5 U.S. Open sleepers, 1 angry qualifier, Rory speaks

Welcome back to the Monday Finish, where it’s U.S. Open week! Time to tromp through some long rough, get a sunburn, grab a lemon wedge and relaunch the debate over whether greater Pittsburgh can be considered part of the Midwest. But first, the news…

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GOLF STUFF I LIKE

Oakmont’s angriest competitor.

It seems to me very likely that nobody will come into U.S. Open week with a hotter fire lit directly under his golf shorts than Cameron Young.

I have noticed that certain corners of the golf internet — golf’s gambling corner, specifically — have a real love-hate relationship with Young. Love because he frequently seems like a good bet to win. Hate because he never does. Specifically Young has recorded seven runner-up finishes (and several more close calls) in the first 89 starts of his PGA Tour career without a win, which is stastically unlikely and impressive but real-life infuriating for him and, I suppose, for anybody investing in him as the winner.

Sunday at the RBC Canadian Open seemed like a golden opportunity for Young to break the curse; he started three shots behind as part of a jam-packed leaderboard, which meant (do not take this as insightful or even fact-based golf analysis) he had nothing to lose, could play aggressively and sneak up on the leaders. Young was struggling earlier this year but found something these last few weeks, and driving it well paid dividends at TPC Toronto. He made eagle on the first. Birdied 6 and 7. Birdied 14 and 15. And came to No. 18, a reachable par-5, just one shot behind Sam Burns‘ clubhouse lead.

He pummeled a 313-yard drive down the fairway, leaving 260 yards to the flag. Then he took 3-wood, fired it at his target, and … airmailed the green.

“I thought in the air I was going to have about a 12-footer to win the tournament, and it ended up somewhere I was going to struggle to make par, let alone make a 4,” Young said post-round, still in disbelief.

That “somewhere” he ended up was in thick rough on a downslope under a tree facing a delicate chip shot back towards the hole with water looming long. He walked away with a bogey 6 to finish T4.

So how’d he feel afterwards?

“This very moment? A lot of anger, a bit of frustration,” he said. “I couldn’t have hit two better shots on the last hole. I don’t hit 3-wood that far, and it’s blowing straight into the wind, and it decided to bounce all the way to the back woods.”

So what’s the point? The point is that I like this guy and I admit I’m fascinated by his dilemma. I like the way he’s committed to being himself, even though “himself” can be sort of shy and curmudgeonly. He sees the self-promotional social-media corners of sports as a scourge, so he avoids them altogether. He’s funny in a dry, dark sort of way. And he is, as far as pro golf goes, a tragic figure, a guy clearly talented enough to win who just hasn’t done so. Given his aversion to attention, an entire Tour of Cameron Youngs would probably not be good for ratings, but as a silent, brooding presence amidst an increasingly thirsty sports landscape, I appreciate his style and I hope he wins soon. Maybe it’ll be this week.

Oh, and there’s a whole heap of good news for Young fans (the Youngsters?), even if he wasn’t exactly grinning about it: He qualified for two majors this week. Last Monday he played his way through sectionals into the U.S. Open. And his finish at TPC Toronto was enough to give him the nod into the Open Championship.

Things are looking up already.

WINNERS

Who won the week?

Ryan Fox won the RBC Canadian Open, making birdie on the fourth playoff hole to beat Sam Burns. It’s Fox’s second playoff PGA Tour win in four weeks; he chipped in for his maiden victory at Myrtle Beach in May.

Jennifer Kupcho won the LPGA Shoprite Classic, surprising even herself after a tough stretch of play; the win was her first top 10 of 2025.

“Struggled a lot at the beginning of the year,” she said. “Struggled mentally. Completely lost my swing back in L.A. pretty much, so really was just trying to figure that out. Going into Chevron I didn’t know where the ball was going. So to be able to say I’ve won now, like only really a few weeks later, is kind of insane.”

Joaquin Niemann won LIV’s event in Virginia, firing a closing 63 for his fourth win in the league’s first eight events. Phil Mickelson stirred the pot when he declared Niemann the No. 1 player in the world earlier this year; Graeme McDowell had a more measured take after this one:

“He’s just so good,” said McDowell, whose 66 yielded his first podium finish. “He’s an absolute top-10 player in the world. You could argue top five. Phenomenal, phenomenal player.”

Connor Syme won the KLM Open, his maiden DP World Tour title in his 182nd start, moving from 263 to 145 in the world in the process and marking the 150th DPWT for Scottish pros.

Sara Kouskova won the Tenerife Women’s Open, her second consecutive LET title; the Czech pro is now up to No. 2 on the circuit’s Order of Merit.

Austin Smotherman won the BMW Charity Pro-Am, firing a final-round 67 to win by three, move from 267 to 173 in the world and up to No. 4 on the KFT’s Order of Merit as he efforts a return to the PGA Tour.

And the tandem of Thomas Bjorn and Darren Clarke teamed up to win the American Family Insurance Championship in Madison, Wis., on the PGA Tour Champions, marking the first win for Bjorn on the circuit.

NOT-WINNERS

But still winners.

Sam Burns lost in the playoff to Fox but reinforced the idea that his ball-striking is catching up with his (PGA Tour-leading) putting; he now has five top-20s in his last six starts.

Ludvig Åberg hit the ball quite well en route to a T13 finish, which was an encouraging sign heading to a tournament that should theoretically suit him.

“I feel like the work we’ve done since the PGA has shown things that I like,” Aberg said, adding that he feels more “at ease” with his golf swing.

Shane Lowry, the 54-hole leader the last time the U.S. Open visited Oakmont, was third in the field in strokes gained approach.

And Nick Taylor was low Canadian.

On the LPGA, Ilhee Lee finished runner-up, her first top 10 since 2016 and her best finish in over a decade.

And on LIV, the final leaderboard suggested a few intriguing names flashing form heading to Oakmont, including Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson (T4, two shots back), Jon Rahm (T8) and Dustin Johnson (T10).

SHORT HITTERS

Five sleepers to watch at the U.S. Open.

Pre-cursor: I dunno, your guess is as good as mine. But I’m looking at the odds board and these guys at 100-1 or longer may not win but jump out as underrated and potential contenders.

1. Harris English, 100-1. Absolute dog on brutal setups. T2 and T12 in his last two majors. Three top-eight finishes at this tournament this decade. Played well at the Masters, the Truist, the PGA, the Memorial. A lot to like.

2. Taylor Pendrith 110-1. Drives it well basically every week and has had some strong weeks with his irons, too, making him a real ball-striking threat on a course that’ll demand it — if his putter cooperates he could do some real damage.

3. Cameron Young, 150-1. We’ve spilled enough ink on Mr. Young but I’ll add that he grew up playing at a prestigious Northeast country club; he’ll feel as comfy as one can in the Oakmont confines.

4. Max Greyserman, 250-1. He’s stuck in the “meh” zone; six of his last seven starts he’s finished between T22 and T33, which is impressive. This is kind of just a feeling that a terrific putter with plenty of power who grew up one state over could find his way into the top 20.

5a. Rasmus Hojgaard, 250-1 and 5b. Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, 270-1. Two big-balling Danish Rasmuses on the cheap? Why not?! RNP is entering in dreadful form off three MCs in a row — but before that he’d logged three top-4s in five starts across the DP World Tour and PGA Tour. Rasmus Hojgaard has the potential to be one of the better ball-strikers in the world but hasn’t yet put it together, hence the discount price.

ONE BIG QUESTION

How will the dentist play?

And the high schooler, and the mini-tour pros, and the grinders that made it all the way from local qualifying through sectionals and into this U.S. Open field? Of the nearly 10,000 players who competed in the first 18-hole stage of U.S. Open qualifying, just 16 made it into this week’s U.S. Open field, several with terrific, inspiring stories. Can any make the cut?

ONE SWING THOUGHT

From Rory McIlroy.

This isn’t a swing thought so much as an observation: it was unsettling to see McIlroy beat just four players (plus WDs) at the RBC Canadian Open.

I’m not saying I’m worried about Rory McIlroy. I’m not saying he’s suddenly bad at golf. I’m just saying that when you win the Masters and complete the career Grand Slam it would be nice if you could just sort of float along on cloud nine for a while rather than lose at golf to one guy named Cougar Collins and another fella who works for Goldman Sachs.

To McIlroy’s credit, he spoke to the media before the tournament, admitting some malaise, and he spoke after shooting 71-78, admitting some worry. Some of what he said:

“I felt like I came here obviously with a new driver thinking that that sort of was going to be good and solve some of the problems off the tee, but it didn’t.”

“There’s still learnings that you have to take from a day like today … Yeah, I’m going to have to do a lot of practice and a lot of work over the weekend at home and try to at least have a better idea of where my game is going into next week.”

“I went back to a 44-inch driver this week to try to get something that was a little more in control and could try to get something a bit more in play. But if I’m going to miss fairways, I’d rather have the ball speed and miss the fairway than not. I was saying to Harry going down the last this is the second time this year I’ve tried the new version, and it hasn’t quite worked out for me. So I’d say I’ll be testing quite a few drivers over the weekend.”

RYDER CUP WATCH

Sam Burns.

There was exactly one change in the top 15 spots in the U.S. Ryder Cup standings on Sunday: Sam Burns’ runner-up finish elevated him to 15th from 24th, while Daniel Berger slid to No. 16.

On the European side, two guys improved by one: Ludvig Aberg passed Justin Rose for seventh while Robert MacIntyre slid past Niklas Norgaard for 11th.

TEAM USA RYDER CUP RANKINGS

1. Scheffler 2. Schauffele 3. DeChambeau 4. Thomas 5. Morikawa 6. Henley 7. Griffin 8. McNealy 9. English 10. Novak 11. Harman 12. Cantlay 13. Spaun 14. Hoge 15. Burns

TEAM EUROPE RYDER CUP RANKINGS

1. McIlroy 2. Lowry 3. Straka 4. R. Hojgaard 5. Hatton 6. Fleetwood 7. Aberg 8. Rose 9. Detry 10. Wallace 11. MacIntyre 12. Norgaard 13. Hovland 14. Olesen 15. Canter

Full standings here.

ONE THING TO WATCH

Mickelson’s chip.

You wouldn’t consider Phil Mickelson and Oakmont to be a natural fit, but if he’s getting into wizardry, maybe anything’s possible?

NEWS FROM SEATTLE

Monday Finish HQ.

I’m readying myself for a Monday night redeye to Pittsburgh for a week of U.S. Open coverage, a reminder of the wonders of Alaska Airlines, which consistently surprises me with its array of nonstop flight destinations. Unrelated: the passenger door of my car will not open from the outside, a problem I have not yet diagnosed, never mind solved, the sort of vaguely pesky thing you can tolerate for a while and the sort of to-do list item that looms especially large whenever I’m about to leave for a week. Also, the weather has been unbelievably perfect. Seattle rules.

If you’re at Oakmont, say hello.

Dylan Dethier welcomes your comments at dylan_dethier@golf.com.

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