World Number One Rory McIlroy and defending champion Martin Kaymer will lead the charge of 48 European Tour Members at the US Open Championship.
The European Tour’s finest are seeking to continue their incredible run of form at the season’s second Major Championship, having claimed four out of the last five US Opens.
Graeme McDowell became the first European winner of the US Open in 40 years when capturing the 2010 title at Pebble Beach, a victory that seemingly opened the floodgates as McIlroy (2011), Justin Rose (2013) and Kaymer (2014) followed the Northern Irishman’s path to glory in recent times.
McIlroy, of course, remains the dominant force in world golf and is therefore the pre-tournament favourite to take the title at Chambers Bay Golf Club on the Pacific Northwest coast in Seattle.
The Northern Irishman believes his recent dip in form - missing back-to-back cuts at the BMW PGA Championship and the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Hosted by the Rory Foundation - was a mere blip in form during an otherwise exceptional year which has seen him claim the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, the WGC – Cadillac Match Play and the Wells Fargo Championship on the US PGA Tour.
The latter two of his three victories so far this year came in America after World Number Two Jordan Speith’s unbelievable Masters Tournament victory, as McIlroy re-affirmed his status as the world’s pre-eminent player.
“Personally, I didn't really look much into what happened in those last two events," McIlroy said last week. "I'm just concentrating on what I really need to do well leading into next week. I think I can put the last two tournaments down to a little bit of fatigue.
"I didn't touch a golf club last week. I played five weeks in a row, and mentally I was ready to have a little bit of a break – I just got away from it and feel good and ready to go again.”
Kaymer, meanwhile, will attempt to become the first player to successfully defend the US Open Championship since Curtis Strange in 1989.
The German will also try to become the first European Tour Member to win the same American Major Championship in back-to-back years since Sir Nick Faldo won the Masters Tournament in 1989-1990. The only non-American to win consecutive US Open Championships was Scotland’s Willie Anderson (1903-05).
Of the 48 European Tour Members in the field, nine will be making their debut in the US Open – Thomas Aiken, Baek Seukhyun, Oliver Farr, Tommy Fleetwood, Anirban Lahiri, Alexander Levy, Jason Palmer, Andy Sullivan and Tjaart Van der Walt.
