I’m watching the US Open from home this week, which means I’m missing a lot of nuance about the sights and sounds of Shinnecockperhaps America’s largest golf course and a major championship host.
But if there’s one advantage to monitoring from my living room, it’s that it’s easier to focus on some of the big-picture stuff. While the pre-tournament talk on the ground has included the typically glorious details of the sport – SYRINGE greens, turning back golf ball return, modifying two “parts” of a tour plan – I would like to direct our attention to another main topic: Who got the most of them?
of roll callce both of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson from this year’s major championships has clarified this conversation. In professional golf, the concept of an “active” player is less clear-cut than in other sports — 50-year-old Tim Duncan wouldn’t suddenly join the Spurs in the NBA Finals last week, though 50-year-old Woods could well play next year’s Masters — but if we look to the post-Phil generation, it’s an interesting sight and an interesting sight. Check this out:
MORE MORE CAREER (players under 50)
6 – Rory McIlroy
5 – Brooks Koepka
4 – Scottie Scheffler
3 – Jordan Spieth
2 – A bunch of other interesting guys
(Before we go any further, I’d like to make a formal apology here to Padraig Harrington, who is a three-time major champion and is in this week’s US Open field but, at 54, is very much in the Tiger-and-Phil generation.)
This gives us two things:
— An updated estimate of how hard it is to get three more of these things
AND
– An extremely clean (if simplistic) ranking of this generation’s player power
McIlroy’s last Masters win moved him ahead of Koepka, which feels fitting given how good he’s been for so long. Scheffler’s four titles have all come in the past four years, suggesting he has many more on the way. And Spieth’s three titles put him a notch above the legion of two-time major champions — at least for now.
All four arrive at Shinnecock at markedly different points in their respective careers. Let’s go through them:
No. 4: Jordan Spieth (three majors)
Spieth is still Spiethone of golf’s most fascinating watches, capable of heroism and disaster and often both. The good news is that while his hole-in-hole play isn’t exactly consistent, he’s on a remarkable run of tournament consistency, recording top-20s in seven of his last 12 starts. The bad news is that he hasn’t seriously challenged for a tournament win yet this season; none of those top-20 are top-10.
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No. 3: Scottie Scheffler (four majors)
Scheffler has won four of his races in the last four and a half years, including three of the last 10 played. If he’s not technically at his peak right now, that’s because last year’s peak was too high. But he is still the clear World No. 1 and enters the US Open at the top of the odds table; The US Open would also end his career Grand Slam.
His assessment of his season so far:
“I feel like I’ve been close most of the year. I feel like I’ve just not been as sharp as I should be. I think the margins in this game are so small. For me to win a lot of tournaments, you have to be really, really sharp.”
No. 2: Brooks Koepka (five majors)
While Koepka’s major record has always made him an overachiever when faced with his non-major accomplishments (five major wins, four non-major PGA Tour wins), his pattern of rising to the occasion became undeniable; in his prime Koepka was a great specialist.
But where does Koepka stand now? He hasn’t had a top-10 finish in a major since the 2023 PGA Championship, his fifth and most recent victory. He’s been pretty good this year on his return to the PGA Tour, racking up six top-20 finishes in his last nine starts. But like Spieth, he hasn’t laid much claim to victory; his highest finish is T9. And he goes into an ulnar nerve injury that forced him to WD just last weekend. It’s time to see if a return to Shinnecock brings back the good vibes of his 2018 win. How does he feel now compared to then?
“I feel just as well,” he said, projecting nothing but confidence. “I think my ball-striking is even better than it’s been. Putting-wise, I had a great week hitting last week. I’m excited for the challenge.”
No. 1: Rory McIlroy (six majors)
McIlroy’s second straight Masters win puts him, fittingly, at the top of this list. He has been extremely good AND extremely stable professional for almost half of his life. It’s fair that he has more degrees than anyone else in that space.
However, there are many reasons to keep procrastinating. McIlroy has spoken of wanting to win the US Open at an epic venue like this. Another win would also break a tie with Mickelson, move him into the all-time top 10 (tied with Jones, Sarazen, Snead, Palmer) and put valuable space between him and the elusive Scheffler. There’s no reason he shouldn’t win another one this year; he is the clear number 2 in the world behind Scheffler.
So what does he think of Shinnecock?
“I think it’s the best test of the championship in the country. I think it tests all aspects of the game: driving, iron play, you’ve got to have smarts about you on the greens. It’s a lot of strategy, thinking,” he said. “It’s a great golf course and I’m looking forward to the test it will provide this week.”
Honorable Mention: Group 2
The list of players under 50 with two majors is remarkable; there may be back-to-back champions, but it’s pretty hard to be weird two– time champion.
Active Dual Degree Golfers:
Xander Schauffele
Jon Rahm
Bryson DeChambeau
Collin Morikawa
Justin Thomas
Dustin Johnson
Bubba Watson
Martin Kaymer
It’s hard to pick who would be most deserving of a third because, well, look at that list. It is easier to choose who would be more deserving of a second; Justin Rose and Adam Scott would be the right additions to the multiple roster.
What’s the point? The thing is, only four of them are awarded each year. Everyone matters. And every rung on the main staircase is difficult to climb – but it gets you closer to the top.
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