'Major Hunter' Kepka "This Time Aiming for Back-to-Back Major Wins"

Kepka's Third Major US Open Victory Challenge
LIV Members Including DeChambeau, Johnson, Mickelson Participate
Schauffele, Rahm, McIlroy, Kim Siwoo Among Remaining Players Compete

Now it's time to enter Hollywood.

This is about the third major tournament of the 2022/2023 PGA Tour season, the US Open. It will be held over four days starting on the 15th (local time) at the North Course of Los Angeles Country Club in California, USA (par 70, 7,423 yards). This is the first major tournament held after the announcement of the merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. The defending champion is Matt Fitzpatrick (England).

Brooks Koepka is playing on the green of the 3rd hole during the US Open practice round. [Los Angeles=AP·Yonhap News]

The performance of 'major hunter' Brooks Koepka (USA) is drawing attention. Koepka is on an upswing after winning the second major of the season, the PGA Championship. He is determined to reinforce his reputation as a strong competitor in big tournaments by winning two consecutive majors this year. Koepka has won 5 majors out of his 9 PGA Tour victories. He also achieved back-to-back US Open titles in 2017 and 2018. He has demonstrated peak form with two wins on the LIV Golf stage as well. Koepka will play alongside Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) and Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) in the first and second rounds.

In addition to Koepka, many LIV Golf members will participate. 'The Hulk' Bryson DeChambeau (USA) is a strong contender for the title. He is recalling the thrilling memory of winning the 2020 US Open. Other participants include 2016 champion Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed (both USA), and Cameron Smith (Australia). Sergio Garcia (Spain) secured his spot by finishing tied for 4th in the US Open sectional qualifying. This marks his 24th consecutive appearance at the US Open.

Above all, the focus is on whether Phil Mickelson (USA), the 'oldest major champion,' can win. If Mickelson wins this tournament, he will achieve the milestone of a 'career Grand Slam' by winning all four major championships. Mickelson has 3 Masters titles, 2 PGA Championships, and 1 Open Championship, totaling 6 major wins. However, he has only finished runner-up six times at the US Open, the last missing piece. He showed his strength by finishing second at the Masters in April. Mickelson said, "I am preparing for the US Open. I am thinking about what I have missed."

The 'PGA holdouts' are also preparing to strike back. Fitzpatrick is aiming for a second consecutive win. The world’s top three ranked players?Scottie Scheffler (USA), Jon Rahm (Spain), and McIlroy?all will participate. Rahm, who won the Masters this year, is eyeing the US Open title for the first time in two years since 2021. McIlroy dominated the 2011 US Open. Scheffler is determined to erase the disappointment of finishing tied for second by one stroke last year. However, it is unfortunate that 'Golf Emperor' Tiger Woods (USA) will miss the tournament due to ankle surgery.

Korea is led by Kim Si-woo. He recorded his fourth career win at the Sony Open last January. Two weeks ago, he finished 4th at the Memorial Tournament, proving his worth. He missed the cut at last year’s US Open. His best finish at this tournament was tied for 13th in 2017. Joining him are world-ranked 19th Im Sung-jae, 22nd Kim Joo-hyung, and 48th Lee Kyung-hoon.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.