Golf
Michael Collins, ESPN Senior Writer 6y

Ranking every player in the U.S. Open field

PGA Tour, Golf

Rank every player in the U.S. Open field from top to bottom?! It'll be "fun," my editor said. Take it as a "little challenge," my editor said. What my editor didn't tell me was that I would end up locking myself in a room for half a day with three pots of coffee and a lot less leg hair (I don't have hair on my head to pull out). Here's your list, and if you see a guy walking from Shinnecock Hills toward Bristol, Connecticut, it's just me taking some raw, seven-day-old shrimp to my editor. You know, as a thank you!

1. Dustin Johnson
The new world No. 1 is blessed with the memory of a goldfish and couldn't care less that no one has won the week before the U.S. Open and then won the U.S. Open. DJ's A-game is better than everyone else's A-game right now.

2. Justin Rose
Coming off an impressive win at Colonial two weeks ago, Rose seems like a guy built for big major moments. This week will feel similar to when he finished second to Sergio Garcia at the Masters.

3. Rickie Fowler
Late last year I picked Rickie to win the Masters and the U.S. Open. If not for some steady play from Patrick Reed in April at Augusta, well ... Now, Fowler plays his first event as an engaged man, and he's a bridesmaid (kind of) again.

4. Rory McIlroy
After frustratingly missing the cut at the Players Championship, McIlroy has finished second in a European Tour event and tied for eighth at the Memorial. Wide, receptive fairways this week at Shinnecock Hills will bring McIlroy back into the mix for his second U.S. Open title.

5. Jordan Spieth
Isn't Spieth coming off a missed cut at Memorial? Yes, but Spieth always finds a way to figure it out. Since the 2016 U.S. Open. He has bounced back from a missed cut to win only once, that was when he whiffed at the Players and won the Byron Nelson. The player who doesn't seem in form but plays great in majors -- Jordan Spieth.

6. Jason Day
Remember that time Jason Day and Jordan Spieth started battling at Chambers Bay when Day got vertigo? Imagine that Jason Day without vertigo. No need to imagine -- he's here this week.

7. Justin Thomas
Sure, he may have lost the No. 1 ranking, but it ain't because he's playing bad. Since winning the 2017 PGA Championship, Thomas has finished outside the top 22 just once.

8. Brooks Koepka
Some guys, after taking an injury timeout, come back by missing some cuts and slowly get back to playing form. Koepka already has a T-11 at the Players Championship followed by a runner-up at the Colonial. This defending champ won't give back his title so easily.

9. Bryson DeChambeau
Here is Sleeper No. 1. The winner of this year's Memorial Tournament hasn't had a great track record at the U.S. Open. Two missed cuts (2015, 2017) and a T-15 (2016). Still, don't underestimate the power of winning at Jack's place leading into this U.S. Open.

10. Patrick Cantlay
Hello, Sleeper No. 2 (if you can call the 29th ranked player in the world a "sleeper"). Sure, his win was technically in 2017, but during this current season, he's not resting on his laurels. He comes in this week off a T-4 at the Memorial.

11. Tommy Fleetwood
12. Thorbjorn Olesen
13. Bubba Watson
14. Rafael Cabrera Bello
15. Xander Schauffele
16. Jon Rahm
17. Shane Lowry
18. Brendan Steele
19. Louis Oosthuizen
20. Patrick Reed
21. Charl Schwartzel
22. Hideki Matsuyama
23. Kevin Kisner
24. Jason Dufner
25. Matthew Fitzpatrick

26. Tiger Woods
27. Henrik Stenson
28. Sergio Garcia
29. Webb Simpson
30. Francesco Molinari
31. Alex Noren
32. Kevin Chappell
33. Charley Hoffman
34. Sebastian Munoz
35. Alexander Levy
36. Steve Stricker
37. Kyle Stanley
38. Ian Poulter
39. Richie Ramsay
40. Cameron Smith
41. Adam Scott
42. Braden Thornberry
43. Peter Uihlein
44. Marc Leishman
45. Daniel Berger
46. Charles Howell III
47. Kiradech Aphibarnrat
48. Gary Woodland
49. Lucas Glover

50. Jhonattan Vegas
51. Paul Casey
52. Aaron Baddeley
53. Branden Grace
54. Adam Hadwin
55. Jimmy Walker
56. Ross Fisher
57. Chesson Hadley
58. Keegan Bradley
59. Lanto Griffin
60. Russell Knox
61. Ryan Lumsden (a)
62. Danny Willett
63. Philip Barbaree
64. Tony Finau
65. Russell Henley
66. Zach Johnson
67. Dylan Frittelli
68. Noah Goodwin (a)
69. Harry Ellis
70. Christopher Babcock
71. Mickey DeMorat
72. Bill Haas
73. Andrew Johnston
74. Martin Kaymer

75. Tyrrell Hatton
76. Roberto Castro
77. Dean Burmester
78. Brian Harman
79. Tyler Duncan
80. Sungjae Im
81. Brian Gay
82. Haotong Li
83. Mackenzie Hughes
84. Patrick Rodgers
85. Jacob Bergeron (a)
86. Matt Kuchar
87. Ernie Els
88. Scott Gregory
89. Si Woo Kim
90. Doug Ghim
91. Jim Furyk
92. Stewart Hagestad
93. Shintaro Ban (a)
94. Theo Humphrey (a)
95. Matt Jones
96. Satoshi Kodaira
97. Luis Gagne (a)
98. Luke List
99. Graeme McDowell

100. Eric Axley
101. Ryan Fox
102. Tom Lewis
103. Phil Mickelson
104. Aaron Wise
105. Harold Varner III
106. Tim Wilkinson
107. Michael Block
108. Dylan Meyer
109. Cameron Wilson
110. Brian Stuard
111. Kristoffer Reitan
112. Scott Stallings
113. Brandt Snedeker
114. Richy Werenski
115. Will Grimmer
116. Jason Scrivener
117. David Bransdon
118. David Gazzolo
119. Timothy Wiseman (a)
120. Paul Waring
121. Ollie Schniederjans
122. Tyler Strafaci (a)
123. Franklin Huang (a)
124. Matt Wallace
125. Wenchong Liang
126. Shubhankar Sharma
127. Rhett Rasmussen (a)
128. Pat Perez
129. Calum Hill
130. Sulman Raza
131. Michael Putnam
132. Trey Mullinax
133. Shota Akiyoshi
134. Sung Joon Park
135. Lucas Herbert
136. Matthieu Pavon
137. Chris Naegel
138. William Zalatoris
139. Matt Parziale
140. James Morrison
141. Garrett Rank
142. Sebastian Vazquez
143. Kenny Perry
144. Byeong Hun An
145. Michael Hebert
146. Cole Miller
147. Chun An Yu (a)
148. Sam Burns
149. Ryan Evans
150. Emiliano Grillo
151. Rikua Hoshino
152. Michael Miller
153. Scott Piercy
154. Ted Potter Jr.
155. Chez Reavie
156. Matthew Southgate

* (a) denotes amateur

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