Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy or Bryson DeChambeau
DeChambeau is bidding to win his third US Open following victories at Winged Foot in 2020 and Pinehurst last year, where he edged out Rory McIlroy in a thrilling finish.
Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the main contenders for the year's third major championship.
Scottie Scheffler
Scheffler recovered from a relatively slow start to the season to win the CJ Cup Byron Nelson by eight shots in his adopted home state of Texas and followed up with a five-shot victory in the US PGA Championship for his third major title.
The world number one was a 19-year-old amateur when he held the clubhouse lead after bad weather brought the first day's play to an early end the last time Oakmont hosted the US Open in 2016 and it would be no surprise to see his name on top of the leaderboard again nine years on.
Rory McIlroy
A U.S. Open champion at 22. The career grand slam now. Congrats, Rory. 👏 pic.twitter.com/yJKhLOC9si
— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) April 13, 2025
McIlroy could only follow his Masters triumph with a share of 47th in the US PGA at Quail Hollow, a venue where he had won four times before, and declined to speak to the media after every round.
The world number two's driver was deemed non-confirming earlier in the week and he struggled off the tee, but McIlroy – who missed the cut at Oakmont in 2016 and in each of the next two US Opens – has come to relish the tough test it provides and his form figures since 2019 read 9-8-7-5-2-2.
Bryson DeChambeau
Bryson's clutch bunker shot forever immortalized at Pinehurst No. 2. pic.twitter.com/UEhi8TXRhV
— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) April 14, 2025
DeChambeau has become a fixture on major championship leaderboards since his move to LIV Golf, his US Open win last year one of five top-six finishes in his last six starts.
DeChambeau led after two holes of the final round of the Masters before fading to a closing 75 and also failed to convert a promising position in the US PGA before finishing in a tie for second, but his 2020 victory at Winged Foot proved he can overpower a traditional US Open-style venue, with Oakmont very much in that category.
Shane Lowry
Lowry held a four-shot lead after 54 holes at Oakmont in 2016, but struggled to a closing 76 to finish three shots behind Dustin Johnson.
Three years later he converted the same advantage into his first major title in the Open Championship at Royal Portrush and although he has not won as often as a player of his ability should, five of his six DP World Tour victories have come in prestigious events.
Jon Rahm
Tough finish for me on Sunday but hats off to Scottie on an amazing win – always love the battle! Thanks to the PGA of America, all of the volunteers, fans, and everyone at Quail Hollow Club for putting on a great event. Taking lots of positives with me for the rest of the year,… pic.twitter.com/lMH79aEKPX
— Jon Rahm Rodriguez (@JonRahmOfficial) May 21, 2025
Rahm made a welcome return to contention in the majors with his performance in the US PGA Championship, where he wiped out a five-shot deficit to claim a share of the lead after 11 holes of the final round, only to drop five shots on the closing three holes after Scheffler had responded with two crucial birdies.
He won his first major in the 2021 US Open at Torrey Pines and added the Masters title in 2023 but had struggled to produce his best form following his shock move to LIV Golf at the end of 2023.
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Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Henley, English, DeChambeau sew up U.S. Ryder Cup spots
August 17 - OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- Russell Henley, Harris English and Bryson DeChambeau received the final three automatic qualifying spots on the U.S. Ryder Cup team following Sunday's results at the BMW Championship. The top six Americans in qualifying points following the BMW are guaranteed spots on the team that will battle Team Europe at Bethpage Black next month. Henley tied for 15th at the BMW to remain in fourth in the U.S. points standings, and English tied for 12th to move into fifth. DeChambeau, meanwhile, did not receive qualifying points from LIV Golf, but thanks to his finishes at recent major championships, he still had enough to remain in the top six. They join Scottie Scheffler, J.J. Spaun and Xander Schauffele, who were mathematically locked into the 12-man team before Sunday. Schauffele won two majors in 2024, Spaun broke through at the U.S. Open in June and Scheffler has collected three majors in this two-year cycle amid his dominant run as the world's best golfer. Henley, 36, has five PGA Tour victories, including at this year's Arnold Palmer Invitational. He competed at the 2024 Presidents Cup, but this will mark his first Ryder Cup appearance. English, 36, likewise has five PGA Tour titles to his name and won the Farmers Insurance Open back in January. He tied for second at the PGA Championship and was the runner-up to Scheffler at The Open. English played for the victorious U.S. Ryder Cup team in 2021 but did not make the team that lost to Europe in 2023. DeChambeau, 31, is one of the best players on the LIV circuit and won his second major title at the 2024 U.S. Open. He earned plenty of points by earning three top-10s at majors in 2025, including T2 at the PGA Championship. This will be his third Ryder Cup. Other contenders who came up short of an automatic spot included Justin Thomas, who entered the week No. 7; Collin Morikawa, who was No. 8; and No. 11 Maverick McNealy, who could have leapfrogged DeChambeau in points if he won the BMW Championship. McNealy came close, but finished the event third. All eyes turn to Keegan Bradley, who will announce six captain's picks on Aug. 27. Thomas and Morikawa are virtually guaranteed spots; others with an argument include Ryder Cup veterans Patrick Cantlay, Sam Burns and Rickie Fowler, and in-form youngsters Cameron Young and Chris Gotterup, both from the New York/New Jersey area. Young and Gotterup won on tour this summer and Young placed 11th at the BMW. Of course, Bradley also has the ability to choose himself and become the first playing captain at the Ryder Cup since Arnold Palmer in 1963. Bradley was controversially left off the roster in 2023 before Zach Johnson's U.S. team was flattened by Team Europe in Rome. Bradley, 39, was No. 10 in the Ryder Cup qualifying standings entering the week. He tied for 17th at the BMW. Team Europe has one more week before the top six players in the continent's standings automatically qualify. European players can earn points at the British Masters on the DP World Tour, but not stateside at the Tour Championship. Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), Justin Rose (England) and Tommy Fleetwood (England) had clinched their spots on the team before this week, and fourth-place Robert MacIntyre (Scotland) will surely be helped by his runner-up finish at the BMW. --Adam Zielonka, Field Level Media
Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Telegraph
Ian Poulter's miraculous run of birdies saves LIV future... and relegates Henrik Stenson
Ian Poulter produced an incredible four-birdie finish in Indianapolis on Sunday night to save himself from expulsion from LIV Golf – but consign team-mate Henrik Stenson to relegation. The Saudi-funded breakaway league has been accused of lacking drama and of being devoid of jeopardy for the multi-millionaire stars it has signed since its inception in 2022. But these charges certainly could not be levelled on an astonishing afternoon at Chatham Hills. Granted, Poulter's most famous comeback will always be the quintet of birdies with which the Englishman closed at the 2012 Ryder Cup to inspire the 'Miracle of Medinah' – when Europe rose from the sporting dead to overhaul Team USA – but in terms of significance Stenson might believe this to be a harrowing rival. The Swede, a close friend and long-time neighbour of Poulter's in Orlando, seemed secure as the last individual event of the LIV campaign entered its concluding hour. But then, Poulter did what Poulter does when his back is to the wall and with a remarkable stretch ensured that he survived to play at least another season on the circuit with cumulative prize pots of more than £300m. Certainly a tie for 17th – following a 67 for a 12-under total – has never before seemed so lucrative. In contrast, alongside Poulter as a co-captain of the Majesticks outfit, Stenson's one-over 72 for an 11-under total, will feel absurdly costly. Stenson, the 2016 Open champion, began the final round in a share for third and looking upwards rather than downwards. But now, he will be desperate for a tour worthy of his stature on which to play. The traditionalists who despise LIV will no doubt cite karma. Three years ago, Stenson effectively gave up the Ryder Cup captaincy to jump ship with what was reported to be a £30m-plus joining fee. Sympathy might be in short supply as Stenson has since earned a further £11m. However, where he goes next is a big question. As it would have been for Poulter. Those who finished outside the top 48 in the points standings lost their cards. This was a departure from last year, where Bubba Watson, despite finishing 53rd was allowed to return for this year after making 'a business case' to be retained on the Range Goats, the team of which he is skipper. Branden Grace was also given a stay of execution. That scenario was widely criticised and held up as one of the reasons why the league should not be awarded official status with the Official World Golf Rankings. Yet since Scott O'Neil arrived in January to replace Greg Norman as chief executive, LIV has resubmitted its application to join OGWR and so give its golfers greater access to the majors at the same time as affording the four-year-old project more credibility. This stricter stance can surely be viewed as LIV persuading the OGWR that it meets its competitive criteria. 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He resigned his membership two years ago after he was part of a group of rebel players who lost an appeal against the Tour – with a London hearing adjudicating that Wentworth HQ was within its rights to issue fines and suspension – but he is only required to pay the outstanding fines to reclaim playing privileges on the circuit where he established himself. At the other end of the standings, Jon Rahm pocketed the near £14m bonus for topping the order of merit – despite not having won an event all year. Joaquin Niemann lifted five titles in 2025, but due to the Spaniard's consistency – he finished in the top 10 in 12 of the 13 tournaments – the Chilean had to settle for second place. . @JonRahmOfficial lifts the Individual Championship trophy for the second time 🏆🏆 #LIVGolfIndy @LegionXIIIgc — LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) August 17, 2025 It is a farcical scenario in certain respects, but there can be no doubting Rahm's quality in Indianapolis. He made 10 birdies and an eagle, together with the single bogey to record an 11-under 60. That was good enough to take him into a play-off with Sebastian Munoz, the Mexican who fired a 59 in Friday's first round. But Munoz prevailed to demote Rahm to his second runner-up spot in a row and his third of the season. And there was that lucrative consolation awaiting. 'I feel slightly bittersweet,' Rahm said. 'Like I know I'm supposed to be happy, but it just doesn't feel great to finish the year losing two play-offs. Joaquin has won five times, has played incredible golf, and one could argue he was probably the more deserving guy to win this. 'But we have the points system that we have, and somehow, I don't know how, I managed to pull through and get it done.' Penge eyes Ryder Cup spot Meanwhile, on the DP World Tour, Marco Penge capitalised on Rasmus Hojgaard's mid-round collapse to clinch his second tour title at the Danish Golf Championship. The Englishman has put himself in contention for a Ryder Cup spot, with only a week left in Europe's qualifying race. The moment Marco Penge claimed his second DP World Tour victory on his 56th start 👏🏴 #DanishGolf — DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) August 17, 2025 Penge, who served a ban earlier in the season because of breaking the tour's gambling rules, heads to the British Masters – which starts at the Belfry on Thursday – believing that another good display could force Luke Donald's hand when it comes to the Europe captain naming his six wildcards on September 1. 'It's the reason why I'm here. I'm playing six weeks on the trot and give it my all to try and do something,' said Penge. 'I've got my own little goals in my mind and my own drivers. I'm just trying to play as well as I can every week and see what happens, really.'
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Rahm wins LIV Golf individual title for second year
LIV Golf Indianapolis - final round-22 S Munoz (Col), J Rahm (Spa); -20 D Johnson (US)Selected others: -17 J Niemann (Chi); -13 B DeChambeau, C Smith (Aus); -12 S Garcia (Spa), L Westwood (Eng), I Poulter (Eng); -11 H Stenson (Swe)Full leaderboard Jon Rahm has been crowned as the LIV Golf individual champion for the second consecutive year, despite losing in a play-off to Sebastian Munoz in Spaniard shot an 11-under 60 to finish at 22 under alongside Colombia's Munoz, who made headlines when he fired a 59 in Friday's first made a birdie on the first extra hole on Sunday, while Rahm was only able to make a par. However, the result was good enough for Rahm to beat Chile's Joaquin Niemann - who finished in a tie for fourth on 17 under at the Club at Chatham Hills - to the season-long award, as he did in 2024, and top prize of $18m (£13.3m).There was also good news for two of Rahm's former European Ryder Cup team-mates, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter, who both avoided being relegated and dumped by LIV for 2026. Westwood birdied four of his first five holes to finish in a tie for 17th on 12 under along with fellow Englishman Poulter, who birdied four of his last five holes to push his Majesticks co-captain Henrik Stenson into the relegation zone. Rahm's success has been founded on consistency. The 30-year-old failed to win a single event all year as Niemann took titles in Adelaide, Singapore, Mexico City, Virginia and the Spanish superstar was inside the top 10 in all but one of his 13 appearances on the Saudi-backed Tour. And he was the standout player on Sunday as he charged up the leaderboard, with six birdies in his first 10 holes and an eagle on the par-five 13th. A bogey at the 14th proved little more than a slight setback as Rahm, who is expected to receive a captain's pick for September's Ryder Cup, knocked in four consecutive birdies to cap a superb Torque won the Indy team title, its first triumph since 2023, but Rahm's Legion XIII holds the top seeding for next week's LIV Team Championship in Michigan.
