The season's third major begins on Thursday in Brookline, Massachusetts as the U.S. Open gets under way at The Country Club.
There will be a strange feeling at the tournament with it being the first major since the controversial LIV Golf International Series began.
The USGA has confirmed that players involved in the Saudi-backed breakaway who qualified for the U.S. Open will still be allowed to compete, despite the PGA Tour taking a harder stance and suspending those who played in last week's inaugural LIV Golf event in London.
That means the likes of Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Sergio Garcia will be present in Brookline.
Tiger Woods will not participate due to fitness concerns, but there are plenty of other potential candidates to go for victory at The Country Club, such as world number one Scottie Scheffler and defending champion Jon Rahm.
Stats Perform's experts have taken a look at who they believe could succeed.
RORY'S THE STORY AND HE'S PRIMED FOR MORE GLORY – Russell Greaves
Rory McIlroy has set the standards on and off the course in recent weeks, his win at the Canadian Open coming after he had pledged his allegiance to the PGA Tour in the midst of the inaugural LIV Golf event. That was the Northern Irishman's 21st PGA Tour title, fittingly edging him ahead of LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman, a fact McIlroy himself was quick to point out. In Massachusetts, McIlroy can distinguish himself even further from the likes of two-time major winner Norman as he seeks a fifth such title and second at this event. With accuracy off the tee likely to yield a premium on this course, McIlroy has the game to match his momentum and will doubtless be well backed by punters and fans alike. Sunday also marks 11 years to the day since McIlroy won the U.S. Open, collecting his first major success in the process.
DJ READY TO PLAY THE VILLAIN – Ben Spratt
Sure, Rory's return to the winners' circle at a major would be great, but that story surely pales next to the possibility of one of the LIV Golf rebels swooping in and taking the title. Johnson likely remains the breakaway league's best bet. Of course, he would not be a popular winner in front of a presumably vociferous Boston crowd, and the form book is not in his favour either, but Johnson has the talent to spoil the party; a U.S. Open victory in 2016 was the third of three straight top-five finishes – and it was only 18 months ago he was dominating the Masters. The 37-year-old has not won any event this year, in what stands as a career first, but this would be some time to end that drought.
RAHM READY TO MAKE HISTORY AFTER PLEDGING PGA LOYALTY – Patric Ridge
"I've never really played the game of golf for monetary reasons. I play for the love of the game, and I want to play against the best in the world. I've always been interested in history and legacy, and right now the PGA Tour has that." Those were the words of world number two Rahm, who is out to defend his title this week. Rahm finished T23 on his first appearance at the U.S. Open as a low amateur back in 2016, before he failed to make the cut in the next two years. However, he was tied for third in 2019 and T23 in 2020 prior to clinching his first major crown last year, finishing with two birdies on the final two holes to become the first Spanish golfer to win the major. The 27-year-old ranks first on the PGA Tour for shots gained off-the-tee, and although he struggled at the US PGA Championship, he has the opportunity to make history and create the legacy he dreams of in Massachusetts.
ROSE CAN BE A THORN IN RIVALS' SIDE – Peter Hanson
On the face of it, tipping a player ranked 48th in the world without a win to his name since January 2019 (Farmers Insurance Open) looks a little right field. At the time of that triumph, Justin Rose was world number one, but it has been a pretty mixed bag since then. Momentum is king in golf, though, and the Englishman scored a tie for fourth at the Canadian Open last weekend after shooting a sensational 10-under-par 60 in round four. Moreover, to win a U.S. Open you have to fight and scramble for a good score – qualities Rose, the 2013 champion, certainly possesses.
THOMAS HAS THE ENGINE NOT TO TANK – David Segar
Having won the PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club in May, Justin Thomas comes into this full of confidence and with good reason. He showed incredible fight to edge victory against Will Zalatoris in a play-off in Tulsa, having trailed by eight shots with 10 holes to play in the final round. Ranked fifth in the world, Thomas has always had the talent but, like many, it was always a question of putting it all together when the majors came around. With the experience of doing so fresh in his mind, and showing good form with third place at the Canadian Open, Thomas could pull off the rare feat of back-to-back major wins.
Foden: De Bruyne the best in the Premier League
Phil Foden hailed Manchester City team-mate Kevin De Bruyne as the Premier League's best player after the pair both netted in the 4-0 win over Brighton and Hove Albion.
De Bruyne opened the scoring in Thursday's contest at Amex Stadium before Foden took over with a couple of goals of his own before half-time.
Julian Alvarez rounded off the scoring just after the hour in a one-sided contest as an Erling Haaland-less City moved to within a point of leaders Arsenal with a game in hand.
Belgium international De Bruyne now has four goals and six assists in just 13 league appearances for City this season.
Speaking to Sky Sports News after the win over Brighton, Foden said: "I think when he is at it, he is the best player in the Premier League."
Foden's first goal came via a deflected free-kick that he himself won, although replays showed he slipped rather than being fouled.
The England international doubled his personal tally with a composed finish after Brighton were caught in possession at the back.
Asked about playing more centrally, Foden said: "I have always said that I see myself there. This year I have moved inside and it has helped me massively.
"I enjoy it in the middle. It's where I want to be. At the moment, I am just enjoying my football and playing with freedom."
De Bruyne had earlier opened the scoring with a brilliant opener - his first headed goal for City in the Premier League - as City made it 30 games unbeaten in normal time across all competitions.
Alvarez then went on to round off the scoring in a game that not only saw the reigning champions close the gap on Arsenal, but also narrow the goal difference margin to eight.
"It was a good game," De Bruyne said. "I think we played really good in the first half and every game is a lot of pressure. All we can do is prepare as we did today and win the game that is in front of us.
"We just want to win game-by-game and push for the title. We don't get ahead of ourselves. Now the next game is coming quickly. Try to recover and we go again."
Kyle Walker assisted the De Bruyne and Alvarez goals - the first time the defender has set up two goals in a single Premier League game in what was his 390th appearance in the competition.
Reflecting on his rare headed goal, De Bruyne said: "It doesn't happen too much. Kyle gave a good cross and I think the only way I could reach it is by jumping to it. I will take it but it's not something I am good at."
City have rather ominously won four Premier League games in a row and travel to strugglers Nottingham Forest next up at the weekend, knowing victory in their remaining five games will secure an unprecedented fourth straight title.
"I trust my team. All respect to Liverpool and Arsenal, they are amazing," De Bruyne added. "Arsenal are doing what they need to do and we are also needing to do it. Work hard and be humble enough to keep pushing."
Liverpool line up Feyenoord coach Slot as Klopp replacement
Arne Slot appears to be at the front of the queue to replace Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager.
Klopp confirmed in January that he would be leaving the Reds at the end of the season.
Xabi Alonso, who has led Bayer Leverkusen to their first Bundesliga title, was swiftly established as a leading candidate to take the helm at Anfield, where he starred as a player for the Reds between 2004 and 2009.
The 42-year-old, however, is staying put in Germany, and Liverpool's search for Klopp's successor has taken them to Feyenoord's door.
Slot has been previously linked to jobs in the Premier League. Leeds United wanted to appoint him last season before their relegation to the Championship, while he was targeted by Tottenham before they appointed Ange Postecoglou.
The Dutchman intimated when linked with Spurs: "A normal next step would be to go abroad and I've always said that the best league in the world is the Premier League."
Ideally, Liverpool will be aiming for a coach who can come close to replicating Klopp's style of play, and in particular has a flair for working with and developing young players.
Slot has enjoyed fantastic success in Rotterdam. He became Feyenoord head coach in December 2022, after leaving AZ, and went on to win the Eredivisie title in 2022-23, having reached the Europa League final in the previous season.
The 45-year-old has a 64.4 per cent win record from 146 games in charge, winning 94, drawing 29 and losing just 23.
His Feyenoord team have scored 329 goals, an average of 2.2 per match, conceding 147 in return. Slot's points per game is a hugely impressive 2.13.
Feyenoord are, though, set to relinquish their Eredivisie crown, as they trail leaders PSV by nine points. They have, however, won the KNVB Cup this term.
As there is no break clause in the Dutchman's contract, it has been reported that a compensation fee in the region of €10million (£8.5m) could prise him away from Feyenoord.
Sporting CP boss Ruben Amorim is another coach who has been heavily linked with the Liverpool job, albeit he is reportedly in talks with West Ham.
A closer look at the hot streak of world number one Scottie Scheffler
Scottie Scheffler claimed his fourth win in five events on Monday when the weather-delayed RBC Heritage concluded at Hilton Head.
That run includes a second Masters title and has seen the world number one extend his sizeable lead over Rory McIlroy at the top of the rankings.
Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the facts and figures around Scheffler’s streak and how they compare to previous runs.
What makes Scheffler’s streak so impressive?Winning any event on the PGA Tour is difficult, but Scheffler has claimed two of the biggest in the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Players Championship, a major championship at Augusta National and the RBC Heritage, which boasted a stronger than usual field after being elevated to a Signature Event this season. Victory at Sawgrass made Scheffler the first player ever to win back-to-back Players titles. His only “failure” was a tie for second in the Houston Open.
Has this been done before?Scheffler is the first player to win four times in five starts on the PGA Tour since Tiger Woods, who did so at the end of 2007 and again to start 2008. He is also the third player in the last 30 years – after Woods and Vijay Singh (2004) – to win or finish runner-up in five consecutive starts on the PGA Tour. With many players taking a break after winning a major, Scheffler is also the first to win a PGA Tour event the week after claiming a green jacket since Bernhard Langer in 1985.
How much has Scheffler earned?Scheffler has banked an average of £3.17million for each of his four victories and “only” £448,000 for his five-way tie for second behind Stephan Jaeger in the Houston Open. The total sum of £13.14m would place Scheffler 145th on the PGA Tour’s career earnings list and he is closing in on the single-season record of £17million he set last year. In comparison, Woods won nine times on the PGA Tour in 2000, including three major titles, and never finished worse than 23rd in 20 starts. His prize money totalled £7.4m.
Does the world ranking reflect Scheffler’s dominance?In a word, yes. Ahead of the Genesis Invitational in mid-February, Rory McIlroy could have become world number one by winning at Riviera with Scheffler finishing third or worse. Now, Scheffler has more than double the total and average points of McIlroy, while the average points gap between the top two (7.6493) is bigger than that between McIlroy and the players tied for 4,123st in the standings.
So is Scheffler the most dominant player in world golf?Not quite. Hours before Scheffler completed his victory in Hilton Head, fellow American Nelly Korda had wrapped up a fifth consecutive win on the LPGA Tour by claiming her second major title in the Chevron Championship. Korda’s winning streak matches that of Nancy Lopez in 1978 and Annika Sorenstam in 2004-05, although her bid for an unprecedented sixth straight win will have to wait after she cited exhaustion when pulling out of this week’s event in Los Angeles. While Scheffler has earned £13.14m from his last five events, Korda’s five wins have been worth £1.94m.
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