by laughter from him and his team. 'That's mad,' he added. 'You can see how deep it is.' Hatton goes into the US Open ranked as 24th in the world, with his best result at Oakmont coming in 2018 when he finished tied for sixth. He will tee off in Thursday's first round from the 10th hole at 6:25pm BST, alongside South Korea's Sung-jae Im and Austria's Sepp Straka. Then in the second round on Friday, he'll tee off from the first hole at 12:40pm BST. The top 60 from the two opening rounds will then progress through to the weekend, at the end of which a champion will be crowned.
Reuters
10-06-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Take 5: Most likely first-time major winners at U.S. Open
June 10 - The past six major championships have been dominated by the same four faces: Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele and Bryson DeChambeau. Not only have they combined to win those six titles, they've dotted the top 10 on every leaderboard, contending and pushing one another. All four of those stars own multiple majors, and the sport hasn't had a first-time winner since Brian Harman at the 2023 Open Championship. We might be overdue for a newcomer as the USGA sets up Oakmont Country Club for the U.S. Open this week. Here are five golfers on the precipice of their major championship breakthrough -- and why there's reason to believe they could be in the mix on Sunday in Pennsylvania. --Tommy Fleetwood I remain convinced Fleetwood will win a major before his time is up. He top-10'd at every major between 2022 and 2024 as his game seems to get better with age. Fleetwood ranks seventh on the PGA Tour in total strokes gained this season, and he isn't lacking in any one area. In particular, he's steady off the tee, and accurate driving is sure to be one of the keys at Oakmont with its thick rough. In the past four U.S. Opens, 70 percent of players' strokes gained off the tee came from accuracy, only 30 percent from distance. --Sepp Straka Nobody, not even in the highest ranks of golf cognoscenti, saw Straka coming. His own brother was more highly recruited to play college golf. Now the Austria native-turned-Alabama resident is one of the hottest players in the world, with wins at the American Express and the Truist Championship to show for it. Some of these rankings are wild: Second in total strokes gained! First in birdie average and greens in regulation percentage! He's also 11th in driving accuracy, and at the U.S. Open last year at Pinehurst No. 2, Straka led the field in fairways in regulation. Don't be stunned if he's out in front at any point this week. --Marc Leishman This spot could have gone to Joaquin Niemann, coming off a victory Sunday at LIV Golf Virginia, but his major history hasn't lived up to the lofty expectations around him. Niemann said himself that he thinks he's still far off from winning a major. I'm eyeing Leishman, the veteran Australian who sits eighth in the LIV table this year, with a win at Doral and a top-10 Sunday. He tied for 14th at the 2024 U.S. Open and tied for 18th the last time it was held at Oakmont (2016). Most notably, Leishman qualified for the U.S. Open the old-fashioned way while a majority of LIV members dropped out, showing he's confident in his game. --Patrick Cantlay The final round at Pinehurst was so consumed by DeChambeau vs. McIlroy that Cantlay's best showing at a major became an afterthought. Thanks to an opening 65 and no major blunders, he was in the top three at the end of every round and finished only two shots back. The U.S. Open may be the major he's best suited to win. He has four straight top-15 finishes, and he ranked 14th in putting last year, ninth in 2023 and fourth in 2022. Listen, I know the bloom is off the rose with this guy, but I haven't forgotten the clutch putts Cantlay made in the 2021 FedEx Cup playoffs. --Sam Burns Speaking of Americans who tend to get lost in the shuffle, all five of Burns' PGA Tour wins came between May 2021 and March 2023 before he fell off for a while. He's rarely performed well in the majors, but his best showing just so happened to be a T9 at the 2024 U.S. Open. Now he's building at the right time, as several top-20s culminated in his breakout weekend at the RBC Canadian Open. Statistically, Burns is also the best putter on tour this year. Now, did that help him win a playoff against Ryan Fox on Sunday? No, but it may keep him sane this week if the USGA decides to trick out the Oakmont greens. --Adam Zielonka, Field Level Media
Newsweek
09-06-2025
- Sport
- Newsweek
2025 US Open: PGA Tour Dark Horses with Best Chance at Oakmont
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. It's the week before the 2025 U.S. Open and all eyes are on Oakmont Country Club. The course promises to be an incredible test of golf, keeping the odds wide open. Scottie Scheffler is the overwhelming favorite for the title, given his outstanding performance over the last month. Other players, such as defending champion Bryson DeChambeau and reigning Masters champion Rory McIlroy, are also seen as top contenders. However, dark horses are always ready to surprise the rest of the field, and this edition of the US Open will be no exception. Let's take a look at some of them. US Open: 5 Dark Horses to Watch 1. Shane Lowry The Irishman is hardly a dark horse in any tournament he plays in. We include him on this list only because he hasn't won an individual tournament since the 2022 BMW PGA Championship on the DP World Tour. There would be no more fitting setting for his return to the winner's circle than the historic Oakmont venue. Shane Lowry already knows what it's like to win a major title (the 2019 Open Championship), and he arguably has the best memories of Oakmont of any current top player. The last time the U.S. Open was held there (in 2016), Lowry finished tied for second with a score of 1-under, three strokes behind the winner, Dustin Johnson. The 38-year-old is having an excellent 2025 season. He has played in 11 tournaments and finished in the top 10 four times, including two second-place finishes. Shane Lowry of Ireland plays his shot from the 13th tee during the second round of the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Country Club on May 05, 2023 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Shane Lowry of Ireland plays his shot from the 13th tee during the second round of the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Country Club on May 05, 2023 in Charlotte, North Carolina.2. Sepp Straka Sepp Straka's name may be overshadowed by those of other players with more illustrious pedigrees, but he is one of the players in the best form on the PGA Tour today. In fact, the Austrian is third in the FedEx Cup rankings, behind only Scheffler and McIlroy. This result is no fluke. Straka has won twice in 2025, including the Truist Championship less than a month ago. He will arrive at Oakmont fresh off a top-five finish at the Memorial Tournament, his fifth top-10 finish of the season. 3. Ben Griffin Griffin is one of the hottest players on the PGA Tour right now. Like Straka, he has won twice this season, but he has done it in the last six weeks (Zurich Classic and Charles Schwab Challenge). During that same period, he has achieved two other top-10 finishes, including a second-place finish at the Memorial Tournament. The 29-year-old has played the best golf of his career this season. He has played in 19 tournaments and finished in the top 10 seven times. This success has propelled him to 15th in the world rankings. 4. Russell Henley Russell Henley's 2025 season is also going strong, as he has finished in the top 10 in exactly half of the tournaments he has played (6 out of 12). This includes one win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, as well as an impressive fifth-place finish at the Memorial Tournament. What's his main handicap? He missed the cut in the first two majors of the season, the Masters Tournament and the PGA Championship. He will be looking to reverse this trend at Oakmont. 5. Tommy Fleetwood Tommy Fleetwood remains winless on the PGA Tour, a fact that few in the golf world can explain. His 2025 season has once again been excellent, with four top-10 finishes and no missed cuts in the 12 tournaments he has played. This will be the Englishman's 10th US Open appearance. He has finished in the top 10 three times, including a second-place finish in 2018, when he shot a final-round 63 at Shinnecock Hills and finished just one stroke behind champion Brooks Koepka. More Golf: PGA Tour Pro Invokes SNL Reaction to US Open Brutal Conditions
Fox News
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Scottie Scheffler joins Tiger Woods as only repeat winners at Memorial
Scottie Scheffler never lost the lead and never gave anyone much of a chance down the stretch Sunday in another relentless performance, closing with a 2-under 70 for a four-shot victory to join Tiger Woods as the only repeat winners of the Memorial. Slowed by hand surgery at the start of the year from a freak accident, Scheffler appears to be in full stride with one major already in the bag and another around the corner at the U.S. Open. "It's always a hard week," said Scheffler, who finished at 10-under 278. "We battled really hard on the weekend. Overall it was a great week." On one of the tougher PGA Tour tests of the year, Scheffler made one bogey over the final 40 holes at Muirfield Village. "Well, you did it again," tournament host Jack Nicklaus told him while walking off the green. Ben Griffin tried to make it interesting at the end with a 12-foot eagle on the par-5 15th and a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-3 16th to close within two shots with two to play. Scheffler, however, doesn't make mistakes. Griffin made double bogey on the 17th. Griffin made a 4-foot par on the 18th for a 73 to finish alone in second, worth $2.2 million, more than what he earned when he won at Colonial last week. Sepp Straka (70) finished another shot back. "You know Scottie's probably going to play a good round of golf," Straka said. "The guy's relentless. He loves competition, and he doesn't like giving up shots. But it's one of those courses where it can always happen, so you got to be prepared for it. I felt like I gave myself a lot of chances to kind of make a push." Scheffler has now won three times in his last four starts — the exception was Colonial, a tie for fourth the week after winning the PGA Championship — and expanded his margin at No. 1 in the world to levels not seen since Woods in his peak years. Woods is a five-time winner at Memorial who won three straight from 1999 through 2001. No one had repeated at Muirfield Village since then until Scheffler. His performances lately look a lot more like Nicklaus the way he wears down the field by rarely getting out of position. Rickie Fowler had his first top 10 of the year at just the right time. He made par on the 18th to tie for seventh, earning him a spot in the British Open. Fowler tied with Brandt Snedeker at 1-under 287, but gets the one Open exemption available based on a higher world ranking — Fowler at No. 124, Snedeker at No. 430. "That's one I've wanted on the schedule," said Fowler, who faces a 36-hole qualifier for the U.S. Open on Monday. Both received sponsor exemptions to the Memorial, a signature event on the PGA Tour. For Scheffler, it was his fifth victory in a $20 million signature event in the last two years. This one looked inevitable, but only after a quick development early on the back nine. Scheffler ended 31 holes without a bogey at tough Muirfield Village on the 10th hole, dropping his lead to one shot. Griffin had 4 feet for birdie on the par-5 11th. Scheffler made his 15-foot birdie putt and Griffin missed. Griffin bogeyed the next two holes, and just like that, Scheffler was four shots ahead. That's how it was at the PGA Championship — tight one minute, a blowout the next, and the sweetest walk toward the 18th green with victory secure. This one ended in a handshake with Nicklaus, who had said earlier in the week of Scheffler, "He plays a lot like I did." Nicklaus said he was all about fairways and greens, having plenty of chances and making enough of them to post a score. That's the Scheffler way, too, even if it didn't always look that way at the start of the final round. With mud on the golf ball in the first fairway, too much spin on short irons on the next few holes, Scheffler didn't have a birdie putt until the fifth hole. He saved par seven times in the final round, including the final hole. Reporting by The Associated Press. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!
Independent Singapore
02-06-2025
- Business
- Independent Singapore
Scottie Scheffler ties with Woods after defending Memorial Tournament title, won 16th PGA Tour victory
U.S.A: Golf star Scottie Scheffler recently claimed his 16th PGA Tour title and made history by becoming the second player after Tiger Woods to defend his title at the Memorial Tournament. At Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio, the 28-year-old American golfer earned his third victory in just one month, with a two-under-par 70 to end the tournament at 10-under 278. This latest victory at the Memorial Tournament, an event hosted by golf legend and 18-time major champion Jack Nicklaus, marks the ninth straight time that Scottie Scheffler has converted a 54-hole lead into a win. Second place was won by American Ben Griffin, who won last week at Colonial. He was four shots behind Scheffler with a final score of 282 after a round of 73. Moreover, Austria's Sepp Straka won third place at 283, just one stroke ahead of Canada's Nick Taylor. With this, Scheffler expressed: ' It's always a hard week to play this tournament… I battled really hard over the weekend, and Ben made things interesting down the stretch.' The athlete added, 'Overall, it was a great week and definitely proud to be shaking Mr. Nicklaus's hand at the end of another good week.' Scheffler's rise Scheffler's win at the Memorial Tournament is an addition to his remarkable athletic performance so far. Last month, he won his third major title at the PGA Championships, two weeks after winning the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. Since his Byron Nelson Classic win, the golfer has now earned $9,627,000 (A$15 million or S$13 million) in prize money. Furthermore, Scheffler has become the fourth-fastest player to reach the milestone of having 16 PGA Tour victories in under three and a half years. He trails after golf legends Sam Snead, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods. Woods was also known for winning the Memorial Tournament three consecutive years from 1999 to 2001. With his impressive plays, Scheffler remains a man to beat as the U.S. Open at Oakmont is fast approaching. There, the athlete will aim for his fourth career major title, and his second straight after winning the PGA Championship. In a social media post made by the PGA Tour, it stated: 'Back-to-back at Jack's Place 🏆🏆 @ joins @TigerWoods as the only consecutive winners @MemorialGolf.' Netizens expressed their support in the comments section by saying: 'It's nice watching an all time great weekly. I figure this is what Tiger fans felt like in the 2000s,' 'These last three years have been the best golf that's ever been played by someone,' 'NO ONE can beat this man right now,' 'He will be one of the best golfer ever…nice person as well 👏👏,' and 'Best golfer of our generation.' In another social media post by The Memorial Tournament, it shared photos of Scheffler holding the trophy and declared: 'Back to Back.' A netizen commented on this post and remarked: 'Nice to see someone return to greatness, it's been a long time since Tiger.'
