Defending champion Matt Fitzpatrick heads the English contingent aiming for glory in this year's US Open at Los Angeles Country Club; Justin Rose, Tyrrell Hatton and Tommy Fleetwood are among the contenders too; watch the US Open live on Sky Sports from Thursday June 15
Wednesday 14 June 2023 23:23, UK
After Matt Fitzpatrick's memorable victory at Brookline 12 months ago, we assess the chances of the defending champion and the rest of the English players competing in this year's US Open...
This time last year, the name of Matt Fitzpatrick on the US Open entry list would have most likely have been glossed over by all but the most ardent golf-watchers across the other side of the pond.
The 28-year-old from Sheffield was the one whose name started to cross more and more lips over the course of the four days at Brookline though and ensured it would never be forgotten with a stunning shot out of the bunker on the final hole setting him up to clinch his first major title.
A seven-time tournament winner on the DP World Tour prior to that, Fitzpatrick clinched his first non-major title on the PGA Tour in April when he beat Jordan Spieth in a playoff at the RBC Heritage.
That win came a week after he had finished tied for 10th at the Masters, but since then has not finished higher than tied for ninth at last month's Memorial Tournament and missed the cut in the second major of the year, the PGA Championship.
Still, there was little indication the 2013 US Amateur champion was about to go on a run which would see him holding aloft the trophy ahead of last year's US Open. This time around, however, Fitzpatrick will be one everyone has their eye on from the start.
It is a decade since Justin Rose claimed the first, and so far only, major title of his career when he lifted the US Open trophy at Merion Golf Club, becoming the first English player to do so since Tony Jacklin 43 years earlier.
Since then, the 42-year-old has been in contention for another major triumph on several occasions, only to come up short - the closest being a second-place finish in the Open Championship five years ago and a pair of runner-up spots at the Masters in 2015 and 2017.
Now in his 19th year as a member of the PGA Tour, Rose is still one of the top contenders on the North American circuit, as underlined by him currently sitting 17th in the FedEx Cup standings with five top-10 finishes so far in the 2022/23 season.
That ranking was boosted by his success in February's AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am where he finished 18 under par after four rounds, and he heads to Los Angeles Country Club on the back of finishing eighth at last week's Canadian Open.
Two of Tommy Fleetwood's joint-best finishes in a major of fourth and second have come at the US Open, although the last four editions have seen him come no higher than tied for 50th and failing to make the cut twice.
Nevertheless, the 32-year-old from Southport is heading into this year's tournament at Los Angeles Country Club with a morale-boosting display in last week's RBC Canadian Open, where he finished second after an epic playoff with home player Nick Taylor which went to the fourth hole.
Fleetwood has secured other notable results on the PGA Tour in 2023 as well, such as finishing tied for third at the Valspar Championship in March and tying for fifth in last month's Wells Fargo Championship.
The former world No 9 is back up to just outside the top 20 in the Official World Golf Ranking too and six-time DP World Tour winner Fleetwood will definitely be one to keep an eye on as he goes in search of his first major title.
Fleetwood may have grabbed most of the headlines after his duel with Taylor at Oakdale Golf and Country Club last week, but finishing one place behind him was compatriot Tyrrell Hatton.
The 31-year-old has been enjoying an impressive season so far, most notably finishing second to Scottie Scheffler in the Players Championship - the tournament promoted as golf's unofficial "fifth major" - in March and securing a total of six top-10 PGA Tour finishes so far.
Hatton's previous best US Open performance was finishing tied for sixth on his second appearance in 2018, but since then he has not finished higher than tied for 21st and missed the cut twice.
Nevertheless, his performances this year have shown Hatton can mix it with the best when he is on his game and Sky Sports Golf expert Rich Beem believes he is capable of making an impact at Los Angeles Country Club.
"I think he can attack this golf course," Beem told Sky Sports. "His short game and his putting, I think he'll like this golf course."
There are four other English players who have qualified, including world No 3,686 JJ Grey who plays on the second-tier Korn Ferry Tour and is making his first appearance in one of golf's majors at the age of 30.
Ross Fisher, fifth-place finisher at the 2009 US Open, is back in this tournament for the first time in five years, while David Horsey and Jordan Spencer will be aiming to at least make the cut this time after failing to do so on their respective previous appearances.
Finally, there is Barclay Brown, the 22-year-old amateur who caused a minor stir at the Open Championship last year after shooting 68 in the first round before eventually finishing tied for 79th. Like Fitzpatrick, he hails from Sheffield and is a member of Hallamshire Golf Club.
He has been combining representing Stanford on the American college circuit with studying for a degree in economics, and while Brown might be more one to keep an eye on for the future than for this year it will be nonetheless intriguing to see how he fares on his US Open bow.
Who will win the US Open? Watch the third men's major of the year exclusively live from June 15-18 on Sky Sports Golf.
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