All right boys and girls it’s one of our favorite days of the year…it’s the U.S. Open. And of course no major would be complete without the prodigious prognostications from all the crew at Links Life Golf.
We all have our favorites and here’s where we show our true colors. We never shy away from betting with our hearts instead of our heads and most of us will pick Phil Mickelson until he finally wins this thing.
So here we go…may the best knucklehead win, along with Phil. 
Lil Skins: Lil Skins is living proof that if you work in the golf industry it doesn’t necessarily translate into playing a lot of golf. He’ll spend plenty of time on many courses this summer but his clubs are replaced by a computer and rules books. It doesn’t matter if you can drive it 290 if you never play. Even with his lack of playing he still beats his old man and brother when they drag him out for a round.
His picks: Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose and a dark horse of Sergio Garcia. Yes, Garcia is 8th in the world but qualifies as a Dark Horse due to his penchant for soiling his pants in the majors.
Jordan, otherwise known as Gordo of the North: Gordo is a hard hitting hockey player that brings his explosive slap shot to the course. He’s famous for playing well into the Canadian night and has been known to use the convenient excuse of a “business trip” to schooch away from his lovely wife and two rug rats for a few days of golf with the boys. He still hasn’t learned to let his father-in-law win once and awhile.
His picks: Justin Rose, Patrick Reed, Hideki Matsuyama, Rickie Fowler and Paul Casey for his dark horse.
Big Dick: Big Dick, or just Dick as his friends call him, appreciates all things golf: as long as they include only nine holes and a great lunch afterwards. With a swing
like Bobby Jones (he likes to think) and scores like Shirley Jones he plays a good game for someone who never practices and whose pre shot routine consists of the question “Where we going for lunch?” The next time he cleans his clubs will be the first.
His picks: Phil Mickelson, Matt Kuchar, Jordan Spieth, Adam Scott and Tiger Woods as his dark horse. Yes, Tiger is now 195th in the world and may actually put some balls into Chambers Bay, the actual bay. He’s as dark as a dark horse could be.
G. Rennie: G. Rennie likes to down play the fact that he’s a very good golfer. A single handicap that enjoys the country club life of private clubs and a “one per center’s” lifestyle he considers it charity when he plays with us regular folk. But his charity ends at the first tee when he continuously kicks our collective ass and grabs the Jack Nicklaus Trophy. He’s extra excited this week as the Open will be in prime time and his boy Donald Trump has decided to run for president. He was too busy making love to his new John Deere and trying to act like regular folk to give his usual fine breakdown of his picks this time. Oh the life of the rich and fabulous.
His picks: Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Rory McIlroy and Louis Oosthuizen as his dark horse.
The Greek: The Greek, also known as Dr. Golf has a keen eye when it comes to golf, golfers and the golf swing. He’s a walking instruction book and can spot
the flaws (too many to count) in my swing quickly and always has a solution or a remedy. Now if he could just use that ability for his own swing. Or better yet, maybe just try the same swing for two consecutive shots. No, that’s not how Dr. Golf rolls. He’ll play a fade one shot, a draw on the next, strong grip, weak grip, baseball grip, overlapping grip, interlocking grip even Poly-Grip for a swing or two. Heck, he even pulls a Phil Mickelson some weeks and shows up with an assortment of drivers and a different set a clubs. Oh if he could only harness his powers for his own good. And no Doc, Martin Kaymer the defending champion can’t be a dark horse.
His picks: Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose and Ian Poulter for a dark horse.
Big Skins: Since I haven’t broken 90 in the half dozen rounds this season I am getting perilously close to putting my clubs on Craig’s List. I’d like to think that it’s still due to my shoulder surgery but the more I play the more I realize I just suck. But I’ll take solace in the fact that I’ll kick all their asses with my picks. After all with my victory at The Masters I am going for the Grand Slam.
My picks: Phil Mickelson, oh please Golf Gods, show Phil some mercy and let him win this thing! Jordan Spieth is as solid a golfer as there is on the planet. His putting may well be the difference and get him half way to the Grand Slam. Rory McIlroy admits he’ll have ups and downs over his career and he is finished having his downs (2 missed cuts) for now. He doesn’t do well on true links courses with wind and cold and rain but that’s not going to happen here. His game can dominate Chambers Bay. Hideki Matsuyama has had a good season: fifth at The Masters, T17 at The Players, T5 at The Memorial, he plays well in big tournaments and this is a big as they get. My dark horse is Brooks Koepka. He started the season with a bang and a win but then had a serious rib injury but he’s back in form now. He drives it well over 300, leads the tour in eagles and is eight in the All-Around Ranking.
Notice there’s no Bubba, Furyk, Stenson, DJ or Day among our picks. That means one of them will win it for sure.
Enjoy the action from Chambers Bay this will be one different U.S. Open.
*************************************************************************************************************************
Late Update: It seems G. Rennie must have hired a landscaper to do his lawn or maybe a ghost writer to make his picks. Since there are no references to Hieronymus Bosch I am betting on the ghost writer.
Phil Mickelson- a sentimental choice, for sure, but not just that as Philly Mick has found some form with a 3rd place finish at last week’s St. Jude Classic. God’s and demon’s are at play with Phil at every U.S. Open, as they tug him to and fro, with the trophy in reach but never in his grasp. Every golf fan has got to be pulling for Lefty to complete the career Grand Slam.
Jordan Spieth – on recent form, the real chalk for this championship. A truly great putter with a tidy short game should prosper on a course that demands short game shot making and imagination.
Rickie Fowler- still a young gun, his great closing run and playoff brilliance at TPC Sawgrass last month showed us all that he is a golfing assassin. Butch Harmon is whispering in his ear and Rickie is listening, playing aggressively with his driver and his mind. Confidence born of that Player’s win will soon help Rickie slay that major dragon.
Rory McIlroy- although he has two missed cuts in his last two tournaments on the European Tour, there is no one in the game who can find his form as quickly or inexplicably as Rory. Links type golf isn’t Rory’s cup of tea even though he hails from a links golf land. But most of the fairways here are wide enough to land a jumbo jet on and Rory can dominate a course, and a field, with his driver . And when that driver is clicking so does every other aspect of his game.
Dark Horse: Louis Oosthuizen- the 2010 Champion Golfer of the Year hasn’t been in great form but that’s one of the criteria for a dark horse, isn’t it? Louis won that Open Championship at St. Andrew’s which is the granddaddy of links golf courses (all golf courses, actually) and the Champ at Chamber’s Bay will be a golfer who’s at home on the links.
Go Phil!
Related Articles
