It’s been an excellent 12 months for British and Irish golfers.
Northern Eire’s Rory McIlroy efficiently defended the Masters in April after which England’s Aaron Rai gained the PGA Championship.
With the US Open subsequent up, can the Brits and Irish keep their stranglehold on the majors?
Listed here are the 5 most like to hitch McIlroy and Rai in glory.
Tommy Fleetwood
After profitable the PGA Tour’s end-of-season Tour Championship, starring within the Ryder Cup and profitable the DP World Tour’s India Championship in 2025, Fleetwood’s 2026 has by no means fairly taken off.
However he received himself into competition on the Memorial firstly of the month, and shall be hopeful that outcome heralds higher type.
And the place higher for him to contest a US Open than Shinnecock Hills – the scene of his last spherical 63 in 2018 that earned him second place?
Matt Fitzpatrick
The Sheffield man will not be solely the winner of the Valspar Championship, Zurich Traditional and RBC Heritage this 12 months, he’s additionally a former US Open champion.
His triumph got here in 2022 at The Nation Membership in Brookline and was prefaced by two main championship prime 20s earlier within the season.
Guess what? This 12 months he was T18 on the Masters and T14 within the PGA Championship. Recreation on.
Tyrrell Hatton
Deep into his third season of LIV Golf, the Englishman lastly landed a second win final week in Spain and that must make him bullish about his probabilities at Shinnecock.
He performed the course nicely when ending T6 within the 2018 US Open and, what’s extra, he’s in an excellent run of type within the majors.
He’s completed prime 15 within the final three Masters, was T4 in final 12 months’s US Open and was T16 in final 12 months’s Open.
Justin Rose
The Englishman is a veteran who simply doesn’t know cease competing within the majors.
He’s solely gained one among them – the 2013 US Open at Merion – however in recent times he’s turn out to be a relentless on the highest web page on the huge occasions: T2 within the 2024 Open, second and T3 within the final two Masters, and T10 in final month’s PGA Championship.
The unhealthy information? Since he was T3 within the 2019 US Open he’s solely 1-for-5 at making the minimize on this championship.
Shane Lowry
The 2019 Open champion has damaged a run of robust main type in latest occasions.
From the beginning of 2021 via the top of 2024 he was 12-for-16 at ending prime 25. However his final six majors have did not reap something higher than T30.
Don’t low cost him, nonetheless. He dearly desires to win one other main, is impressed by his pal McIlroy, and he was T2 within the 2016 US Open.
Learn subsequent: How Aaron Rai turned a Main champion on the PGA Championship
