When the best players from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf get ready to tee off on Thursday in the U.S. Open Championship, the third major of 2024, Scottie Scheffler remains the central plot point in golf. Scheffler is a clear favorite (+333 as of this writing) going into this tournament after picking up his sixth victory of the year.

Despite being detained and facing charges of a subsequently dropped felony prior to the second round of the PGA Championship, he managed to win the first major of the year by defeating a formidable challenge from tour rookie Ludvig Åberg.

Scheffler is not the only player that is performing well on the field. Numerous players ranked first are playing well. The winner of the PGA Championship was Xander Schauffele; Collin Morikawa recently recorded his third consecutive top-five result; and Rory McIlroy has not finished lower than 15th since winning back-to-back tournaments prior to the PGA Championship.

Although all attention will be on the biggest names in golf, there are a few more affordable options for your U.S. Open Championship pool. This is how it operates: There is a wild card ranked outside the top 50, and one player is chosen from each tier of 10 inside the Official World Golf Rankings top 50.

Let’s get to the picks! Most data is from DataGolf.com.

Tier 1 (1-10) | Collin Morikawa

Morikawa seems to be getting closer and closer to his season’s first victory. At the Memorial, he was only one stroke behind Scheffler in second place. That came after consecutive fourth-place showings at the Charles Schwab Challenge and the PGA Championship.

Among the players in the U.S. Open field, he is ranked third in terms of total true strokes gained (+2.94) since the Masters. Scheffler and Schauffele, the top two players in that group, took home the Masters and PGA Championships, respectively.

In short, Morikawa is playing like a player who should win a major, and he is been competitive at both of the majors this year, having tied for third at the Masters and fourth at the PGA Championship.

Morikawa is making consistent putts and hitting the ball well off the tee, on approach, and around the green. He has gained since teeing off at Augusta.On the greens, 70 accurate shots. He was having losses prior to the Masters.43 accurate putter strokes.

The quick greens at Pinehurst No. 2 have previously been noted by players such as 2023 U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark, thus improving your game overall will be necessary to gain strokes. For now, Morikawa has that.

The second birdie of the day on No. 12, the hardest hole on the course today.
@Collin_Morikawa embraces the challenge. pic.twitter.com/8m0D8F3VcG

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 9, 2024

Tier 2 (11-20) | Keegan Bradley

Hideki Matsuyama was the favorite at this level, but since winning the Genesis Open, he has only finished second in big tournaments, so Bradley was chosen instead.

Bradley would probably like to play the last two rounds of the Memorial again after shooting 8 and 6 over. But there are plenty of positive things about Bradley’s recent play, even with his disappointing performance last weekend.

In the Charles Schwab Challenge, he tied for second place. Despite a challenging final two days of play, he was tied for fourth place at 5-under after the second round of the Memorial and had earned 1.23 strokes in the putting competition.

The fact that he gained four strokes in the last two rounds of play last weekend by hitting into water hazards is another cause for hope. Water hazards are practically nonexistent at Pinehurst No. 2, so Bradley will not face that challenge.

He tied for fourth in the 2014 U.S. Open held at this course, demonstrating his earlier success there.

Bradley has a strong chance to demonstrate that his previous two rounds were an exception and that he is still on the rise as long as he keeps the putter in play.

A near slam dunk from @Keegan_Bradley! 🏀

Any idea who the New England native will be rooting for tonight?@MemorialGolf | #NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/pvx4OmqHfG

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 6, 2024

Tier 3 (21-30) | Tony Finau

Finau just had what was, statistically speaking, his best putting display of the year. He made gains.62 real shots on the green at the Memorial, which is a record for him at any competition this year.

Come Sunday, Finau will undoubtedly be vying for the U.S. Open Championship if he can establish it as a pattern. This season, Finau’s bag has been functioning throughout, especially his irons. He is ranked sixth in the field for true strokes gained on approach (+.86) for the tournament this coming weekend.

This weekend, it will be crucial to set up makeable putts, and Finau has been doing that this year. He has a chance to win his first major of the season if he putsts like he did the previous weekend.

Absolute beauty from @TonyFinauGolf 🎯 pic.twitter.com/wFjiv16vVa

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 8, 2024

Tier 4 (31-40) | Bryson DeChambeau

DeChambeau referred to Pinehurst No. 2 as a “ball striker’s paradise” on Tuesday. He is among the top strikers on the field this weekend, so if his evaluation is accurate, that is fantastic news for him.

DeChambeau tops the field in driving distance, even when comparing just to players who competed in the Masters or PGA Championship, despite the fact that he has only played in majors due to his status on the LIV circuit.

However, he is not only using the long ball to get money. In addition to leading the field in real strokes gained off the tee (+1.71), he is also improving his putter and iron play.

His confidence is evident as he finished second in the PGA Championship and tied for sixth at the Masters.

He is scheduled by BetMGM to play this weekend alongside a group of players that have the fifth-best odds (+2000) to win. It does not seem like a poor gamble based on his performance in this year’s majors.

Bryson DeChambeau just won't let up! #PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/FZs8y04Ygw

— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 19, 2024

Tier 5 (41-50) | Robert MacIntyre

After winning his first PGA Tour event at the RBC Canadian Open, MacIntyre is feeling very confident and is receiving a lot more attention ahead of the U.S. Open. There are a few reasons to think he may compete this weekend, even if his father will not be playing for him after caddieing for him in that victory.

The main development in his game is better putting. Since The Players Championship, MacIntyre has never lost a putting stroke. He has improved his putting stroke count by the fourth most of any player in this weekend’s field (+1.08) throughout that time.

Making sure he positions himself for makeable putts will be crucial. He is improved his strokes on approach in eight solo competitions this season, finishing in the top 10 three times and only one stroke off of the top 10 in another.

A birdie and a fist pump from the solo leader!
@Robert1Lefty leads by two in pursuit of his first PGA TOUR victory @RBCCanadianOpen. pic.twitter.com/e6WHL41EhA

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 2, 2024

Rest of the field | Cameron Smith

One thing Smith has done consistently this season is play well around the green, even though his finishes in the two previous majors were dramatically different (tied for sixth in the Masters and 63rd at the PGA). With 1.64 true strokes gained around the green this weekend, he leads the competition.

When playing fast-playing, domed greens, the ability could be useful. Smith may be able to win a major for the second time in his career because of his short game prowess.

Fly like an 🦅

Cameron Smith holes out on 7! #PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/UFazVinZHV

— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 18, 2024

(Photo of Collin Morikawa: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)