The 2014 US Open Championship golf tournament starts on Thursday and the TV coverage hits the schedule on ESPN for the first round and picks up later on NBC and the major is at Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina and has players like Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Adam Scott and Bubba Watson looking to win the tourney.
The US Open starts up on Thursday and continues through the weekend and Rose is coming into the tournament after winning the major last year. Tiger Woods is missing from the field for the major and that is a big loss for the PGA and the TV ratings, but having Mickelson in the US Open Field always makes it interesting and there is a strong group coming in after the St. Jude Classic last week that was won by Ben Crane. Mickelson was up and down through the tournament last week and he is looking to have a fast start to put himself in position on the leaderboard heading into the weekend.
The Open is the only major Mickelson has not yet conquered and Rose was able to top him last year at Merion and now the tourney moves to Pinehurst and the weather is expected to cooperate for most of it. ESPN is picking up the first round coverage from 9 am to 3 pm ET on Thursday and they will continue with coverage from 5 pm to 7 pm and they will have that coverage on Friday as well. Bubba Watson, Adam Scott and Charl Schwartzel will be grouped together, while Mickelson will be with Rose again and he is coming in after the performance at the Jude.
Mickelson has been paired with Rose in the past and he has not played his best at majors in those situations, as he did not break par and was over 70 at the Masters and the PGA Championship last season. Mickelson is coming in and is using a new grip on his putter and he feels he will get a good chance to win the tournament this year, as he said his body is feeling good and he has confidence in his game. Mickelson is playing in his 24th US Open tournament and he said that this course is one that he enjoys and is comfortable playing on.
Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy are two young players that have a chance to make some noise and it comes after Spieth nearly won the Masters earlier in the year. Jack Nicklaus and McIlroy met ahead of the start of the tournament and Rory is coming in after putting up a great score in the Memorial with a 63, but he totally shanked the next day with a 78 after that and he was out of the running and now hopes to stay in things at Pinehurst.
Check here for the US Open Golf Championship 2014 schedule for the PGA Tour major.