Could the U.S. Open Champion Be a European Tour Regular?

The U.S. Open takes place at Pebble Beach this weekend, but it has not proven to be a good event for European Tour regulars, with just three winners in the last decade who featured regularly on the Tour.

Martin Kaymer was the most recent to do so, when he won the U.S. Open at Pinehurst in 2014. The Northern Irish duo of Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy won it in back-to-back years in 2010 and 2011, respectively.

This year, the U.S. Open returns to Pebble Beach, the course where G-Mac won his only major title nine years ago. This time, there are as many as five European Tour regulars with a real shot of winning their first major title.

Lucas Bjerregaard has been in fantastic form recently, including a fourth place finish at the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play in Austin back in March.

The Dane has also finished well in the first two majors of the year, with a T21 placing at Augusta National in April, followed by a T16 finish at the PGA Championship.

South Africa’s Branden Grace has been consistent there or thereabouts in major tournaments for the last five years, with five top ten finishes in ten majors between 2015 and 2017.

Grace’s best result came at the PGA Championship in 2015, where he finished in third place, and although he has not been in the best form of late, the South African always seems to find another gear when it comes to the biggest events on the calendar.

Matt Wallace finished in a tie for third place at the PGA Championship at Bethpage Black last month, his best finish in a major in his fledgling career to date.

Prior to the PGA, Wallace had secured a T2 finish at the Betfred British Masters. This all came on the back of three wins on the European Tour last season, in what was a breakout year for the young Englishman.

Another young Englishman, in Matt Fitzpatrick, is also among those searching for their first major trophy. The 24-year-old has already won the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in his young career.

His best finish in a major came in 2016, when he secured a top ten spot at the Masters. Fitzpatrick also finished well at this year’s event, and his last taste of U.S. Open action saw him end up in a tie for 12th.

Irishman Shane Lowry has been playing really well of late, including a top ten finish at the PGA Championship at Bethpage last time out, and victory at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship earlier this year.

He also has good memories of the U.S. Open. Lowry finished in a tie for second in 2016, three shots off Dustin Johnson. The Irishman has finished in the top ten on two other occasions in major tournaments, at the U.S. Open in 2015, and The Open in 2014.

All these five have a chance of claiming their first major title this week, but can any of them break free from the pack which includes the likes of DJ, Brooks Koepka, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy? Only time will tell.