Golf Majors: Predicting the Major Winners in 2016
By Ryan Andrade
The U.S. Open
Dates: June 16-19
Venue: Oakmont CC, Oakmont, PA
Winner: Jordan Spieth (+1)
Jordan Spieth takes first two majors for second year in a row.
Well, it was just last year Jordan Spieth won the Masters and U.S. Open. I think he will do it again in 2016. They would put him at 4 majors before his 23rd birthday. Is that even possible? Yes, and it is a very real possibility.
There are not many courses more difficult than Oakmont. It’s just big, mean, and nasty – a vintage U.S. Open venue. The last time the U.S. Open was at Oakmont was back in 2007 when Angel Cabrera won at 5-over-par. That week featured only 8 under-par rounds.
If there is one thing about Oakmont you should know is that the greens are huge and extremely undulating. You’re going to see quite a few 3 putts. I’ll take the best putter on a course like this. Enter Jordan Spieth. We all remember what he did on huge and extremely undulating greens in Maui to start the year.
The other reason I love Jordan Spieth at the U.S. Open is his mental toughness. You have to know it’s going to be a grind and work your tail off to save every shot you can. Spieth is brilliant at this. He just has a knack for scoring because he always seems to shoot a couple shots better than it looks like he should. Credit his short game for that. Bogeys are going to happen in the U.S. Open, avoiding the big numbers are paramount.
I’m looking at 1-over-par total from Spieth to be your winning score. There are a few holes you can get after, but the penalty for missing the fairways and greens is severe. Who knows what USGA Executive Director Mike Davis has up his sleeve this year.
Next: The Open Championship