US Open 2022: Tee times, TV details and four contenders to follow at Brookline

Just three of the Saudi LIV Golf Series players will tee it up at the US Open where, ironically, Phil Mickelson – the face of the controversial new tour – will be bidding to complete a career Grand Slam.

But he is a rank outsider and it’s Rory McIlroy, fresh from his Canadian Open victory, who goes into the US Open as favourite. He is one of three Irish involved, with Shane Lowry and Seamus Power also in Boston.

When is it and what time does it start?

The US Open tees off on Thursday, June 16 at 11.45am Irish time (6.45am local time). It will finish on Sunday evening.

TV details

The action will be shown on Sky Sports, with both Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Golf carrying the coverage. You can also purchase a NOWTV Day Pass to watch without a subscription.

Brian Keogh’s four to watch

Course management will be key at old school Brookline, so we’re going for precision and patience in our picks for the US Open.

Matt Fitzpatrick: The Country Club at Brookline is not a cookie-cutter, modern TPC course where players can fire away at will and use their power to bring the venue to its knees.

Fitzpatrick won the 2013 Amateur Championship at Brookline, and with the vastly experienced Billy Foster on his bag, he has all the tools required to conquer this 7,254-yard classic.

Justin Thomas: Still smarting from Sunday’s loss to Rory McIlroy in Canada, the Louisville talent has the iron play to emulate Brooks Koepka in 2018 and win the PGA Championship and the US Open in the same season.

Shane Lowry: With three top-three finishes and another seven top 25s this year, Lowry is due. He’s also putting better than ever and won’t be afraid to go for it.

Will Zalatoris: A tee-to-green genius, he will have learned much from the PGA Championship reverse.

Odds

8/1: Rory McIlroy

9/1: Justin Thomas

10/1: Scottie Scheffler

11/1: Jon Rahm

14/1: Xander Schauffele

16/1: Cameron Smith

18/1: Jordan Spieth, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Patrick Cantlay

20/1: Sam Burns, Shane Lowry, Will Zalatoris

22/1: Collin Morikawa, Joaquin Niemann, Sung-Jae Im, Viktor Hovland

25/1: Cameron Young, Max Homa, Tony Finau

28/1: Corey Conners, Daniel Berger, Hideki Matsuyama

33/1: Aaron Wise, Billy Horschel, Brooks Koepka, Davis Riley, Harold Varner III, Justin Rose, Mito Pereira, Tommy Fleetwood

40/1: Dustin Johnson, Keegan Bradley, Louis Oosthuizen

50/1: Abraham Ancer, Talor Gooch, Webb Simpson

66/1: Adam Scott, Bryson DeChambeau, Jason Kokrak, Patrick Reed, Russell Henley, Seamus Power, Sebastian Munoz

80/1: Sergio Garcia, Tyrrell Hatton

100/1: Gary Woodland, Si Woo Kim

125/1: Brian Harman, Luke List, Marc Leishman, Ryan Fox, Tom Hoge

First round tee times

(All Irish times; x denotes amateur; US unless stated)

Hole 1 - 11.45am M Thorbjornsen (x), E Barnes, M McCarty; 11.56 M NeSmith, P Rodgers, TVick (x); 12.07pm T Merritt, W Mouw (x), A Putnam; 12.18 C Morikawa, J Piot, J Rahm (Esp); 12.29 J Spieth, A Scott (Aus), M Homa; 12.40 B Horschel, P Cantlay, D Berger; 12.51 H Varner III, S Munoz (Col), A Noren (Swe); 1.02 J Niemann (Chl), Ca Young, W Zalatoris; 1.13 A Schenk, S Hagestad (x), G Murray; 1.24 G Migliozzi (Ita), B Grace (Rsa), M Hughes (Can); 1.35 B Hossler, K Samooja (Fin), S Kodaira (Jpn); 1.46 R Mansell (Eng), T Sugiyama (Jpn), R Sloan (Can); 1.57 C Manuel (x), K Greene, B Silverman; 5.30 K Chappell, C Seiffert, A Novak; 5.41 T Olesen (Den), B Stuard, N Hardy; 5.52 S Horsfield (Eng), C Tringale, S Norris (Rsa); 6.03 S Im (Kor), M Pereira (Chl), E van Rooyen (Rsa); 6.14 J Thomas, V Hovland (Nor), T Finau; 6.25 J Kim (Kor), S Power (Irl), M Woo Lee (Aus); 6.36 M Fitzpatrick (Eng), W Simpson, D Johnson; 6.47 P Mickelson, S Lowry (Irl), L Oosthuizen (Rsa); 6.58 D Lee (Nzl), K Nakajima (x) (Jpn), N Taylor (Can); 7.09 J Furyk, N Dunlap (x), A Hadwin (Can); 7.20 R Bland (Eng), R Hoshino (Jpn), R Fox (Nzl); 7.31 J Blixt (Swe), B Hoag, T Sinnott (Aus); 7.42 I Salinda, S Jacklin (Sco), C Reiter (x)

Hole 10 – 11.45 F Quinn, C Tarren (Eng), H Buckley; 11.56 K Kitayama, D McCarthy, S Bennett (x); 12.07 W Clark, B Matthews, W Besseling (Ned); 12.18 D Lingmerth (Swe), S Straka (Aut), S Woo Kim (Kor); 12.29 S Stallings, D Riley, V Perez (Fra); 12.40 R McIlroy (NIrl), H Matsuyama (Jpn), X Schauffele; 12.51 K Kisner, R Henley, B Harman; 1.02 K Bradley, M Leishman Aus), A Wise; 1.13 F Molinari (Ita), L Shepherd (x) (Eng), S Cink; 1.24 M Schneider (Ger), C Kim, J Bramlett; 1.35 L Griffin, J Dahmen, J Kozuma (Jpn); 1.46 C Gotterup, F Biondi (x) (Brz), H Hall (Eng); 1.57 C hNaegel, A Beckler, L Gannon; 5.30 J Morgan (Aus), T Montgomery, S Crocker; 5.41 M Moldovan (x), Y Paul (Ger), MJ Daffue (Rsa); 5.52 T Gooch, A Arnaus (Esp), T Hoge; 6.03 K Na, S Garcia (Esp), T Hatton (Eng); 6.14 S Burns, A Ancer (Mex), T Pieters (Bel); 6.25 B Koepka, C Smith (Aus), S Scheffler; 6.36 L List, A Greaser (x), C Conners (Can); 6.47 G Woodland, J Rose (Eng), B DeChambeau; 6.58 KH Lee (Kor), T Fleetwood (Eng), P Reed; 7.09 J Kokrak, H English, L Herbert (Aus); 7.20 S Stevens, B Lorenz (x), D Shore

Hole-by-hole guide to The Country Club, Brookline, venue for the 122nd US Open, June 16-19:

1st, 488 yards, par 4: A testing opening hole plays slightly from right to left, with two bunkers guarding the corner of the dogleg. Three more bunkers guard the narrow entrance to the green.

2nd, 215 yards, par 3: The longest par three on the course. Two bunkers well short of the green will not come into play for the professionals, but another brace short and long left await an errant tee shot.

3rd, 499 yards, par 4: The fairway narrows considerably around 310 yards from the tee, meaning some players could opt to lay further back to a wider landing area. That will leave a tough approach to a green surrounded by five bunkers.

4th, 493 yards, par 4: A blind tee shot adds to the difficulty of this long par four, which has fairway bunkers short of the green to prevent players trying to run the ball up to the green – which slopes from back to front – from the rough.

5th, 310 yards, par 4: A potentially-reachable par four, although the hole plays uphill and the narrow entrance to the green is guarded by a quartet of bunkers. Laying back off the tee leaves a blind approach.

6th, 192 yards, par 3: The only hole which remains from the original six which were laid out in 1893. Bunkers left and right guard the entrance to a multi-tiered green which sits at a slight angle and offers tough pin positions.

7th, 375 yards, par 4: Trees to the left of the fairway and bunkers to the right demand a precise tee shot, although most players will not need to hit driver to leave a wedge to the green.

8th, 557 yards, par 5: The shortest of the two par fives should be reachable in two for most of the field. Only one of the hole’s nine bunkers, right of the green, should pose many problems.

9th, 427 yards, par 4: A large water hazard eats into the right-hand side of a narrow fairway, most significantly around 320 yards from the tee. Bunkers on either side guard a small green.

10th, 499 yards, par 4: A slight dogleg from left to right features no fairway bunkers, but no fewer than six around the green. A tough start to either a round or the back nine.

11th, 131 yards, par 3: The shortest hole on the course was played as the 10th in the 1913 US Open and was not used for the championship in 1988. Bunkers protect the front and left of the green, but a welcome birdie opportunity.

12th, 473 yards, par 4: A slight dogleg right with two bunkers on the corner of the dogleg. The pond short right of the green should not be a factor, but the green is a small target.

13th, 440 yards, par 4: The tee shot must be played at an angle to a fairway which turns from right to left. Drives which find the rough will bring the water in front of the green into play.

14th, 619 yards, par 5: The 14th hole in 2022 was the 12th for the 1988 US Open, when it played as a 450-yard par-four. The added yardage and narrow fairway makes for a challenging combination.

15th, 510 yards, par 4: The longest par four on the course will require two well-struck shots to find a green which becomes progressively narrower.

16th, 202 yards, par 3: Four bunkers guard the green on an otherwise relatively-straightforward hole.

17th, 373 yards, par 4: A sharp dogleg from right to left will give players the chance to cut the corner – where four bunkers lurk – and get closer to the green, especially if the front of the tee is used.

18th, 451 yards, par 4: Another slight dogleg with bunkers on the corner and probably the biggest bunker on the course in front of the green.