One hundred fifty six players have convened to compete at the 123rd U.S, Open to be played this year at Los Angeles Country Club North Course. The course plays 7,421 yards and is a par 70, with five par 3’s and three par 5’s. More on the key holes later on in this column.

I’m just going to talk about this very briefly, but the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia and the PGA Tour merger looks extremely convoluted. A lot to unpack. How do you compensate the PGA players who were loyal to the PGA Tour? They must be compensated for their fidelity to the Tour. How do the LIV players, particularly the ones who threw a lawsuit against the PGA, like Mickelson and Patrick Reed, qualify for membership back on the tour? What about the U.S. Justice Department threatening litigation against the PGA Tour for violation of anti trust laws stemming from the merger with the PIF? That’s a problem. And some congress people are thinking about investigating this merger due to the fact that 15 of the 19 terrorists who killed nearly 3,000 people on 9/11 were Saudis. And the mastermind behind the attack, Osama Bin Laden, was a Saudi born citizen

So, that’s head spinning and will be determined at a later date. But we’ll concentrate on the more interesting and entertaining part of golf in this column now. The coveted 123rd U.S. Open Trophy.

The defending champion is Matt Fitzpatrick. The now 28 year old Englishman, won the Open at The Country Club at Brookline (MA) last year. He held his breath as Will Zalatoris attempted a 15 foot birdie putt on 18 that would have tied Fitz at 6 under. Zalatoris barely missed to the right and Fitz hoisted the 122nd trophy.

Always some interesting storylines heading into LA. The LA Country Club North Course is a George C. Thomas design from 1927. Gil Hanse, Jim Wagner and Geoff Shackelford redesigned LACC NC in 2010. Hanse is a superstar in golf course re-designs having also re-designed Winged Foot (2020 U.S. Open won by Bryson DeChambeau), Southern Hills (2022 PGA Championship won by Justin Thomas), The Country Club of Brookline (2022 U.S. Open), Olympic Club’s Lake Course (2028 PGA Championship, Webb Simpson won the U.S, Open there in 2012), Merion Golf Club (2030 U.S. Open, Justin Rose won there in 2013 at the Open) and Oakland Hills Golf Club (2034 U.S. Open. The last major there was in 2008 where Predrag Harrington won).

This course is terrific. The Playboy Mansion is on the hole 13th, but the club would not allow Hef into its membership. Very selective group. It’s never held a U.S. Open or a PGA Championship, so the players’ excitement to play at this illustrious venue is through the roof.

Here are the key holes

No.2- 491 yards, par 4. After a fairly benign par 5 first hole where birdies are gettable, the par 4, second is demanding. The fairway slopes from right to left and the green is protected by the prevalent Barranca, which is a deep gulley of sand and brush. Not where they want to go.

No.6- 330 yards par 4. A reachable Par 4 that doglegs from left to right. The players must hit it over an oak tree, that is positioned to the right of the fairway, to get it to the green. They need to drive it 300 yards to have a shot. A lot of them are capable, but with the pressure on Sunday, it won’t be as easy. There is Barranca on the left and it’s the smallest green on the course.

No.7- 284 yards Par 3. One of the 2 lengthy par 3’s on the course. There is a large bunker to the right of the green. Most tee shots will land short and left and bounce onto the putting surface if they’re accurate.

No. 11-290 yards, par 3. Another massively long par 3, which offers nice views of the LA Skyline. The hole plays 20 yards shorter due to the downhill off the tee. It still requires a long carry to clear the bunkers in front of the green.

No.15-Par 3. It can play anywhere from 124 to 78 yards. It is surrounded by bunkers and poses a great challenge to the players despite the shortness of the hole.

No.16-542 yards, Par 4– The start of a demanding three finishing holes. The tee shot plays downhill to a wide fairway, the fairways are generous at LACC NC. There is a bunker on the left. The green slopes from back to front.

No.17, 520, par 4– The only hole on the backside with Barranca, which lurks to the right of the fairway. The second shot is into a shallow green that is heavily protected by bunkers with the first one 50 yards short of the middle of the putting surface.

No.18, 492, Par 4-The finishing hole plays uphill into the prevailing breeze. The right side of the fairway offers the best angle into the deep green.

Thanks to Sporting Life for the assist on the course tour.

The rough is bermuda, unusual for California, and it is going to be about 3 inches high in some spots. Cam Smith said it’s doable in some areas and not as doable in others. The greens will stimp at 13 and with the pleasant 70 degree weather the course will be firm and fast come the weekend. The players don’t know this course as most haven’t played on it except for guys like Max Homa, who shot a 61 in 2013 at the PAC-12 championship and Collin Morikawa, who was 4-0 at the Walker Cup here in 2017. The Walker Cup is an Amateur version of the Ryder Cup pitting U.S, Amateurs against Great Britain and Ireland Amateurs. Since there is not a lot of familiarity amongst the players, the winning score could be anywhere from 10 under to 3 under or less.

Rich Lerner, host of the Golf Channel’s Live From the U.S. Open, asked Golf Channel analyst and reporter Damon Hack, a native of SoCal, for his favorite athlete in LA history. Hack went with Magic Johnson. Lerner responded that Magic had broken his native Philadelphia 76ers hearts in 1980, when, as a 20 year old rookie, he scored 42 points, pulled down 15 rebounds, dished out 7 assists and added 3 steals in an all time great NBA Finals performance to win the NBA Championship for the Lakers.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbbar had been averaging 33 points in the first five games versus Dr. J and the Sixers, but hurt his ankle and was unable to go in game 6 with the Lakers up 3-2 in the series. The game was in Philly, so the Sixers must have been feeling pretty good about themselves as Johnson would be playing center, a position he had never played before. However, the 6’9”Magic led his team to the game clinching 4-2 series victory over the Sixers with his historically great performance.

Key tee times

9:40 AM CT, 1st tee-Shane Lowry, Justin Thomas, Tommy Fleetwood. Fleetwood had his heart broken last Sunday by a 72 foot eagle putt in a playoff versus Canadian Nick Taylor at the Canadian Open. That was the first time a Canadian citizen had won that Open since 1954, 69 years. And Taylor was the first Canadian born player to win it since 1914, 109 years.

9:40 AM CT, 10th tee-DeChambeau, Francesco Molinari, Tyrrell Hatton.

10:02 AM CT-1st tee. Gary Woodland, Adam Scott, Corey Conners.

10:02 AM CT, 10th. Justin Rose, Rickie Fowler, Jason Day.

10:13 AM CT, 1st, Collin Morikawa, Max Homa, Scottie Scheffler

10:24 AM CT, 10th tee, Xander Schauffele, Victor Hovland, Jon Rahm.

2:59 PM CT, 10th, Mickelson, Predrag Harrington, Keegan Bradley.

3:21 PM CT. 10th, Tom KIm, Sahith Theegala, Cameron Young.

3:32 PM CT, 1st, Sam Burns, Dustin Johnson, Keith Mitchell

3:43 PM CT, 10th, Tony Finau, Jordan Spieth, Patrick Cantlay

3:54 PM CT, 1st, Brooks Koepka, Hideki Matsuyama, Rory

Weather

Thursday, 71, Sunny, wind SSW 6 MPH.

Friday, 74, Sunny, wind SW 7 MPH.

Saturday, 77, Sunny, SW 7 MPH.

Sunday, 75, Partly to mostly sunny, wind S & MPH.

Wind not a major factor, but coming in from the South, should help the golfers on some holes with the wind at their backs. Certain holes it’ll be hurting.

TV

Thursday-Friday, 8:40 AM-12 PM CT, Peacock, Streaming.

12-7 PM CT, USA Network.

7-10 PM CT, NBC

Saturday, 12-10 PM CT NBC

Sunday, 11 AM-12 PM CT, Peacock

12-9 PM CT, NBC. Love major championship golf on the west coast at night. Ten can get kind of late on a Sunday Night, but will try and power through Monday morning.

Odds, as provided by VegasInsider

Scheffler, 6/1

Rahm, 10/1

Koepka, 11/1.

Keopka has been brash and arrogant this week saying nobody can stick with him when he’s playing his best. He said he’s mentally tougher than everybody else and he can outlast’em all. I’m sure the two guys ahead of him on the odds, Scheffler and Rahm, took notice of that. This was a guy four months back who had no confidence on Netflix’s golf documentary, “Full Swing.” Seems to be a little fragile sometimes as well. He has won five majors, but he’s got no humility, which can cost you at times. And you don’t know what happens to him when things start going south. Is it the “tough” Kopeka or the “fragile” Koepka?

Rory, 12/1

Cantlay, 16/1

Hovland, 16/1

Schauffele, 18/1

Spieth, 20/1

Cam Smith, 28/1

Homa, 28/1

Fitz, 28/1

Hatton, 30/1

Finau, 33/1

Morikawa, 35/1

Dustin, 35/1

Justin Rose, 35/1

Matsuyama, 40/1

DeChambeau, 40/1

Fleetwood, 40/1

Justin Thomas, 45/1

Jason Day, 45/1

Cam Young, 45/1

Rickie Fowler, 45/1

Shane Lowry, 50/1

Sungjae Im, 55/1

Sam Burns, 60/1

Patrick Reed, 70/1

Adam Scott, 70/1

Joaquin Niemann, 80/1

Keegan Bradley, 100/1

Tom Kim, 125/1

Keith Mitchell, 125/1

Woodland, 125/1

Harris English, 150/1.

Winner

I don’t always like to take the favorite, but I will at LACC NC. I like the 26 year old from Ridgewood, New Jersey by way of the University of Texas to capture his second major, his third including this year’s Players Championship, the fifth major. He also won the 2022 Masters. His putting has been an issue lately, but I see him fixing that, and tee to green, he’s been spectacular. He’s leading the tour in scoring average at 69.750, Strokes Gained: Total, SG:Approach and Greens in Regulation. I like this gunslinger who now resides in Dallas to capture another major in his young, spectacular career.

Scottie Scheffler

Sleeper

I know the 2013 U.S. Open Champion at Merion shouldn’t be considered a sleeper, but the 42 year old veteran from Johannesburg, South Africa by way of England has won at Pebble Beach this year, and looks like a contender this weekend to me.

Justin Rose

The 155th edition of The “Test of the Champion,” the Belmont Stakes, has a post time of 6:02 PM CT and will be televised by Fox and Fox Sports 1.

The distance is 1 1/2 miles, the longest of the three American Classic Races. The Kentucky Derby is 1 1/4 miles, Mage won that, and the Preakness is 1 3/16 miles, which National Treasure won. The Belmont comes three weeks after the Preakness. Mage is not running, but National Treasure is.

The track record is 2:24 minutes set by the greatest of all time, Secretariat, back in 1973. The great one won by 31 lengths. It was a dominant performance by the Triple Crown winner that year, and, inarguably, the greatest horse in horse racing history.

There are some interesting storylines. Forte is back after being scratched from the Derby on the morning of the race due to an injured foot.

Arcangelo is trained by Jena Antonucci, who is the 11th female trainer to race a horse in the Belmont and is attempting to the be the first to win it.

Bob Baffert has National Treasure in the race. While Baffert is one of the most polarizing figures in horse racing due to several doping violations, he has won 6 Derbies, 8 Preaknesses, and 3 Belmonts and has trained two Triple Crown winners in American Pharaoh in 2015 and Justify in 2018.

The weather is perfect, 72 and partly cloudy. After a tough week with all the smoke on the east coast, the air has cleared out and they’re good to go.

So, which three year old will win this race? I’ll give’er a whirl.

The post positions, horses, trainers jockeys and odds listed in that order.

1. Tapit Shoes, Brad Cox, Jose Ortiz, 20/1

2. Tapit Trice, Todd Pletcher, Luis Saez, 3/1

3. Arcangelo, Jena Antonucci, Javier Castellano, 8/1

4. National Treasure, Bob Baffert, John Valazquez, 5/1

5. Il Miracolo, Antonio Sano, Marcos Meneses, 30/1

6. Forte, Todd Pletcher, Irad Ortiz, Jr., 5/2

7. Hit Show, Brad Cox, Manny Franco, 10/1

8. Angel of Empire, Brad Cox, Flavien Prat, 7/2

9. Red Route One, Steve Asmussen, Joel Rosario, 15/1

   Winner

   This thoroughbred hasn’t raced since April 1st when it won the Florida Derby defeating Mage, the Kentucky Derby winner that is not racing at Belmont Park. He defeated Mage twice and also defeated Preakness winner National Treasure in the Breeders Cup Juvenile as a two year old. You can look at the layoff in one of two ways:

   The horse could be rusty and not ready. Or he could be well rested and ready to run. I’m going to take the latter philosophy.

   So my “philosophical” decision is also based on the fact that trainer Todd Pletcher, the 55 year old from Dallas, has won 4 Belmonts, in 2007, 2014, 2017 and last year, 2022. Last year it was Mo Donegal.

   In 2017, It was Tapwrit, which coincided on the same day Brownie was canning everything from 6 feet and in. Thus, Walter tagged him that name for his marksmanship with the flat stick that day. Thirty year old jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. has won two Belmonts, in 2018 and 2022, teaming up with Pletcher on Mo Donegal last year. I like this combination and I like this horse. A lot. Give me,

   Forte

   Win, Forte, Place Tapit Trice, Show, Arcangelo.