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Claire Komarek, CBS Sports

After a week of complete and total insanity, the golf world seeks a reprieve with the third major championship of the year arriving to provide that much-needed relief. The focus will return to the golf and a championship trophy. With that comes a detailed look at who's expected to play well and ultimately contend for the 123rd U.S. Open.

With the current crop of tremendous players, it's always difficult to sort these lists out; however, coming into this major, three players stand clear of the rest of the field. Brooks Koepka, Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm are a trio that has won eight times globally this year, with the first two majors among those victories. They are the three favorites, according to Caesars Sportsbook, and for good reason beyond those victories: The trio has a collective five top 10 finishes at majors this year. It's simply difficult to see anyone usurping all three of them this week at Los Angeles Country Club.

Beyond that trio, though, the parsing of the field becomes trickier. Viktor Hovland is probably playing the best golf beyond the triumvirate. After him, though, you could reasonably rank Nos. 5-11 in almost any order. This despite the sterling but victory lacking play we've seen from Rory McIlroy at recent majors.

Let's break it all down as we look ahead to LACC, this much-anticipated U.S. Open and who has the chance of getting what would certainly be a life- and career-changing victory. Check out a full slate of U.S. Open picks and predictions from our CBS Sports experts along with a set of U.S. Open odds from Caesars Sportsbook and a closer look at the nine top contenders for the U.S. Open.

2023 U.S. Open field, ranked

1. Brooks Koepka (Won in 2017-18): From 2017-21, Koepka lost to four golfers at the U.S. Open. It's a remarkable run that, when combined with his recent PGA Championship victory, means that while he may not be the top favorite at LACC, he may well be the man to beat. Koepka is often difficult to figure out because he doesn't play much these days, and even when he did in the past, we always got a much different major championship Brooks than regular season Brooks. I'm going to bravely say that 2022 was a major aberration, though, and that big game Brooks is back. He doesn't have the recent stats to back it up compared to the men below him, but make no mistake, this major runs directly through him.

2. Scottie Scheffler (T2 in 2022): We are unquestionably not appreciating just what Scheffler is doing so far this season. He's been so much better from tee to green than his peers that every statistic reads like a typo. Over everyone's last 30 rounds, he has been twice as good from tee to green as Tony Finau, who ranks eighth in the world in that same timeframe. Just comical numbers from world No. 1. His major record is underrated, too. He's been nearly an automatic top 10, and he's finished T7 and T2 in his last two U.S. Opens.

3. Jon Rahm (Won in 2021): It's pretty difficult to see the trophy slipping past these three. If you gave me Koepka-Scheffler-Rahm or the field, I would probably take that trio over the other 153 players teeing it up at LACC. Rahm has not been a major menace like Koepka over the last five years, nor is he having quite the ball-striking season of Scheffler. What he has done, however, is become a tremendous U.S. Open player. It wasn't always the case. Back in 2017 and 2018, he was more mentally vulnerable right now and thus not always capable of handling the throes of a U.S. Open. Since Shinnecock in 2018, though? He finished T3 at Pebble Beach, T23 at Winged Foot, won Torrey Pines and finished T12 at the Country Club. He's leveraged his own emotion to his advantage at the biggest events, and he's probably going to win a handful of majors because of it.

4. Viktor Hovland (T12 in 2019): Hovland has quietly become a monster at the majors. Since The Open last summer, nobody has been even close to as good as him, and he's coming off a run where he finished T2 at the PGA Championship, T16 at the Charles Schwab Challenge and won the Memorial Tournament. His iron play has been, at times this year, up and down, and this place will demand it. But I trust his game plan and the level he's playing at perhaps more than anyone other than the three guys above him right now.

5. Rory McIlroy (Won in 2011): While McIlroy is not playing quite as well as some of the players behind him, most of them have yet to prove that they can actually get themselves in the mix at a major championship. And while McIlroy has said before that it feels like he's again chasing his first-ever major championship, he has righted the ship at U.S. Opens (after missing three straight cuts from 2016-18). In his last four appearances, he's finished T9, T8, T7 and T5 last year at Brookline. His game isn't quite in top form, but it's close enough that you could envision him at least being in one of the final few pairings come Saturday and Sunday.

6. Patrick Cantlay (T14 in 2022): I'm a bit in, "You're going to have to show me that you can do it" mode with Cantlay. He should destroy at U.S. Opens. Destroy. And yet, he doesn't have a top 10 and has strangely struggled with approach ply at each of the last two. It's true that he's improved his U.S. Open play, but it's also true that he only has four top 10s in 25 starts at the majors. I broadly disbelieve the theory that majors are too big of a stage for good players, but Cantlay has tested that theory of late with his showings (or lack thereof).

7. Xander Schauffele (T3 in 2019): It's difficult to ignore two things with Schauffele. The first is how incredible he's been at U.S. Opens. Here's a look at his career finishes in six total starts.

  • 2017: T5
  • 2018: T6
  • 2019: T3
  • 2020: 5th
  • 2021: T7
  • 2022: T14

He's also playing lights-out golf right now. Will that translate into real Sunday contention? It could, but he's gone so long without really getting into the mix late at a major that, like Cantlay, I'd love to see it first.

8. Hideki Matsuyama (T2 in 2017): Matsuyama has two things going for him, and they're similar to those mentioned for Schauffele. The first is that he's playing solid golf, having made every cut since missing one at the Arnold Palmer Invitational with five top 25s in that span and loads of great ball-striking. The other is that he's been under-the-radar great at U.S. Opens. Since missing the cut at Oakmont in 2016, he's finished in the top 21 five of six times and has two top-four finishes (2017, 2022).

9. Justin Rose (Won in 2013): Wait ... Justin Rose? Yes, on the 10th anniversary of his U.S. Open win at Merion, Rose is again playing tremendous golf. He won at Pebble Beach this year, finished in the top 10 at the Players and the PGA Championship, lpus he has three consecutive top 12s coming in. Rose is hitting the ball beautifully -- gaining 1.0 strokes per round or better with his irons over his last three events -- and should benefit from a course that tests that very skill (see below).

10. Collin Morikawa (T4 in 2021): Am I concerned about his withdrawal from the Memorial with a back injury? Absolutely. Am I worried about a putter that has been ice cold at times this year? You bet. Has he finished in the top 25 at any event since a T10 at the Masters? He has not. However, Morikawa cruised at LACC at the 2017 Walker Cup, winning one team match 8&7 and going 4-0-0 on the week. That might not mean much given that it was six years ago, but this is the type of golf course where an elite controller of the ball -- a Greg Maddux of golf -- is going to thrive. That's Morikawa, and I believe he can win this week. Also, don't forget that last year at Brookline he didn't have his best stuff and still finished T5.

11. Jordan Spieth (Won in 2015): This is where it starts to get difficult. If Spieth is going to win another U.S. Open, it's going to be at a venue like this one, which is tantamount -- although not exactly like -- Chambers Bay, where he won in 2015. It certainly fits him better than Oak Hill for a PGA Championship. The wrist, it seems, it not a massive issue as he played fairly well at the PGA and then finished T5 at the Memorial.

12. Cameron Smith (T4 in 2015): He's struggled at U.S. Opens over the past several years, but goodness, this course should be perfect for him. He'll have crazy tight lies all over the yard, wide open fairways and an absolute canvas on which to paint. Three straight top 11s on LIV Golf, and he finished T9 at the PGA Championship last month.

13. Tommy Fleetwood (2nd in 2018): The Englishman nearly won his first PGA Tour event in Canada last weekend and is having one of his better years since that 2017-19 stretch where he was perhaps the second best U.S. Open player behind Koepka. Fleetwood is playing quality golf with four top 20s in his last five starts (two top fives) and should thrive on this golf course. 

14. Matt Fitzpatrick (Won in 2022): This course actually might suit him better than Brookline did. Fitz's encore has been bumpy, injuries mixed with some truly great play (T10 at the Masters, win at RBC Heritage, T9 at the PGA), but his U.S. Open history is strong, and he's having probably the second best season of his career. Only Koepka has gone back to back over the last 30 years, but Fitzpatrick will have a better chance than most. 

15. Tony Finau (5th in 2018): Maybe the joke's on me for continuing to buy in to Finau at majors, but I can't quit the way he's playing. Of everyone in the field over their last 36 rounds, Finau ranks fifth in approach play. His struggle at majors over the last two years has been real (no top 10s since the 2021 PGA), but I remain a believer in both his skill and his newfound ability to close out events.

16. Patrick Reed (4th in 2018): Quietly a solid U.S. Open player. He's missed just one cut in nine appearances and comes in off a T4 at the Masters and T18 at the PGA Championship. He's been among the better major championship players in 2023.

17. Max Homa (T47 in 2022): Listen, does Homa have the course record at LACC? Yes. Is he one of the 10 best iron players in the world? I believe so. Do I want to write a 10,000-word piece on La La Land -- city of dreams! -- on Sunday evening as Homa is weeping while holding the trophy? I would enjoy that. Is Max Homa, with no top 10s at majors and an up-and-down March-May going to win an amped-up U.S. Open at LACC with the pressure of everyone on the property rooting for him to do so? That's tough to see happening from where I sit.

18. Tyrrell Hatton (T6 in 2018): It's true that Hatton is playing some great golf (six straight top 20s), but he's been mostly buoyed by a hot putter, which doesn't necessarily portend U.S. Open success. He's an excellent ballstriker, but I do worry that an emotional dude in an emotional week at the most emotional major championship might not be the best recipe.

19. Russell Henley (T13 in 2021): I absolutely love Henley as a sleeper this week. He played so tremendously at the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, and he's coming in off of six top 10s in his last seven starts, including a sneaky T4 at the Masters in April. Ranked No. 20 on Data Golf ahead of Koepka, Matsuyama, Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson and Sam Burns.

20. Bryson DeChambeau (Won in 2020): It's not the ideal setup for him like Winged Foot was in 2020, but I'm a believer that DeChambeau is playing with renewed fervor following an impressive showing at the PGA Championship in May. If this was Torrey Pines or a course similar to that, I'd probably have him in my top 15.

21. Dustin Johnson (Won in 2016): These last few spots came down to guys like Sungjae Im, Si Woo Kim, Wyndham Clark and D.J. The truth of it is that, even though D.J. doesn't have his best stuff right now, I trust him when the chips are down more than almost anyone in the world. The problem for him over the last six months has been getting to the point where the chips are actually down. However, since winning Oakmont in 2016, he has four top 25s at U.S. Open and just one missed cut.

22. Justin Thomas (T8 in 2020): I'm only including him so I don't get burned. Nothing about his year has insinuated that he's going to play well this week. However, it's true that he's a generational iron player, and this track rewards that exact skill. So there's always the chance of him popping up, but with just one top 10 since the Valspar Championship in March, that's pretty difficult to envision right now.

23. Rickie Fowler (T2 in 2014): Don't look now but Fowler is 12th in the world over the last three months in total strokes gained, ahead of Spieth, Fleetwood, Finau, Morikawa, Matsuyama, Fitzpatrick, Smith and Reed, all of whom are ahead of him on this list. He is also our Patrick McDonald's top sleeper to win the U.S. Open.