“A cocky Brooks is a very dangerous Brooks” - Paige Spiranac names her top 3 picks for the 2023 US Open Golf

Paige Spiranac has already named her favorite golfers amongst the talented field of 156 golfers who will tee up for the third major of the year. The 2023 US Open is all set to be held at the Los Angeles Country Club between June 15 and 18.

In an Instagram story, Paige Spiranac mentioned that one of her top choices to win the US Open is none other than 2023 PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka. The 33-year-old is currently in top form and is considered a favorite to win by many.

“Brooks Koepka seems very confident and a cocky Brooks is a very dangerous Brooks. We know that he plays great in Majors.”

Two other golfers that Paige Spiranac named as her favorites are, of course, World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and World No. 2 Jon Rahm. Scheffler took second only to Koepka at the 2023 PGA Championship. Jon Rahm, on the other hand, won the 2023 Masters, at which Koepka came second.

The triad of golfers is considered to be the strongest going into the US Open. However, another great favorite is Californian golfer Max Homa, who the crowd will be rooting for. The prize purse for the US Open is a whopping $17.5 million.

Paige Spiranac applauds Rory McIlroy for canceling pre-tournament conference

Brooks Koepka has previously won the US Open back to back in 2017 and 2018, while Jon Rahm won it in 2021. Other top players in the field include defending champion Matt Fitzpatrick, Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama, and Keegan Bradley.

In the same Instagram story regarding her top picks, Paige Spiranac also said that she appreciated Rory McIlroy's decision to cancel his pre-tournament press conference in light of the recent PGA-PIF merger that has taken place.

Tee times of the top players for the first round of the 2023 US Open:

Tee No. 1

10:40 am – Shane Lowry, Justin Thomas, Tommy Fleetwood
11:13 am – Collin Morikawa, Max Homa, Scottie Scheffler
11:24 am – Denny McCarthy, Joel Dahmen, Adam Hadwin
4:32 pm – Cameron Smith, Sam Bennett, Matt Fitzpatrick
4:43 pm – Billy Horschel, Chris Kirk, Brian Harman
4:54 pm – Brooks Koepka, Hideki Matsuyama, Rory McIlroy
5:05 pm – Sebastián Muñoz, Nick Taylor, Taylor Montgomery

Tee No. 10

10:40 am – Bryson DeChambeau, Francesco Molinari, Tyrrell Hatton
10:51 am – Tom Hoge, Sergio Garcia, Sepp Straka
11:02 am – Justin Rose, Rickie Fowler, Jason Day
11:13 am – Patrick Reed, Matt Kuchar, Si Woo Kim
11:24 am – Xander Schauffele, Viktor Hovland, Jon Rahm
3:59 pm – Phil Mickelson, Padraig Harrington, Keegan Bradley
4:21 pm – Tom Kim, Sahith Theegala, Cameron Young
4:32 pm – Sam Burns, Dustin Johnson, Keith Mitchell
4:43 pm – Tony Finau, Jordan Spieth, Patrick Cantlay

About the author

Saivee is a Golf Content Specialist and journalist at Sportskeeda and has been in the field for nearly 4 years now. Having been a sportsperson from her childhood, she leaped into the world of golf journalism due to her interest in the sport and the paucity of writers covering golf in India.

She stays up to date with all major developments in golf by tracking reputed publishing houses and social media accounts, along with watching as many tournaments as possible, and only uses these sources for information in her articles.

Saivee takes pride in being adaptable to the type of story she covers. She also ensures her research on topics is thorough before she begins writing, which elevates the quality of her articles and has helped her garner close to 1.5 million views on Sportskeeda in less than a year.

Saivee’s favorite golfer is Brooks Koepka due to his engaging gameplay, while she also admires Bryson DeChambeau, Ludvig Aberg and Celine Boutier. When she isn’t researching or writing about golf, she spends her time painting and is currently pursuing a degree in Business Analytics.

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Edited by Sabine Algur