US Open 2023: Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm resume world No 1 battle and chase more success
Jon Rahm can overtake Scottie Scheffler as world No 1 with a win or solo second this week; World's top two have already won six times between them on the PGA Tour in 2023; Watch the US Open live on Thursday from 3pm on Sky Sports Golf
Last Updated: 15/06/23 6:29am
Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm have been the dominant forces on the PGA Tour this season, with the pair set to continue their rivalry at the top of the world rankings this week at the US Open.
Rahm has already won four times on the PGA Tour in 2023, while Scheffler has enjoyed two victories - part of six titles in a 13-month stretch - and posted top-12 finishes in every appearance this year.
Scheffler has dominated the sport from tee-to-green so far this season, topping almost every statistic, with only an ice-cold putter preventing him from reaching the winner's circle more frequently in recent months.
- Will an English player reign at the US Open?
- Scottie Scheffler considers switch to end putting 'struggles'
- Who is playing in the US Open? | Ways to watch live on Sky Sports
The 26-year-old is currently enjoying the fourth stint at world No 1 of his career and has been top of the world rankings since the PGA Championship, although Rahm can leapfrog him by winning or finishing solo second at Los Angeles Country Club this week.
Rahm hasn't contended in his last two worldwide starts but has 10 major top-10 finishes to his name, with the Spaniard winning the first of two major titles at the US Open when it was last held in California back in 2021.
Scheffler is the pre-tournament favourite to claim a second major victory in as many years, which would extend his advantage over Rahm as world No 1, with the American now looking to go one better than last year's runner-up finish.
Battle for No 1: The story so far in 2023
Reigning FedExCup champion Rory McIlroy began 2023 in pole position and retained top spot by starting the year with Hero Dubai Desert Classic victory, a third win in a run of seven worldwide starts where he finished no worse than fourth.
Rahm had started the year as world No 5 but followed victory at the Sentry Tournament of Champions by winning The American Express in his next start, with a top-seven finish at the Farmers Insurance Open a week later closing the gap on the world's top two.
McIlroy saw his 16-week stay as world No 1 ended when Scheffler won the WM Phoenix Open, only for the American to be overtaken a week later when Rahm continued his winning streak with an impressive victory at the Genesis Invitational.
Victory at Riviera Country Club was Rahm's fifth title in a nine-tournament stretch worldwide but a tied-39th finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational opened the door for the chasing duo, although he retained world No 1 when McIlroy shared second and Scheffler claimed tied-fourth at Bay Hill.
McIlroy missed the cut at The Players and Rahm withdrew ahead of his second round due to illness, allowing Scheffler to claim top-spot when he claimed a sixth win in 13 months with a dominant five-shot victory at TPC Sawgrass.
Scheffler was beaten by eventual winner Sam Burns in the semi-finals of the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play a fortnight later, where Rahm suffered a group-stage exit, extending his advantage as world No 1 heading into the major season.
Rahm responded by succeeding Scheffler as Masters champion and world No 1, with a four-shot victory at Augusta National his second major title and fourth win of a remarkable start to 2023.
Both players posted top-15 finishes the following week at the RBC Heritage and Rahm claimed second in his Mexico Open title defence later that month, three strokes behind Tony Finau, while Scheffler missed out on a chance to reclaim top spot by ending tied-fifth at the AT&T Byron Nelson.
Rahm failed to live up to his billing as pre-tournament favourite at the PGA Championship, where he narrowly avoided missing the cut and registered his worst finish of the season, allowing Scheffler to return to top spot by equalling the lowest round of the final day to jump into a share of second.
Scheffler threatened further success at the Charles Schwab Challenge in his next start, where he finished in a share of third and a shot outside of the play-off won by Emiliano Grillo, then produced a tee-to-green masterclass at The Memorial but only finished third after more putting struggles.
He gaining 20.74 strokes from tee to green, the second-best performance since the PGA Tour began tracking such data 20 years ago, only to dead last in putting for those to make the cut after losing a remarkable 8.58 strokes to the field on the greens.
Who will have the edge in Los Angeles?
Rahm stuttered to a tied-16th finish at Muirfield Village that week, the sixth time in eight events he has finished outside the top-10, although feels in good shape about his game heading into the US Open.
"My confidence level is very high," Rahm said in his pre-tournament press conference. "You have to have that belief in yourself as a competitor no matter what happens. You stick to the process and that's basically what I think has happened this year.
There's no magic formula. I've just stuck to working on the things that I have to work on and when you do the little things properly. Eventually scores come, and that's what happened to me late last year and early this year."
Scheffler has considered switching putters at the US Open in an attempt to end the putting problems, although the world No 1 has been left impressed that his struggles on the greens have stopped an impressive first half of the year.
"I'm most proud of what I did mentally there to still somehow give myself a chance to win when I wasn't putting my best," Scheffler explained. "I think that's something that I've worked on over the years out here being on tour, is having that kind of mental edge
"Sometimes I'd let a few bad swings or bad putts ruin my day and I didn't do that, and I haven't done that in a while. I'm very proud of the kind of consistent results that I've put up on the board."
Brooks Koepka will be chasing more success after following a runner-up finish at The Masters by winning the PGA Championship last month, his fifth major title, with another victory this week potentially moving the former world No 1 back inside the world's top five.
McIlroy is without a major victory since 2014 but arrives with top-10 finishes in last three PGA Tour starts, with the 34-year-old looking able to move above Rahm into world No 2 if he was to win the US Open for a second time.
Who will win the US Open? Watch the third men's major of the year exclusively live on Sky Sports. Live coverage of the opening round begins on Thursday from 3pm on Sky Sports Golf.
