FanHouse 'Expert' US Open Picks

The US Open starts Thursday, and because our guessing power is too great to keep bottled up (Note: Nobody here picked Angel Cabrera at Augusta), we give you the FanHouse "Experts" on who will walk away a champion at Bethpage Black.

Will Brinson: I actually think Tiger will win, mainly because of the way he played two weeks ago, his ability to dominate Bethpage and because this is a huge moment in his career. He's done nearly everything, but coming back a year after a major surgery to win the same major in which he injured himself, especially after people did the whole (admittedly tired at this point) IS TIGER DONE??? routine for a few weeks/months, would be beyond ridiculous.

That being said, I'm still a Lefty guy. So I'm picking Phil Mickelson.

Michael David Smith: I'm picking Tiger Woods because I think that this is a huge moment in Tiger's career, and I think Tiger is the kind of athlete who thrives in the biggest moments. I expect him to have the kind of performance we'll be talking about for a long time.

Kevin Blackistone: Geoff Ogilvy. If Tiger is playing, is there really any wisdom in picking someone else as the favorite? No. Consider this answer as point to who I think can win if Tiger plays poorly. Why Ogilvy? He's stared down Tiger before and beaten him, and he leads the PGA in par breakers -- and accuracy, not erratic play, is critically important on a course with the tough reputation of Bethpage Black.

Jay Mariotti: I'm going to shock the world and say this obscure fellow, a Tiger Woods something or another, will win the U.S. Open. He will because his body clock knows it's time to win Major No. 15. He will because Jack Nicklaus said he would. He will because his swing is back and he's no longer babying his knee. He will because he won the Open seven years ago at Bethpage Black. And he will because it's New York and the crowds will demand his renewal of greatness.

Stephanie Stradley: Brian Gay. Because he is tough enough to not mind wearing women's sunglasses. Actually, they are golf sunglasses and are unisex.

Actually, I pick Tiger Woods for all the regular reasons.

Ryan Wilson: Here's what I wrote in April prior to Augusta: "My default answer when it comes to the Masters is always Tiger Woods. It's unimaginative but it's also the right one." I'll be replacing "Masters" with "U.S. Open" for this preview, and a month from now, it'll be the Open Championship. You see where this is going.

Maybe we should do away with predicting winners when Tiger's in the field because, well, it's boring. But the alternative -- spending more than 15 minutes analyzing the field and making an educated guess -- is a waste of time. The last three Masters winners? Angel Cabrera, Trevor Immelman, and Zach Johnson. All great players, but nobody you would have had in your Masters pool.

And prior to Tiger one-legging it around Torrey Pines last year for major victory No. 14, the previous U.S. Open champs included: Angel Cabrera, Geoff Ogilvy, Michael Campbell, Retief Goosen and Jim Furyk. Again, the world's top golfers (save Campbell, who has struggled to find his game the past couple years), but none pre-tournament favorites.

So, yeah, I'm going with Tiger. And if I'm randomly selecting a golfer to win, put me down for Greg Kraft.

Shane Bacon: Like Kevin mentioned, it's almost too easy at this point to go with Tiger. Sure, he is due to win, and everything has lined up perfectly for him this week to claim his 15th major championship. That being said, Woods still "only" wins 27 percent of the time, so it isn't like everyone should drop out of the tournament and give the trophy to Tiger. A guy that i really like this week is Henrik Stenson. He took the Players this year over an incredibly tough field and had two top-10s in majors last year. For some reason it feels like a European could take this crown and like Retief Goosen in the early part of this decade, Stenson is a guy that doesn't seem to let everything else rattle him.