Best U.S. Open groups: Lefties; best putters; longest and shortest
OAKMONT, Pa. – Matt Vogt, the 34-year-old dentist and former Oakmont caddie who hails from Pittsburgh, will strike the opening tee shot Thursday morning to commence play at this 125th U.S. Open.
It will be a notable moment for Vogt, the club and the city.
But the action will really get going about 45 minutes later when some of the star power tees off. Bryson DeChambeau and Xander Schauffele are grouped with newly minted Fireball and reigning U.S. Amateur champion Josele Ballester. And starting early Thursday off No. 10 will be European Ryder Cuppers Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry and Justin Rose.
The afternoon wave on Thursday is highlighted by Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa and Scottie Scheffler, and Jordan Spieth, Jon Rahm and Dustin Johnson.
Golf Channel Staff,
Those aren't the only notable groupings, though. Here is a six-pack of other great groupings:
7:18 a.m. (1)/1:03 p.m. (10) – Harris English, Tommy Fleetwood, Keegan Bradley
One could argue that aside from the stars, these three guys with U.S. Open games have three of the best chances to win this week at Oakmont.
7:51 a.m. (1)/ 1:36 p.m. (10) – Akshay Bhatia, Matt McCarty, Robert MacIntyre
This all-lefty trio is a favorite of longtime USGA writer David Shefter, who hits from the wrong side of the ball as well.
8:02 a.m. (1)/ 1:47 p.m. (10) – Cam Davis, Davis Thompson, Thomas Detry
Love the evolution here as we go from Davis to David and then from Thompson to Thomas.
1:14 p.m. (1)/ 7:29 a.m. (10) – Sam Burns, Nico Echavarria, Denny McCarthy
Who is the best putter in the world? These three guys are ranked first, sixth and seventh on the PGA Tour in strokes gained putting – and top three in this field – while McCarthy is a past No. 1 putter on Tour.
7:29 a.m. (10)/1:14 p.m. (1) – Ben Griffin, Andrew Novak, Maverick McNealy
Captain Keegan will be paying extra close attention to this group. All three are fighting for automatic Ryder Cup berths and will otherwise certainly be in the captain's-pick discussion.
8:13 a.m. (10)/1:58 p.m. (1) – Niklas Norgaard, Brian Campbell, Justin Lower
Norgaard can send it, ranking second behind only Aldrich Potgieter in driving distance on the PGA Tour. The longest in this week's field (maybe besides Vogt) is grouped with the shortest in Campbell, who ranks last on Tour at 275.6 yards, 44.4 yards shorter than Norgaard.
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