My pick for this years U.S. Open is Matt Kuchar. The biggest reason why is because Winged Foot is a good course for average length players, and the rough looks, well, rough! Matt has been solid throughout his last several years with his performance largely due to the fact that he doesn’t hit many foul balls and is a fierce competitor.
Interestingly, the reason he doesn’t hit many foul balls is because he has an incredible low rate of closure in his downswing. What does that mean? It simply means that during Matt’s downswing, he squares the club to it’s path earlier in the downswing than most. This limits the amount of timing that is needed to hit good golf shots. Most players, especially recreational golfers have a high rate of closure during the downswing because they pull the handle outward towards the ball and render the clubface wide open till the last second then twist the club closed. So, most rec golfers have a clubface that goes from around 90 degrees open to the path to around 90 degrees closed to the path within a foot of the ball. By squaring the club earlier in the downswing with a throwing motion, Matt’s clubface is square to the path it is traveling on well before and after impact.
That’s my pick, and whether he wins or not, Winged Foot should make for a great U.S. Open!