The penultimate major of the golf calendar is upon us, with all eyes on the Oakmont Country Club as the U.S. Open gets underway this weekend.

Scottie Scheffler comes into the tournament as a man in form after surging to the PGA Championship title last month, claiming a dominant victory by five shots over Bryson DeChambeau, Harris English and Davis Riley at Quail Hollow.

He had a three-shot lead at the start of the final round, then survived an early wobble to claim a third major title, and he will be out to repeat the trick on home soil once again.

Scheffler became just the second player in 100 years to win their first three major titles by three shots or more, after Seve Ballesteros in 1983. His five-shot triumph was also the biggest PGA Championship win since Rory McIlroy's eight-shot victory in 2012. 

He followed that success up by finishing joint-fourth at the Charles Schwab Challenge, but then returned to the winners' circle at the Memorial Tournament, becoming just the second player to win the competition in consecutive years, following Tiger Woods' victories in 1999, 2000 and 2001.

And despite his hectic schedule, Scheffler feels plenty rested ahead of the U.S. Open, though he will face tough competition from those also aiming for glory.

Will rivalries be renewed between DeChambeau and Masters winner McIlroy after their enthralling battle at Pinehurst last year, or can Jon Rahm find his way despite his late collapse at the PGA Championship?

Ahead of Thursday's opening round, we look at the best Opta stats surrounding the key contenders.

THE CONTENDERS

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER

It appears that Scheffler has hit a golden patch at just the right time as he aims to clinch a first U.S. Open title, with his displays this year proving why he is the world number one.

He secured his third PGA Tour win of the season at the Memorial Tournament, which took his overall tally to 16. Ten of those triumphs have come since the start of 2024.

Indeed, since the start of 2022, Scheffler has won almost twice as many PGA Tour events as any other golfer across that span - McIlroy, with nine wins. 

Jack Nicklaus - the record 18-time major winner - was in attendance for Scheffler's victory and said that the American was in a "different league" to some players on the PGA Tour.

And he wouldn't be wrong. Indeed, since 2020, Scheffler has had more wins (three) and more top 10s (14 in 20 appearances) at majors than any other player.

Following his win at the PGA Championship last month, Scheffler will also aim to become the first golfer since Jordan Spieth in 2015 to win back-to-back major tournaments.

Oakmont also has some significance for Scheffler. He made his first-ever major appearance on the same course in the 2016 U.S. Open – he shot a 69 and 78 but missed the cut. 

Only three golfers are 10-under-par or better across the first two majors this year: Scheffler (-19; -8 at the Masters and -11 at the PGA), DeChambeau (-13) and English (-10).

RORY MCILROY

McIlroy conceded ahead of the tournament that he was "concerned" about his chances at Oakmont after struggles with his driver at the Canadian Open saw him exit early on.

He struggled with a new driver as he crashed out of the tournament after shooting 78 in the second round, slumping to the worst finish of his PGA Tour career.

The Northern Irishman finished nine-over par for the tournament to finish tied for 149th place, missing his first cut of the year and first since The Open at Royal Troon last year.

But after completing a career grand slam at the Masters, McIlroy returns to an event where his long journey to that accolade started. 

Indeed, the 36-year-old's first major title was at the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional, and he has often thrived under the testing conditions in this particular major. 

He is the only player with a top 10 at each of the last six U.S. Open tournaments (T-9th in 2019, T-8th in 2020, T-7th in 2021, T-5th in 2022, 2nd in 2023, 2nd in 2024).

BRYSON DECHAMBEAU

But defending champion DeChambeau will certainly have his say at Oakmont, after becoming a real menace in majors over the past couple of seasons. 

Indeed, the 31-year-old's last five majors on US soil have seen him finish T-6th, 2nd, 1st, T-5th and T-2nd.

This year, the American was solo second at the Masters before tumbling on Sunday to 74 and finishing tied for fifth, and was the co-runner-up at the PGA Championship. 

He arrives at the U.S. Open looking to become only the seventh golfer to win the tournament three or more times, four years after his maiden major title at Winged Foot. 

"I'm personally excited about the opportunity to defend. I haven't been able to defend a tournament in my career, and that's what I intend to do this year," DeChambeau said. 

"It's always a great tournament at Oakmont, and it's going to be an excellent tournament host, so I'm excited about the challenge.

"I played well there last time and look forward to doing so again this year. With the game that I’m coming in with, I feel very confident."

DeChambeau will aim to become the fourth golfer since World War Two to win back-to-back U.S. Open tournaments after Ben Hogan, Curtis Strange and Brooks Koepka. 

JON RAHM

Rahm has been far off his standard at major championships after his announcement in December 2023 that he would leave the PGA Tour and join LIV Golf. 

In his first start at a major as a member of LIV, Rahm tied for 45th at the 2024 Masters, narrowly avoiding the cut. 

That came one year after he won the green jacket by four shots over Koepka and Phil Mickelson, two other high-profile players who absconded to the new golf circuit. 

In the 2025 majors, he tied for 14th at the Masters and tied for eighth at the PGA Championship, which has yielded more optimism for Rahm. 

The 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont was also Rahm's first appearance at a major. He finished T-23rd and picked up the low amateur medal.

Winner at Torrey Pines in 2021, he will aim to be only the third non-US golfer to win multiple U.S. Opens over the last 100 years, after South Africans Ernie Els and Retief Goosen.

XANDER SCHAUFFELE

Schauffele's time as PGA champion came to an end after Scheffler's triumph at the Quail Hollow Club, but the American said after that he was encouraged by his display. 

The American triumphed a year ago at Valhalla for his first career major, following it with another major win two months later at The Open at Royal Troon.

He missed two months earlier this season with a rib injury, but has shown signs of progress in recent weeks while racking up four straight finishes of T-18th or better. 

Though that run ended at the PGA Championship, Schauffele has often impressed at the U.S. Open since his debut at the tournament eight years ago. 

Indeed, since his first start at the tournament in 2017, he has had seven top-10 finishes across those competitions, more than any other player over that span. 

The only exception was a T-14th finish in 2022, though we could expect a better showing from him this time around at Oakmont. 

THE OTHER STORIES

There are plenty of other stories to look out for at the 125th U.S. Open, with Oakmont hosting the tournament for the 10th time, a record in the history of the competition. 

Oakmont has hosted the U.S. Open in every single decade since the 1950s. The last time the tournament was in Pennsylvania was in 2016, where Dustin Johnson won. 

However, Johnson has missed the cut in five of the last seven major tournaments. That is as many missed cuts as in his previous 25 major appearances.

Meanwhile, two-time winner Koepka's best finish in a major since his victory at the PGA Championship in 2023 is T-17th, which came at the U.S. Open. 

His current run of eight consecutive majors without a Top 10 is his longest career drought – this includes a missed cut in each of his first two majors this year.

A challenge is more likely to come from English, who has just come off the back of a T-2nd finish at the PGA Championship, the best performance of his career at a major. 

Indeed, only McIlroy (five) and Schauffele (four) have had more Top 10s at the U.S. Open since 2020 than English (three), and the American will be out to fight for the title. 

Spieth has not had a single Top 10 in his last nine major tournament appearances, also his longest career drought.

Since his victory at Chambers Bay 10 years ago, Spieth has only finished inside the Top 20 at the US Open on one occasion (T-19th in 2021).

Patrick Cantlay and Viktor Hovland will be looking to become only the fourth golfer this century to win both the U.S. Open low amateur medal (2011 for Cantlay, 2019 for Hovland) and the U.S. Open crown after Spieth, Rahm and Matt Fitzpatrick.

The U.S. Open is the only major in which Cantlay has always made the cut (nine out of nine), whilst it is the only major where Hovland has never finished inside the Top 10. 

Thirty-five of the last 37 majors have been won by a US or European golfer. The two exceptions are Japan's Hideki Matsuyama at the 2021 Masters and Australia's Cameron Smith at the 2022 British Open.