The US Open gets underway at the Country Club, Brookline, Massachusetts on Thursday and Australia will be pinning their hopes of victory on world number three Cameron Smith.
What: US Open
Where: The Country Club, Brookline, Massachusetts
When: 16th-19th June 2022
How to watch: Live on Sky Sports Golf
Odds: Cameron Smith 20/1, Adam Scott 110/1, Marc Leishman 125/1, Lucas Herbert 200/1 Min Woo Lee 300/1, Jed Morgan 750/1 Todd Sinnott 1000/1,
Australia have had plenty of success in golf’s Majors down the years with 11 players bringing home the bacon. However the US Open, after the Masters, has proven to be the hardest out of the four to win.
Peter Thomson is the most successful player to hail from Australia when winning the British Open a staggering five times. This included successive titles in 1954, 1955 and 1956. However the US Open eluded him.
Greg Norman also had success in the UK when winning The Open in 1986 and 1993. But again, the Great White Shark could not repeat the success in the US Open. He did come close to winning the US Open in 1984 but lost an 18-hole play-off against Fuzzy Zoeller.
Australia have enjoyed some success in the US Open. David Graham became the first Aussie to win the tournament in 1981 when he shot a final round score of 67 to win by three shots in Philadelphia. Graham came close to winning it again in 1985, but had to settle for third.
The only other winner of the US Open is Geoff Ogilvy in 2006. His five-over par was one of the highest scores to win a Major.
Sixteen years on and here are Australia’s best hopes of breaking the drought and taking the US Open back down under.
Smith out for his first Major
The 28-year-old has been a revelation of late when shooting up the world rankings. He was ranked No.21 at the end of 2021 but is now sitting pretty at No.3. But he knows if he is to go down as one of the Aussie greats he needs to scoop a Major. Smith is priced at 20/1 to win.
The Queenslander has shown he can do it on the biggest stages. He was runner-up to Dustin Johnson in the 2020 Masters and then picked up the biggest win of his career in March of this year.
Smith won the ‘fifth Major’ The Players Championship at Sawgrass when beating Anirban Lahiri by one shot.
He also started the year in fine fashion when winning Sentry Tournament of Champions, beating world number one John Rahm by one shot. And finished tied for third at Augusta National in the Masters.
Smith missed the cut at the US Open last year and his best finish is tied for fourth place back in 2015.
Scott looking to roll back the years
Another Queenslander, Scott knows what it is like to taste success in a Major when becoming the first Aussie to win the Masters back in 2013. He is 110/1 to win the US Open.
However he has not enjoyed the greatest of success in the US Open, recording just three top 10 finishes throughout his career. His best finish was tied for fourth place in 2015, while he was tied for seventh in 2019.
Scott is currently ranked No.42 in the world and his last PGA Tour win came at the Genesis Invitational back in February 2020.
The 41-year-old has just been appointed Member of the Order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for “significant service to golf at the elite level” and will be hoping to celebrate with a strong showing at the US Open.
Leishman targeting first top-10 finish
Ranked No.48 in the world, the 38-year-old has 13 professional wins to his name, six of which have been in America.
Leishman came close to winning the British Open in 2015 but lost out to to Zach Johnson in a three-way four-hole play-off. He has yet to finish in the top 10 at the US Open with his best performance coming in 2016 when he tied for 18th.
Leishman’s last tasted success in America when partnered with Cameron Smith, they won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in 2021. He is priced at 125/1 to win the US Open.
The rest of the Aussie contingent
Youngster Jed Morgan earned his Major debut by winning the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit, while Min Woo Lee and Lucas Hebert qualify as they were ranked in the world’s top 60 at the cut-off point.
Victorian Todd Sinnott earned his place at the US Open by qualifying in Japan. It will be the 30-year-old’s first career PGA start and what a way to do it.
