U.S. Open Golf 2012: Tiger Woods Favored To Win British Open Despite Poor Play At Home

In the final two rounds of last week's U.S. Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, California, Tiger Woods managed to squander a lead that potentially could have earned him his 15th career major championship. Despite the blown opportunity, the odds makers in Las Vegas have already penciled Woods in as a 6-to-1 early odds favorite to win next month's British Open, which starts July 19 at Royal Lytham in Lancashire, England.

Lee Westwood is second to Woods with 11-to-1 odds, in addition to players like Rory McIlroy (12-to-1) and the No. 1 ranked player in the world, Luke McDonald (14-to-1). Reigning U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson is a longshot 40-to-1 odds favorite to win consecutive trophies at Lancashire.

For a complete list of odds for the 2012 British Open, click here.

For all your news and updates in the run up to the 2012 U.S. Open at Olympic, visit SB Nation's dedicated golf hub. Be sure to head over to USOpen.com for even more coverage from the event.

2012 US Open: Cleveland Native Jason Dufner Moves To No. 8 In Rankings, Maintains Money Lead

After his career-best showing at last week's U.S. Open, Cleveland native Jason Dufner moved up to No. 8 in the world rankings -- and maintained his No. 1 ranking among the PGA Tour money leaders.

An article from the Opelika Auburn News -- Dufner played college golf at Auburn -- broke down where Dufner stands following his strong showing at the U.S. Open:

Dufner maintained his lead on the PGA Tour money list, receiving a check of $276,841. He now has earned $4.077 million through 15 events this season, almost $822,000 more than second-place Hunter Mahan.

The former Tiger also received 114 FedEx Cup points, maintaining his lead in the standings with 1,849 this season. He has 340 more points than Mahan, who is second.

Open champion Webb Simpson gave the World Golf Rankings top 10 its biggest change, climbing nine spots to 5^th place. The top three were unchanged, even though No. 1 Luke Donald and No. 2 Rory McIlroy missed the cut while No. 3 Lee Westwood had a top 10 finish at the Open at 5-over.

Last weekend was the fourth time this season that Dufner has finished in the top four at a tournament. He notched his first career win at the Zurich Classic at the end of April, and a few weeks later got another No. 1 finish at the HP Byron Nelson -- both good for $1 million-plus paydays.

He finished second at the Crowne Plaza Invitational, which netted him another $691,000.

For all your news and updates in the run up to the 2012 U.S. Open at Olympic, visit SB Nation's dedicated golf hub. Be sure to head over to USOpen.com for even more coverage from the event.

2012 U.S. Open: Ratings Up For Final Day At Olympic

The 2012 U.S. Open received a boost in ratings for the final day of competition despite the fact that relative unknown Webb Simpson captured the title. The increase in ratings from the 2011 final, which saw Rory McIlroy come out victorious, can be attributed to how close the competition was for this year's nation's championship.

Via USA Today:

The U.S. Open on NBC Sunday drew a 6.6 overnight. Predictably, that's up from last year's final-round coverage -- by 29% -- when the event's finish wasn't close and, more importantly, it didn't run in East Coast primetime.

But compared to two previous West Coast U.S. Opens that has similar primetime schedules -- in 2008 and 2010 -- NBC's Sunday coverage was down. It was down 22% from 2008 and 4% from 2010.

While the primetime coverage would seem to help the event, it was more than likely the reason why the ratings were down compared to the other West Coast based Opens. Sunday's final round was forced to go head-to-head with Game 3 of the NBA Finals, which seemed to hurt the ratings for both events as viewers were split over what to tune into.

For all your news and updates in the run-up to the 2012 U.S. Open at Olympic, visit SB Nation's dedicated golf hub. Be sure to head over to USOpen.com for even more coverage from the event.

World Golf Rankings 2012: Webb Simpson Rises To No. 5 With Open Win

Following his impressive win on Sunday at the 2012 U.S. Open at the Olympic Club, Webb Simpson has risen nine spots in the World Golf Rankings to the No. 5 position. This is Simpson's third career professional victory as his previous best finish at a major was a tie for 16th at the 2011 U.S. Open.

Despite Simpson's rise, the top-four remained unchanged as players such as Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood and Luke McDonald failed to put together a strong enough performance to mirror Simpson's ascension to No. 5. Graeme McDowell on the other hand was capable of turning a strong outing this weekend into tangible results as he rocketed 10-spots from the No. 21 ranking all the way to the No. 11 spot.

For all your news and updates in the run-up to the 2012 U.S. Open at Olympic, visit SB Nation's dedicated golf hub. Be sure to head over to USOpen.com for even more coverage from the event.

U.S. Open 2012 Results: Jason Dufner Ends Up In Tie For 4th After Exciting Weekend

It was a valiant effort put on by Cleveland's Jason Dufner in the U.S. Open. On a weekend at a course where anything looked like it could happen -- and in the end, anything did as an underdog raced to the finish to win it -- Dufner put on a solid performance and ended up finishing in a several way tie for fourth place.

Dufner was one of the favorites for the tournament at the start, though all of the press was covering the 'superstar' trio that would be golfing together the first two rounds. Tiger Woods, Bubba Watson and Phil Mickelson were together and were all expected to put on a show at the Olympic Club, but the grueling course had other ideas. Both Watson and Mickelson had horrific first rounds, knocking Watson out early and Mickelson by the time Sunday had arrived.

Tiger Woods managed to hold on until Sunday, but his solid numbers never turned into outright dominance and he was never able to pull away completely from Michael Thompson, Jim Furyk, Graeme McDowell and others who ended up near the top as the rounds went along. Webb Simpson was never in contention through the first three holes, though his numbers stayed low enough to keep him solidly rolling along.

Sunday was the important day, and Webb Simpson was the one who took the most advantage. A fantastic -2 final round was enough to put him at the top, and though guys like Furyk and Dufner made great efforts, they all fell just short. Tiger Woods had a terrible final day and didn't challenge much, never coming close to the +1 scoreline that won the Open for Simpson, his first ever Major victory.

They promised excitement at the Olympic Club and that's exactly what we got.

You can find the final leaderboard here at USOpen.com.

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U.S. Open Prize Money 2012: Jason Dufner Wins Decent Amount Of Money For 4th Place Finish

Cleveland native Jason Dufner gave a valiant effort in this year's U.S. Open, ending up in a several way tie for fourth place with three strokes over par after taking on the grueling course well over the weekend. For his efforts, he won a decent amount of the purse in the end, taking home $276,841. Webb Simpson's first place finish, his first ever in a Major, netted him $1.4 million.

Missing, of course, from the group of money winners is anyone from the 'supergroup' of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson, all of whom fell out of the tournament long before everyone expected that they would.

Here's the full list of money winners and their payouts from this year's Open:

1 Webb Simpson (+1): $1,440,000
T2 Michael Thompson (+2): $695,916
T2 Graeme McDowell (+2): $695,916
T4 Jason Dufner (+3): $276,841
T4 Padraig Harrington (+3): $276,841
T4 David Toms (+3): $276,841
T4 John Peterson (+3): $276,841
T4 Jim Furyk (+3): $276,841
9 Ernie Els (+4): $200,280
T10 John Senden (+5): $163,594
T10 Kevin Chappell (+5): $163,594
T10 Casey Wittenberg (+5): $163,594
T10 Retief Goosen (+5): $163,594
T10 Lee Westwood (+5): $163,594

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U.S. Open 2012 Highlights: Crazy Fan Interupts Winner's Interview

Webb Simpson achieved the greatest moment of his professional golf career on Sunday by winning the 2012 U.S. Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, but it was a bizarre fan that stole the show during his winner's interview. As Simpson was speaking with Bob Costas about the weekend's tournament, a fan dressed in a British flag stepped in front of the camera and, for lack of a better term, made a fool of himself:

The fan was quickly escoted out of the shot by security, but it was indeed a strange moment on an otherwise perfect day for Simpson. It is likely that Simpson won't mind the intrusion after winning his first major.

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U.S. Open 2012 Results: Jason Dufner Tops Ohio Golfers

With a torrid finish Jason Dufner almost won the 2012 U.S. Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, but it wasn't enough for the Cleveland native. Dufner finished in a group of five golfers just two strokes off the pace on Sunday, losing to Webb Simpson who fired a one over par for the tournament. Dufner finished at three over par after a final round that was even. He played the back nine at one over on Sunday.

Among other golfers from Ohio Joe Ogilvie did not have as good of a weekend as Dufner. Ogilvie finished last among the 72 golfers that made the cut with a nine over par on Sunday to finish 23 over for the tournament. Jason Day did not do much better. Day was Three over par on Sunday to finish at 15 over for the tournament in 59th place.

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US Open Winner 2012: Webb Simpson Earns First Major Title

The 2012 U.S. Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco was a war of attrition, and in the end a surprise victory overcame. Webb Simpson, a 26-year old from North Carolina with only a pair of PGA Tour victories since turning pro in 2008, won his first major by firing a two-under par 68 on Sunday to finish at one-over for the tournament.

Simpson had to sit int he clubhouse with the lead as Graeme McDowell had a chance to tie on the final hole, but McDowell couldn't get the necessary birdie on 18 to force a playoff. McDowell and Michael Thompson, who had a three-under 67 on Sunday, finished second a stroke behind Simpson.

Cleveland native Jason Dufner made a final charge to finish two strokes in back of the lead at three-over. Dufner tied with four other golfers for fourth place.

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2012 U.S. Open Golf Leaderboard: Jason Dufner Cards 1-Over 35 On Front To Stay Five Strokes Off Lead

Jason Dufner certainly isn't feeling the pressure at the 112th U.S. Open Championship, and the Cleveland native continues to string together pars and remains firmly in the hunt after completing his front nine on Sunday.

Dufner entered the day at 3-over par and four strokes away from leaders Graeme McDowell and Jim Furyk, and aside from a bogey at No. 2, has been playing quite well in his final round. Dufner reeled off seven consecutive pars on holes No. 3-9 to card his 35, and will begin a manageable back nine stretch where he'll need to start being a tad more aggressive.

With the course continuing to take its toll on the field, Dufner's current 4-over mark for the tournament is currently good for 8th place, but he remains just one stroke away from 4th place contenders. Knowing the sheer unpredictability that has plagued major tournaments in the past, Dufner could benefit from posting a strong score in the clubhouse while the leaders toil away on the course.

Visit USOpen.com for the latest live leaderboard.

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2012 U.S. Open Golf Leaderboard: Tiger Woods Tumbles Down After Woeful Front 9

It looks like Tiger Woods' quest to reclaim his mojo as the sport's best player will have to wait until later this summer. That's because Woods, who entered Sunday's final round at the Olympic Club just five strokes off the lead, completely collapsed over his first few holes to drop significantly off the pace and well out of contention.

Woods started off with a pair of bogeys on the first two holes to drop to 6-over for the tournament, then proceeded to double bogey the par-3 third hole in embarrassing fashion. Bogeys on No. 5 and No. 6 followed next for the former world No. 1, as he officially dropped all the way down to 10-over and 11 strokes off the lead.

With par looking like the winning score by round's end, the final duo of Graeme McDowell and Jim Furyk remain in a deadlocked tie for the lead as they approach the tee box at No. 3. Five players, including Ernie Else, remain at least four strokes behind and well within striking distance.

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2012 US Open Tee Times And Pairings For Sunday: Jim Furyk, Graeme McDowell Are In Final Group, Jason Dufner In The Hunt

Players with local ties Joe Ogilvie, Jason Dufner and Jason Day will all play on Sunday in the final round of the US Open. Ogilvie tees off at 9:20 a.m., followed by Day at 9:40 a.m. and Dufner at 2:20 p.m.

Dufner is tied for eighth at +3 while Day and Ogilvie barely made the cut with a +12 and +14, respectively.

All Ohio eyes will be on Dufner as he has continued to get better as the tournament has progressed with rounds of 72, 71 and 70 heading into Sunday's final round. He currently sits four shots behind leaders, Jim Furyk and Graeme McDowell, who both sit at -1.

9:20 a.m.: Stephen Ames, Joe Ogilvie

9:40 a.m.: Jason Day, Simon Dyson

9:50 a.m.: Jesse Mueller, J.B. Park

10:00 a.m.: Michael Allen, Keegan Bradley

10:10 a.m.: Rod Pampling, Matthew Baldwin

10:20 a.m.: Kyung-Tae Kim, Zach Johnson

10:30 a.m.: Davis Love III, Nicholas Thompson

10:40 a.m.: Kevin Streelman, Alistair Presnell

10:50 a.m.: Marc Warren, Morgan Hoffmann

11:00 a.m.: Darron Stiles, Hiroyuki Fujita

11:10 a.m.: Francesco Molinari, Jeff Curl

11:20 a.m.: Rickie Fowler, Patrick Cantlay

11:30 a.m.: Ian Poulter, Matteo Manassero

11:40 a.m.: Branden Grace, Phil Mickelson

11:50 a.m.: Bob Estes, Charl Schwartzel

12:00 p.m.: K.J. Choi, Nick Watney

12:10 p.m.: Steve Stricker, Robert Karlsson

12:20 p.m.: Jonathan Byrd, Alex Cejka

12:30 p.m.: Jordan Spieth, Angel Cabrera

12:40 p.m.: Steve LeBrun, Hunter Mahan

12:50 p.m.: Raphael Jacquelin, Kevin Na

1:00 p.m.: Scott Langley, Adam Scott

1:10 p.m.: David Toms, Michael Thompson

1:20 p.m.: Aaron Watkins, Charlie Wi

1:30 p.m.: Sergio Garcia, Justin Rose

1:40 p.m.: Padraig Harrington, Hunter Hamrick

1:50 p.m.: Casey Wittenberg, Tiger Woods

2:00 p.m.: Matt Kuchar, Martin Kaymer

2:10 p.m.: Retief Goosen, John Peterson

2:20 p.m.: Jason Dufner, Beau Hossler

2:30 p.m.: John Senden, Kevin Chappell

2:40 p.m.: Webb Simpson, Nicolas Colsaerts

2:50 p.m.: Blake Adams, Ernie Els

3:00 p.m.: Lee Westwood, Fredrik Jacobson

3:10 p.m.: Jim Furyk, Graeme McDowell

For more 2012 U.S. Open coverage, stay with this StoryStream and head over to SB Nation's dedicated golf hub. Also make sure to check out USOpen.com for even more event coverage.

2012 U.S. Open Golf Leaderboard: Jason Duffner Just Off The Pace After Round 3

Through three rounds at the 2012 U.S. Open the Olympic course is chewing up the field, but a few golfers are still battling it out with a chance to win on Sunday. one of those golfers is Cleveland native Jason Dufner. Dufner finished Saturday at even par to stay within striking distance of the leaders. He is now three over for the tournament, and is four strokes off the lead pack amongst a host of other competitors.

Jim Furyk, Graeme McDowell, and Fredrik Jacobson all are tied for the lead at one under par for the tournament. Dufner finds himself in a six-way tie for eighth place with Tiger Woods among those six golfers. Dufner should be among several in contention on what will be an exciting Sunday in San Francisco.

For all your news and updates in the run up to the 2012 U.S. Open at Olympic, visit SB Nation's dedicated golf hub. Be sure to head over to USOpen.com for even more coverage from the event.

2012 U.S. Open Golf Leaderboard: Two Ohio Golfers Finish Early

A total of five golfers from the Cleveland area are taking part in this weekend's U.S. Open, and Saturday's Third Round saw two golfer's already finished after missing the cut. Cincinnati's Jim Herman finished 10 over par on Friday to miss the cut. Dennis Miller, who played collegiately at Youngstown State, finished Friday at 22 over par. Neither played on Saturday.

Among Saturday's Ohio golfers:

• Joe Ogilvie from Lancaster, Ohio finished the day at six over par for a total of 14 over for the weekend. among the golfers that made the cut Ogilvie is second to last, leading only Stephen Ames by two strokes.
  
• Jason Day, who resides in Columbus part time, was also six over for the day and is now 12 over for the tournament. He is also near the bottom of the golfers that made the cut.
• Jason Dufner, a Cleveland native, was at even par for the day through 14 holes and was still somewhat in contention for the title. Dufner is three over for the tournament and is four strokes behind leader Jim Furyk.
• For all your news and updates in the run up to the 2012 U.S. Open at Olympic, visit SB Nation's dedicated golf hub. Be sure to head over to USOpen.com for even more coverage from the event.

U.S. Open 2012 Day 3 Update: Jason Dufner Works Through Front 9

Jason Dufner has teed off at Day 3 of the U.S. Open at Olympic Club in San Francisco, where as expected, just about everyone has struggled to shoot low scores. Coming into Saturday's action, Dufner was 3-over on the tournament and remained that way through the first two holes of Day 3.

Dufner parred the first hole after making birdie on Thursday and bogeying the same hole on Friday. Six other players are in the mix with Dufner, tied for 9th place.

Tiger Woods, Jim Furyk and David Toms share the lead at 1-under par, and all three golfers should be teeing off pretty soon.

Michael Thompson, who held the lead on Friday but lost it on Saturday, opened his day with a birdie to improve his score to even-par.

For all your news and updates in the run up to the 2012 U.S. Open at Olympic, visit SB Nation's dedicated golf hub. Be sure to head over to USOpen.com for even more coverage from the event.

US Open 2012: High Scores Still Expected Through Round 3

Despite the water treatment earlier in the day, scores are still expected to soar through the third round of the 2012 U.S. Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, California. While it may be early in the day, the front nine on Saturday is proving that players are still struggling with the challenging course at Olympic.

Despite the course being somewhat softer than it was through the first two days, the first half of players who have already started their rounds are a combined 38-over par on the day. Only five players are under par, all of which are one-under.

Of the groups on the course, Alex Cejka is 1-under through five and 6-over for the tournament. Keegan Bradley, Adam Scott and Morgan Freeman are also at 6-over, seven shots back of the lead. Phil Mickelson is even-par through five, still at 7-over for the tournament.

For all your news and updates in the run up to the 2012 U.S. Open at Olympic, visit SB Nation's dedicated golf hub. Be sure to head over to USOpen.com for even more coverage from the event.

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US Open Golf 2012: Olympic Club Gets Water Treatment

On Saturday morning, USGA executive director Mike Davis gave the order to have the Olympic Club treated with water in an attempt to slow down the difficult course. While the water will in no way help decrease the scores, it will go a long way in terms of helping out the players, at least for a short while.

Through the first two rounds of the United States' national championship, the course at Olympic has been compared to a driveway in the way in which shots have rocketed off of initial bounces. This has made it difficult for players to attempt their approach shots. With temperatures expected in the high 80s on Saturday, odds are the water will only make a difference early in the morning prior to speeding up in the afternoon once again.

For all your news and updates in the run up to the 2012 U.S. Open at Olympic, visit SB Nation's dedicated golf hub. Be sure to head over to USOpen.com for even more coverage from the event.

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U.S. Open 2012: Jason Dufner Still In The Hunt, Tied For 9th

After shooting a 1-under par on Friday at the U.S. Open, Cleveland native Jason Dufner is in position to make a run at the title so long as the field scores remain as sporadic as they've been the last two days.

At 3-over for the tournament, Dufner is tied for ninth place with eight other golfers, while Tiger Woods, Jim Furyk and David Tomas are all tied atop the leaderboard with 1-under par scores for the tournament.

Early in the U.S. Open we saw Phil Mickelson, defending Open champion Rory McIlroy, 2012 Masters champion Bubba Watson among other well-known players struggle with high scores at Olympic in San Francisco.

Dufner appears to be staying the course, and is so far a survivor of what's been a difficult outing this weekend. He'll tee off Saturday at 2:15 p.m.

Read more about the U.S. Open at our dedicated golf hub page and view the live leaderboard at USOpen.com. Be sure to follow our StoryStream for updates on Cleveland native Jason Dufner.

2012 U.S. Open Odds: Tiger Woods Still Favorite To Win

The daily odds for the 2012 U.S. Open are out and Tiger Woods, the favorite coming into the tournament this weekend, is still the odds-on favorite with a 5/4 chance to win, according to betting odds website Bovada. Woods has spent much of the tournament in second place, looking to take over that No. 1 spot either Saturday or Sunday.

Cleveland native Jason Dufner's odds of winning the tournament as of Saturday were 33/1. Check out the full list right here:

Tiger Woods
5/4

Jim Furyk
5/1

David Toms
10/1

Graeme McDowell
14/1

Nicolas Colsaerts
25/1

Matt Kuchar
22/1

Jason Dufner
33/1

Hunter Mahan
28/1

Charl Schwartzel
33/1

Lee Westwood
33/1

K.J. Choi
40/1

Justin Rose
50/1

Sergio Garcia
66/1

Padraig Harrington
66/1

Fredrik Jacobson
66/1

Steve Stricker
66/1

Michael - H Thompson
66/1

Blake Adams
80/1

Ernie Els
80/1

Phil Mickelson
80/1

John Peterson
100/1

Nick Watney
100/1

Ian Poulter
125/1

Webb Simpson
125/1

Jason Day
150/1

Raphael Jacquelin
150/1

Robert Karlsson
150/1

Martin Kaymer
150/1

Adam Scott
150/1

Charlie Wi
150/1

Keegan Bradley
200/1

Jonathan Byrd
200/1

Retief Goosen
200/1

Branden Grace
200/1

Matteo Manassero
200/1

Francesco Molinari
200/1

Kevin Na
200/1

John Senden
200/1

Beau Hossler
250/1

Michael Allen
300/1

Aaron Watkins
300/1

Read more about the U.S. Open at our dedicated golf hub page and check out USOpen.com for an updated leaderboard.

2012 U.S. Open Golf: TV Schedule, Live Updates, Streaming And More

The third round of the 2012 U.S. Open begins Saturday with the field cut to 72 players. The USGA will continue the tradition of primetime coverage at West Coast venues. Mike Davis and company began setting later tee times at Torrey Pines in 2008 and repeated it with great success at Pebble Beach in 2012. The weekend means they'll no longer have to squeeze in two waves of tee times comprised of threesomes, setting a more typical schedule.

The final group of Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk will not tee off until 6:05 p.m. ET, with nearly their entire round coming in primetime. ESPN will now hand over the complete broadcast coverage to NBC. As usual, Dan Hicks and Johnny Miller will anchor the coverage with a cast the typical Gary Koch, Roger Maltbie, Mark Rolfing, Peter Jacobsen and others. NBC will come on the air a 4:00 p.m. ET and the broadcast is scheduled to run until 10:00 p.m. ET, although it's likely Woods and Furyk are not finished by then and NBC will be on the air past that.

In addition to the television coverage on NBC, USOpen.com will be live streaming the action from two of the most exciting holes on the course -- No. 8 and No. 18. Both provide two potential birdie opportunities and USOpen.com will have two of the more exciting approach shots on the course. Visit their site for a complete list of TV, radio, and streaming schedules.

Check out USOpen.com for the latest live leaderboard.

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2012 U.S. Open Tee Times And Pairings For Saturday: Tiger Woods, Jim Furyk Will Play In Final Group

With the field trimmed down to 72 players, the third round of the 2012 U.S. Open will begin Saturday afternoon at The Olympic Club. Tiger Woods was not as sharp on Friday compared to the shot-making of Thursday, but he held the line and is tied for the lead at 1-under. He will play in the final group of the day with Jim Furyk. The two past champions will play most of their round in primetime in the east, with a 6:05 p.m. ET start time.

A number of Americans are in the hunt either on or near the first page of the leaderboard. Jason Dufner, the Tour's hottest player coming into the week, is still in contention at 3-over. Dufner had a rocky start on Friday but managed to shoot a round of 71. He will tee off at 5:15 p.m. ET with another superstar American who's had a successful Spring, Matt Kuchar. A complete list of Saturday's tee times below:

Check out USOpen.com for the latest live leaderboard.

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U.S. Open Cut 2012: Bubba Watson, Rory McIlroy Out After Two Rounds

The cut line at the 2012 U.S. Open claimed a few notable casualties on Friday, following the second round of play on the tough links at the Olympic Club in San Francisco. The cut line fell at 8-over. This year Masters champion Bubba Watson is out as is Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson and Casey Martin.

Watson shot a 71 in the second round, but it was not enough to overcome a 78 in the first round. McIlroy was better on Friday with a 73. He finished at 10-over following a 77 in the first round. Martin finished at 9-over after struggling on the front nine.

The top 60 players after the second round make the cut.

Check out USOpen.com for the latest live leaderboard.

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U.S. Open 2012 Golf Scores And Results: Tiger Woods Tied For The Lead

The second round of the 2012 U.S. Open concluded on Friday night with a familiar face on top of the leaderboard. Tiger Woods shook off a rough start to the day finishing strong at 1-under and in a three-way tie for the lead.

Woods had a 36 after the first nine. He changed course with a birdie on No. 10 and another on No. 13 to finish with a 70 in the second round. He is now tied with Jim Furyk and David Toms for the lead at 1-under. Those three are the only players to finish the second round with a total score under par.

After shooting a 66 in the first round, Michael Thompson shot a 75 on Friday, putting him at 1-over along with four others.

Cleveland's own Jason Dufner shot a 71 in the second round and finished the day within striking distance at 3-over.

Check out USOpen.com for the latest live leaderboard.

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2012 U.S. Open Leaderboard: Tiger Woods Tied For Lead With Jim Furyk

Tiger Woods is back on top as the second round of the 2012 U.S. Open continues on Thursday evening. Woods shot a birdie on the No. 13 to put him at 1-under. He followed that up with a par on No. 14, and that is where he sits as of this update.

Furyk finished the day with a 69 to put him at 1-under. He birdied three times, on No. 3, No. 7 and No. 15. That helped him overcome a pair of bogeys. He had par on the other others to improve on the 70 he shot on Thursday.

David Toms and Alistair Presnell are close behind, both sitting at even so far through the second round. Toms shot a birdie on No. 11 and just finished No. 12 at par. Presnell is only through No. 17; he started on the back nine. Presnell is riding a hot hand with birdies on his last two holes.

Check out USOpen.com for the latest live leaderboard.

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2012 U.S. Open Golf Leaderboard: 17-Year-Old Amateur Beau Hossler Takes Share Of Lead

After a difficult morning that saw only a handful of golfers break par, 17-year-old amateur golfer Beau Hossler burst onto the scene on Friday afternoon at the 112th U.S. Open to take a share of the lead at 1-under par.

Hossler, who shot an even par 70 on Thursday, opened his Friday round on No. 9 and proceeded to reel off eight consecutive pars before birdieing the par-5 17th. Hossler made the turn with a birdie-bogey combination on the front nine, but the strong effort to open his round allowed him to pull into a tie with clubhouse leader Jim Furyk at 1-under for the tournament.

Directly behind Hossler on the leaderboard is none other than favorite Tiger Woods, who bogied three consecutive holes to give away the brief lead he held earlier in the day before making the turn. Michael Thompson, the 18-hole leader at 4-under, has fallen off the pace significantly in round two and is a woeful 5-over through 10 holes.

Check out USOpen.com for the latest live leaderboard.

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U.S. Open Leaderboard 2012: Tiger Woods Takes The Lead At Olympic

Tiger Woods has taken the lead at the 2012 U.S. Open, carding a birdie two at the incredibly long par-3 third hole. Woods continues to make his way through the impossibly tough first six-hole stretch at the Lake Course at Olympic. He played it at 1-under on Thursday, and he's 1-under through the first three on Friday. He said before the tournament started that any player who could get through the first six would pick up "boatloads" of shots on the field -- so far, that's been the key to his rise to sole possession of the lead.

Before the birdie at No. 3, Woods made a key par save at the second to stay under par. He then followed that up by striping his tee shot at the third to within 10 feet of the front-left pin location. Woods was in complete control of his game on Thursday, playing his best round and shaping all the shots. His low stinger has kept him out of trouble off the tee, and he's executing his "game plan" (as he referred to it several times after Round 1). It didn't take long for him to build on that momentum from Thursday and take the lead.

Check out USOpen.com for the latest live leaderboard.

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2012 U.S. Open Golf Leaderboard: Jason Dufner Shoots 1-Over 71 To Stay In Hunt

After carding a 1-over 71 on Friday, Cleveland native Jason Dufner sits in good shape at the 112th U.S. Open Championship with the majority of golfers still toiling away on the course.

Dufner started off his morning round on the wrong foot with a bogey on the first and a double bogey three holes later on No. 4, but used a pair of birdie putts on No. 7 and No. 9 to claw back to 1-over for the day. Two more birdies at the par-3 15th and par-5 17th holes rounded out his 2nd attempt at the Olympic Club's difficult track in strong fashion.

The 18-hole leader after an impressive 66 on Thursday, Michael Thompson currently holds a three-stroke lead on the field after just two holes played on Friday with a number of big names breathing down his neck. Behind him lies tour veteran Jim Furyk, who posted one of the best rounds of the day with a 69 to pull within three shots of Thompson and position himself well for the weekend.

Fan favorite Tiger Woods, also three shots off the lead at 1-under for the tournament, has not yet finished his first hole after teeing off at 4:18 p.m. ET. Woods could benefit from the late start on Friday as a number of his closest competitors continue to drop rapidly off the leaderboard.

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2012 U.S. Open Golf Leaderboard: Cleveland Native Jason Dufner 1-Over On Day 2

Cleveland native Jason Dufner currently sits at 1-over par through ten holes on the second day of the 2012 U.S. Open taking place at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, California on Friday afternoon. Dufner came into the day 2-over par and is now tied for 29th with a 3-over par overall score. Despite recording a bogey and double bogey on two of the first four holes he played, Dufner bounced back with birdies on the seventh and ninth holes

In addition, Ohio resident Jason Day is 2-over on the day and is tied for 87th with an overall score of 7-over par, while Youngstown native Dennis Miller sits at 12-over par on the day with one hole left to play in his tournament. He currently sits at 155th place at 22-over and will not make the cut for the weekend.

Michael Thompson sits atop the leaderboard after shooting a 4-under par on Day 1 and has yet to begin his second round. Graeme McDowell sits in second at 2-under par, while Jim Furyk, Tiger Woods and David Toms are tied for third at 1-under.

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2012 U.S. Open Odds: Tiger Woods In 2nd, Still Leading Odds On Day 2

The cards in the U.S. Open are still falling for Tiger Woods, at least in the odds department. Despite being in a tie for second place overall going into the second day of competition, Bovada's latest odds for the tourney still have Woods comfortably as the favorite to win it all.

The biggest drop due to day one performance came from reigning U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy, whose dismal +4 first day bumped his odds all the way down to 100/1, despite starting the tournament as one of the favorites with top five odds. Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson, both in the 'group of death' with Tiger Woods, faltered on day one with awful +6 and +8 scores respectively.

Cleveland native Jason Dufner is still considered a favorite despite ending the first day with a +2 score, holding decent 20/1 odds.

Here are the some of the favorites in Bovada's latest odds:

Tiger Woods 9/4
Justin Rose 8/1
Matt Kuchar 12/1
Graeme McDowell 16/1
Jim Furyk 16/1
Jason Dufner 20/1
Lee Westwood 20/1
Nick Watney 22/1
Hunter Mahan 25/1
Ian Poulter 25/1
Michael H Thompson 25/1
David Toms 28/1
Rickie Fowler 33/1
Jonathan Byrd 40/1
Francesco Molinari 50/1
Robert Karlsson 50/1
Sergio Garcia 50/1
Webb Simpson 66/1
Branden Grace 80/1
Charl Schwartzel 80/1
Ryo Ishikawa 80/1

For all your news, notes, updates and analysis throughout the 2012 U.S. Open at Olympic, make sure you stay tuned to this StoryStream and also visit SB Nation's dedicated golf hub. Be sure to head over to USOpen.com for even more coverage from the event.

U.S. Open 2012 Tee Times And Pairings For Friday: Jason Dufner Plays In The Morning Wave, Tiger Woods In Primetime

The second round of U.S. Open begins Friday and continues the toughest test in golf. Only six of 156 players in the field were under par after Thursday's first round, and there should be plenty more wreckage on Friday as the numbers continue to climb. Cleveland native Jason Dufner is near the first page of the leaderboard and certainly still in contention at 2-over. Dufner battled through the first round, holding on and actually even carding a birdie at the nearly impossible first hole. He'll start at No. 1 today with Jason Day and Louis Oosthuizen at 11:32 a.m. ET.

The superstar group of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and Bubba Watson will go off in the late afternoon and finish their round in primetime in the east. They're scheduled to go off at 4:18 p.m. ET on No. 1. Woods looked in total control on Thursday but Mickelson and Watson will have to hold the line and pick up some birdies if they want to make the weekend.

Morning wave off No. 1 tee:

Morning wave off No. 10 tee:

Afternoon wave off No. 1 tee:

Afternoon wave off No. 9 tee:

For all your news and updates throughout the 2012 U.S. Open at Olympic, stay tuned to this StoryStream and visit SB Nation's dedicated golf hub. Be sure to head over to USOpen.com for even more coverage from the event.

2012 U.S. Open Golf: TV Schedule, Live Updates, Streaming And More

The second round of the 2012 U.S. Open will take place over yet another full day, with players teeing off just after 7 a.m. local time and play continuing almost until sundown. It's the toughest test in golf and the USGA allows time for broadcast of almost all the carnage. ESPN will start the broadcast before handing things off to NBC, whose coverage is led by analyst and Olympic member Johnny Miller. The broadcast is scheduled to run until 10 p.m. ET on ESPN, but slower play pushed the coverage well past that on Thursday.

If you're stuck in the office and unable to watch on television, USOpen.com will once again provide live streaming of two marquee groups both in the morning and afternoon waves. The morning stream will follow the group of Jim Furyk, Sergio Garcia, and Graeme McDowell. Both Furyk and McDowell are former U.S. Open Champions and two of the six players under par after the first round. The afternoon marquee group stream will of course follow Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and Bubba Watson at 4:18 p.m. ET. You can find a full schedule of and links to the live stream broadcasts here at USOpen.com.

Friday's Second Round Broadcast Schedule

12:00-3:00 p.m. ET - ESPN

3:00-5:00 p.m. ET - NBC

5:00-10:00 p.m. ET - ESPN

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U.S. Open 2012: Jason Dufner Ends Day One At 2-Over, Dennis Miller Not So Fortunate

It's safe to say that neither of the local Cleveland guys did exceptionally well on Day 1 of the 2012 U.S. Open. Jason Dufner finished 2-over par, but Dennis Miller was +10 and never really seemed to have a shot at contention.

Perhaps Dufner can get things going on Day 2.

Meanwhile, Michael Thompson finished the day atop the leaderboard with -4, 66 score, which puts him three strokes ahead of the next golfer.

Tiger Woods is a part of that crew of five players in second place at 2-under.

The biggest disappointments on the day were defending U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson and 2012 Masters champion Bubba Watson, who were paired with Woods. Mickelson ended the day at +6 with a 76 score and Watson was even worse, going +8. McIlroy shot a +7, 77 score.

For all your news, notes, updates and analysis throughout the 2012 U.S. Open at Olympic, make sure you stay tuned to this StoryStream and also visit SB Nation's dedicated golf hub. Be sure to head over to USOpen.com for even more coverage from the event.

2012 US Open Update: Jason Dufner Still 2-Over

Jason Dufner is with the struggling crowd of golfers fighting for contention at Day 1 of the 2012 U.S. Open. Dufner, the Cleveland native most recently bogeyed on 12 and 16.

Michael Thompson leads the field with a 4-under par score of 66. A crowd of golfers are behind him at 1-under, a group that includes Tiger Woods and Rickie Fowler.

Reigning 2011 U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy is struggling quite a bit, sitting at +4 through 14 holes. Phil Mickelson is has been the most disappointing story of the star players so far, having gone 6-over par with a score 76 in the first round.

For all your news, notes, updates and analysis throughout the 2012 U.S. Open at Olympic, make sure you stay tuned to this StoryStream and also visit SB Nation's dedicated golf hub. Be sure to head over to USOpen.com for even more coverage from the event.

U.S. Open 2012: Jason Dufner At Two-Over Through Nine Holes

Cleveland native Jason Dufner has completed his first nine holes at the U.S. Open and stands at two-over-par. Dufner, who started on the ninth hole, bogeyed the 12th and 16th hole during his opening round. He is tied for 41st.

Dennis Miller, a qualifier from Youngstown, is at eight-over through his first 12 holes. The lone bright spot of his round thus far was a birdie on the eighth hole.

Dufner and Miller are chasing fellow American Michael Thompson for the U.S. Open lead. Thompson, who has completed his round, is four-under par.

With the tournament taking place in San Francisco, there are several golfers still on the course due to the later start.

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U.S. Open 2012: Thompson Leads, But Several On Course Still Charging

With the most of the leaders hovering around par, American Michael Thompson is in the clubhouse at four-under-par, currently three strokes better than any other golfer at the U.S. Open.

Thompson had an eventful first round, notching seven birdies and three bogeys in the first 18 holes. He is ranked No. 107 on the PGA Tour Money List.

With many golfers still on the course, Thompson's day has been unrivaled. There are five golfers at one-under par, including Tiger Woods and David Toms, who are both finished for the day.

Masters winner Bubba Watson did not fare as well in the first round, shooting eight-over-par. He is in danger of missing the cut.

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U.S. Open 2012: Tiger Woods Finishes First Round Near Top Of The Leaderboard

After a round of one-under-par, Tiger Woods went into the clubhouse three shots behind leader Michael Thompson in the first round of the U.S. Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, California.

Starting at the ninth tee, it didn't appear as though Woods' first round would be worth noting as a bogey on the 14th had him at +1 after six holes. But a birdie on the 17th hole had him at even-par by the time he hit the front-nine.

That is when Woods began his charge, making birdie at the fourth and fifth hole to give him a score of -2 as he prepared for the final three holes.

A bad bogey on the sixth hole dropped him one stroke to his eventual final score of -1.

Woods, who has finished in the top-six at the U.S. Open the last four times he has played it, is in contention yet again.

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VIDEO: Dennis Miller Is Living The Dream At 2012 U.S. Open

U.S. Open Leaderboard 2012: Tiger Woods In Complete Control Of His Game

Forget the dramatic Sunday charge to win the Memorial two weeks ago. Through 14 holes, this is the best round of golf Tiger Woods has played all season -- and perhaps in two years. That Sunday magic was a harbinger of things to come, a win replete with solid play and saved pars before the dramatics of Sunday afternoon. He's taken that steady form at Muirfield up a notch in his first round at Olympic and is in complete control of his game. Woods had a couple issues misjudging distance in the heavy and early cold air at the start of his round, but he's shaping all the shots he wants at the exact trajectory he wants.

During his press conference on Tuesday, Woods indicated that the players who can play the first six holes at the Lake Course in even-par would pick up "boatloads" of shots on the field. He made the turn onto the treacherous front side and is 1-under through the first four. It could have been 2-under, but Woods jabbed a short putt on No. 2 after hitting a perfect cut on his approach right over the bunker that protects the right side of the green. He missed his short birdie putt on the low side, squandering an opportunity to move into red numbers.

But it didn't take long for him to move into the red, capitalizing on another fantastic approach shot. Woods hit a low draw into the elevated green at No. 4 and stuck it within 12 feet. He drained the downhill-sidehill putt to move to 1-under, two shots back of leader Jason Bohn.

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2012 U.S. Open Golf Leaderboard: Tiger Woods Picks Up Birdie, Phil Mickelson Teetering On The Edge

The superstar group of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and Bubba Watson have completed the "front 10" of their first round at The Olympic Club. The group has played with varying form, with Phil Mickelson's struggles the most notable takeaway from their Thursday start. Coming off a disastrous first round at the Memorial, Lefty has looked lost again on the front side -- hitting it wild off the tee, striking unsharp irons into greens, and most unexpectedly struggling with his short game in spots. He is 4-over through 10 holes, and that includes a birdie he carded at the par-3 13th.

Woods, meanwhile, continued his steady play and picked up a birdie on the par-5 17th. He has said players will have to pick up red numbers over the final three holes if they want to contend. While Phil dealt with the severe shaved run-off area on the right side of the green, Woods cleaned up his birdie on the short par-5. He is even-par through ten holes.

The current leader is South African Branden Grace, who made the turn to the treacherous first six holes at 3-under. He is one of only ten players in red figures. Those first six are currently playing almost 3-over par, so Mickelson will have to hang on for dear life or else his hopes of making the weekend will be gone.

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2012 U.S. Open Golf Leaderboard: Tiger Woods Has Steady Start, Phil Mickelson Stumbles

The first wave of morning tee times are making their way through their first nine, and the power grouping of Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, and Bubba Watson are on a bit of a rollercoaster ride through the first five holes. Mickelson spent only 10 to 15 minutes on the range warming up this morning, a dramatic departure from his typical routine but he cited wind conditions which were not simulate what he wanted to do on the course. He then made his way to the first tee and started with a lost ball on his first shot of the day, badly pulling his drive. The ball apparently never came out of a tree down the right side of the fairway and he made the "loneliest walk in golf" back to the tee. He went on to "save" a bogey at No. 1 but followed that up with two more before getting a red number at the par-3 13th hole, which he called the most interesting and difficult shot on the course.

Tiger, meanwhile, had a steady start as Phil and Bubba hit it all over the yard. He started with five straight pars and is even as their group hits a stretch of the course with birdie opportunities. Woods has been in control, regulating his trajectory but struggling a bit with distance on a cold morning at Olympic.

Kevin Na, waggler extraordinaire, currently leads at 3-under par with a hot start on the back side.

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U.S. Open 2012 Live Streaming: Slew Of Streaming Options Available On Multiple Platforms

This year's U.S. Open can be watched online -- and on iPhones and Android devices -- thanks to streams from USOpen.com.

This page has information about what is available, where it's available, and at what time.

Some notes on Thursday:

Action from "Marquee Group 1," which features Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson, will be available starting at 10:33 a.m. ET. That can be streamed on the web, iPhones and Android devices. Marquee Group 2, which features the top three ranked players in the world in Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy, and Lee Westwood, is available on those same platforms. They'll tee off at 4:29 p.m. ET, .

Live video is also available here.

In addition, the U.S. Open is offering radio coverage starting from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern. That, too, is available on the trio of platforms.

A web-only feature will be the U.S. Open "Playtracker," which will run from 11 a.m. Eastern to 11 p.m. Eastern.

The U.S. Open will be offering these features all weekend, but the times vary a bit. So check out the site for further details.

For more on the U.S. Open, you can stick with this SB Nation Cleveland stream, or head over to the SBNation.com stream. You can also check out USOpen.com or SB Nation's golf hub. And of course, there's SB Nation's YouTube channel.

2012 U.S. Open Odds: Tiger Woods The Favorite, Jason Dufner Near Top

Oddmakers have Jason Dufner in a tie for No. 6 heading into this week's U.S. Open.

Dufner, who sits at 25/1, is in pretty elite company that high on the list. Some of the favored golfers this year:

Tiger Woods 13/2
Lee Westwood 11/1
Luke Donald 11/1
Rory McIlroy 14/1
Phil Mickelson 20/1
Dustin Johnson 25/1
Jason Dufner 25/1
Matt Kuchar 25/1
Justin Rose 28/1
Adam Scott 33/1
Jim Furyk 33/1
Rickie Fowler 33/1
Zach Johnson 33/1
Bubba Watson 40/1
Hunter Mahan 40/1
Sergio Garcia 40/1
Steve Stricker 40/1

Matt Kuchar and Dustin Johnson also sit at 25/1 heading into the opening round.

Dufner got his first tour win in April at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. He followed that up with a May victory at the HP Byron Nelson Championship. Those wins, coupled with a No. 2 finish at the Crowne Plaza Invitational, have made Dufner this season's top money winner thus far.

Dufner is slated for a 4:47 Eastern tee time. A complete list of tee times is available here.

For more on the U.S. Open, you can stick with this SB Nation Cleveland stream, or head over to the SBNation.com stream. You can also check out USOpen.com or SB Nation's golf hub.

2012 U.S. Open Tee Times And Pairings For Thursday: Jason Dufner, Dennis Miller Will Play In Late Afternoon

The USGA is infamous for creating storylines when they set up their groups for their most prestigious championship. They look for every quirk or common strain that could be used as a story and then set their groups. They've been known to pair players together based on their paunches, their last names, their belly putters, and their starpower. Of course, the two power groups consist of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and Bubba Watson; and the UK equivalent comprised of the top three players in the world -- Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy, and Lee Westwood.

Jason Dufner, the North Olmsted native, will start the drive for his first major at 4:47 p.m. ET. He is paired with Jason Day and Louis Oosthuizen. Dufner was best known for his back-nine collapse at the PGA Championship in Atlanta last year, where he lost to Keegan Bradley in a playoff. But Dufner comes in playing better than anyone on Tour, capturing two wins in a month and narrowly missing a third at Colonial. NBC's Johnny Miller thinks Dufner, however quietly, has to be one of the favorites at Miller's own club. His playing partner, Jason Day, has a pregnant wife back home in Columbus and has said he would withdraw if she goes into labor.

Dennis Miller, the pro at Mill Creek in Youngstown, will play with Casey Martin and amateur Cameron Wilson. His story has become a familiar one over this week, with his dramatic qualifying putt that hung on the edge for five seconds before falling in the cup and propelling him from sectionals in Columbus to San Francisco. His group tees off at 3:45 p.m. ET.

The USGA is utilizing a little bit of an unusual split-tee system over the first two days. The layout at Olympic presented some logistical problems, with the No. 10 tee being several hundred yards from the clubhouse. Having players make their official start there would create issues for crowd control, so instead they will send half the field off the No. 9 tee, which is just below the men's locker room at the venerable club.

The complete list of tee times and pairings for Thursday's first round is below. All times are Eastern.

Morning wave off No. 1 tee:

10:15 a.m.: Scott Langley, Steve Lebrun, Beau Hossler (a)
10:26 a.m.: Jason Bohn, Raphael Jacquelin, J. B. Park
10:37 a.m.: Michael Thompson, Colt Knost, Steve Marino
10:48 a.m.: Brendan Jones, George Coetzee, Gregory Bourdy
10:59 a.m.: Patrick Cantlay (a), Jonathan Byrd, Kyle Stanley
11:10 a.m.: Retief Goosen, Vijay Singh, Zach Johnson
11:21 a.m.: Paul Casey, Hiroyuki Fujita, Mark Wilson
11:32 a.m.: Adam Scott, Keegan Bradley, Webb Simpson
11:43 a.m.: Tim Clark Toru Taniguchi, Rod Pampling
11:54 a.m.: Francesco Molinari, Bo Van Pelt, Peter Hanson
12:05 p.m.: D. A. Points, Dong-Hwan Lee, Kevin Streelman
12:16 p.m.: Edward Loar, Paul Claxton, Alistair Presnell
12:27 p.m.: Mark McCormick, Nick Sherwood (a), Cole Howard

Morning wave off No. 9 tee:

10 a.m.: Shane Bertsch, Martin Flores, Tommy Biershenk
10:11 a.m.: Scott Piercy, Matthew Baldwin, Matt Bettencourt
10:22 a.m.: Thomas Bjorn, Kevin Na, Branden Grace
10:33 a.m.: Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Bubba Watson
10:44 a.m.: Joe Ogilvie, Stephen Ames, Tim Herron
10:55 a.m.: Davis Love III, Padraig Harrington, David Toms
11:06 a.m.: Carl Pettersson, Charl Schwartzel, Charles Howell III
11:17 a.m.: Robert Karlsson, Bob Estes, Robert Rock
11:28 a.m.: K. J. Choi, Y. E. Yang, K. T. Kim
11:39 a.m.: Fredrik Jacobson, Robert Garrigus, Alexander Noren
11:50 a.m.: Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, Sang-Moon Bae, Rafael Cabrera-Bello
12:01 p.m.: Marc Warren, Anthony Summers, Michael Allen
12:12 p.m.: Hunter Hamrick, Tim Weinhart, Scott Smith

Afternoon wave off No. 1 tee:

3:45 p.m.: Casey Martin, Cameron Wilson (a), Dennis Miller
3:56 p.m.: Jim Herman, William Lunde, David Mathis
4:07 p.m.: Nicolas Colsaerts, Charlie Wi, Simon Dyson
4:18 p.m.: Alvaro Quiros, Gary Woodland, John Senden
4:29 p.m.: Rory McIlroy, Luke Donald, Lee Westwood
4:40 p.m.: Jim Furyk, Sergio Garcia, Graeme McDowell
4:51 p.m.: Stewart Cink, Trevor Immelman, Lucas Glover
5:02 p.m.: Ernie Els, Geoff Ogilvy, Angel Cabrera
5:13 p.m.: Martin Laird, Ben Crane, Anders Hansen
5:24 p.m.: Matteo Manassero, Aaron Baddeley, Miguel Angel Jimenez
5:35 p.m.: Brian Harman, Spencer Levin, Mikko Ilonen
5:46 p.m.: Brice Garnett, Justin Hicks, Jesse Mueller
5:57 p.m.: Brian Rowell, Alberto Sanchez (a), Brian Gaffney

Afternoon wave off No. 9 tee:

3:30 p.m.: John Peterson, Morgan Hoffmann, Aaron Watkins
3:41 p.m.: Jeff Curl, Nicholas Thompson, Casey Wittenberg
3:52 p.m.: Soren Kjeldsen, Chez Reavie, Peter Lawrie
4:03 p.m.: Michael Campbell, Olin Browne, Joe Durant
4:14 p.m.: Bill Haas, Nick Watney, Brandt Snedeker
4:25 p.m.: Martin Kaymer, Hunter Mahan, Justin Rose
4:36 p.m.: Steve Stricker, Ian Poulter, Matt Kuchar
4:47 p.m.: Jason Day, Louis Oosthuizen, Jason Dufner
4:58 p.m.: Rickie Fowler, Ryo Ishikawa, Dustin Johnson
5:09 p.m.: Hunter Haas, Tadahiro Takayama, Lee Slattery
5:20 p.m.: Alex Cejka, Kevin Chappell, Blake Adams
5:31 p.m.: James Hahn, Darron Stiles, Roberto Castro
5:42 p.m.: Brooks Koepka (a), Kyle Thompson, Samuel Osborne

For all your news and updates in the run up to the 2012 U.S. Open at Olympic, visit SB Nation's dedicated golf hub. Be sure to head over to USOpen.com for even more coverage from the event.

2012 U.S. Open Golf: TV Schedule, Live Updates, Streaming And More

The 2012 U.S. Open gets underway on Thursday with the best golfers in the world teeing it up for their first round on the Lake Course at The Olympic Club. Unlike the limited television broadcast tradition at The Masters, the USGA always allows for full wall-to-wall coverage of America's national championship, with 10 hours of coverage on schedule for the first day.

In addition to the extended schedule, the West Coast venue also enhances the coverage by providing a significant portion of the broadcast during the primetime hours in the east. The USGA is in love with the late primetime coverage, and this is the third time since 2008 that they've been able to push tee times back on the West Coast to provide late coverage in the east. It was a huge success at Torrey Pines in 2008 and that was built on at Pebble Beach in 2010. The next four days at Olympic should be no different.

The first tee time goes off just after 10 a.m. ET, two hours before the broadcast kicks in on ESPN. But USOpen.com will feature live streaming video, specifically of a marquee morning group. That group will of course be the 10:33 a.m. ET tee time of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and Bubba Watson. Follow their group shot-by-shot at from the very first ball at No.9 on USOpen.com's live video page.

Thursday's First Round Broadcast Schedule

12:00-3:00 p.m. ET - ESPN

3:00-5:00 p.m. ET - NBC

5:00-10:00 p.m. ET - ESPN

For all your news and updates in the run up to the 2012 U.S. Open at Olympic, visit SB Nation's dedicated golf hub. Be sure to head over to USOpen.com for even more coverage from the event.

2012 U.S. Open Golf: USGA Announces Open Medal To Be Named After Jack Nicklaus

On Wednesday afternoon, the USGA announced that the medal awarded to the winner of the U.S. Open will now be known as the "Jack Nicklaus Medal." This will be the first time since the tournament's inception in 1895 that the coin will bear a name.

Via SB Nation's Emily Kay:

"For more than six decades Jack Nicklaus has been one of golf's greatest ambassadors, embodying golf's timeless values and acting as a role model for generations of golfers and fans," USGA president Glen Nager said during a ceremony celebrating Nicklaus‘ first U.S. Open victory, a 1962 playoff victory over Arnold Palmer. "He's the quintessential U.S. Open champion."

In addition, the USGA also added a "Jack Nickalus Room" to it's museum, which is an honor bestowed upon legends such as Arnold Palmer, Bob Jones and Mickey Wright. Once the room is complete it will house artifacts from Nickalus' esteemed career.

"Kind of neat, isn't it?" Nicklaus responded to the hoopla surrounding his legendary accomplishments. "Take an old guy and honor him. I think that's pretty nice."

For more on the US Open, you can stick with this stream, or head over to SB Nation's dedicated golf hub. You can also check out SB Nation's YouTube channel:

U.S. Open 2012: 14-Year Old Andy Zhang Getting Used To Autographs

When the 2012 U.S. Open begins play on Thursday, much of the focus will be on the big names of golf. Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson and Rory McIlroy will be some of the individuals who will dominate discussion around the galleries of the Olympic Club. However, there will be another name, which undoubtedly will come up quite a bit.

Andy Zhang, who is now the youngest entrant in the history of the U.S. Open at 14-years of age, will have to try to defeat some of the greatest golfers in the world. However, the hardest lesson he may learn is getting used to giving autographs instead of receiving them.

Via SB Nation's Brian Floyd:

"It was funny, like I was on the airplane, and then I was asking [caddy] Chris, I was like, so I get to practice on the driving range and putt and chip in the U.S. Open facility. So is that okay if I go up to Tiger and those great players for autographs. And he goes, like, no, you are going to be the one who is giving out autographs. And I came here and everybody knows me for some reason ... Yeah. I'm signing autographs, I guess "

Regardless of the tournament, the experience is something that will sit with Zhang for quite sometime.

"I am shaking a little right now sitting here. I heard Jack Nicklaus was sitting in this chair this morning. Was he? Yeah? So I'm trying to get used to this. I'm not doing quite well right now."

For more on the US Open, you can stick with this stream, or head over to SB Nation's dedicated golf hub. You can also check out SB Nation's YouTube channel:

2012 U.S. Open: Tiger Woods Doesn't Plan On Talking To His Partners

While much of the viewing public will undoubtedly be talking about the superstar pairing of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson at the 2012 U.S. Open (which begins play on Thursday), Woods has no desire to talk with his competitors.

Via SB Nation's golf contributor Emily Kay:

"I don't think we're going to talk about a lot," Woods told reporters Tuesday about the marquee U.S. Open threesome that will reunite him with former Ryder Cup teammates Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson for the first two rounds. "This is a major championship. We've got work to do."

Woods suggested he would put blinders on for the "long grind" that is the hallmark of any U.S. Open.

"It's such a test, playing in this championship," he said. "I think this is one of those championships that I think the guys talk the least to one another because it's so difficult."

According to Woods, playing with Mickelson and Watson will have no impact on his focus.

"Any extra motivation? No," he said. "I'm just trying to get out there and position myself for Sunday."

For more on the US Open, you can stick with this stream, or head over to SB Nation's dedicated golf hub. You can also check out SB Nation's YouTube channel:

U.S. Open Golf 2012: Cleveland Native Jason Dufner Riding Hot Streak Into Open

Heading into the 2012 U.S. Open, Tiger Woods has been the early odds favorite to win the championship at the Olympic Club. However if history continues at the San Francisco course, an underdog will rise to the ranks of a golfing legend to steal the title. Enter Cleveland native Jason Dufner.

Dufner has registered two wins and a runner-up finish in his last four starts and is arguably the hottest player entering the Open, which will begin play Thursday. He has also been closing in on his first major championship after losing a late lead and playoff at last year's PGA Championship and sharing the 36-hole lead at this year's Masters.

Most importantly, Dufner is happy with the way he has been playing. Via Boston.com:

"I've played a lot of good golf, worked really hard to get to this level, and enjoyed some of the good play and good finishes, so it's been a lot of fun,'' Dufner said. "I've had a lot of opportunities to play in a lot of good events against some really good players.

"I've just been really consistent with my preparation and my practice, I'm committed to the things I've been working on, committed to getting better physically, mentally, all those areas. The experiences I've gone through have made me a better player, and made me able to be more confident out there when I'm playing.''

For all your news and updates in the run up to the 2012 U.S. Open at Olympic, visit SB Nation's dedicated golf hub. Be sure to head over to USOpen.com for even more coverage from the event.

2012 US Open Odds: Tiger Woods Remains Favorite, Jason Dufner Near Top

The odds keep shifting for the US Open, but the constant favorite has remained Tiger Woods from the first day. In the latest odds released by Bovada, Woods continues to hold down the top spot with 13/2 odds.

Cleveland native Jason Dufner has decent odds to take home the win from the Open, tied for sixth in the odds with Dustin Johnson at 25/1.Those are improved from the odds that he opened the tournament with -- he started with a 28/1 chance.

The top bets for the tournament include:

Tiger Woods - 13/2

Lee Westwood - 11/1

Luke Donald - 11/1

Rory McIlroy - 14/1

Phil Mickelson - 20/1

Dustin Johnson - 25/1

Jason Dufner - 25/1

Justin Rose - 28/1

Matt Kuchar - 28/1

The worst odds are held by 29 different golfers, all in a tie with whopping 1000/1 odds.

For all your news and updates in the run up to the 2012 U.S. Open at Olympic, visit SB Nation's dedicated golf hub. Be sure to head over to USOpen.com for even more coverage from the event.

US Open Golf 2012: Andy Zhang Practices With Bubba Watson, Roots For Miami Heat In NBA Finals.

Andy Zhang, the youngest player to ever enter the U.S. Open golf tournament at 14 years old, went through a practice session with 2012 Masters champion Bubba Watson and Aaron Baddeley on Tuesday.

Zhang was nervous, as to be expected, but Watson and Baddeley had good things to say about the young golfer following the session.

"It's never too early to play in a U.S. Open," Baddeley said. "The earlier the better. I played in my first pro event when I was 15 in Australia. The more you play in these things the more normal it becomes.

"To qualify for the U.S. Open you have to be a little more mature than the average 14-year-old. Andy's got to enjoy being a kid, but at the same time he's got to focus on getting better and doing the things he needs to make it out on tour."

Watson said it was fun getting to watch a talent like Zhang that he was obviously in the U.S. Open for a reason.

Meanwhile, Zhang, fresh out of the eighth grade, is still trying to figure everything out. But what we do know is that he's rooting for the Miami Heat against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals Game 1 Tuesday night.

Read more about the U.S. Open at this StoryStream.

2012 U.S. Open: Andy Zhang To Become Youngest Entrant In Open History

When the 2012 U.S. Open begins on Thursday at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, California, much of the attention will be focused upon the big names in golf, whether the underdog trend will continue at the Olympic Club and if Tiger Woods can build off his win at the Memorial Championship.

However, there is an interesting story line that is developing in the form of 14-year old Andy Zhang, who as of Tuesday became the youngest entrant in the history of the Open championship. Following Paul Casey's withdrawal from the tournament on Monday, Zhang was awarded the berth despite losing a qualifier last Monday at a playoff in the Florida Sectional. Zhang is already in San Francisco and has signed in for the week.

Despite being the youngest, Zhang will not stick out solely due to his age; the teenager stands six-feet tall and weighs close to 200 pounds. He will be play a practice round with Bubba Watson and Aaron Baddeley on Tuesday.

2012 U.S. Open Golf: Jason Dufner Could Continue Underdog Trend At Olympic

Although Tiger Woods is currently the early odds favorite to win the 2012 U.S. Open Championship at the Olympic Club (which is set to begin on Thursday), there is still the possibility that a less than favorable contender will win the National Championship. In the four times that the Olympic Club has hosted the Open Championship, an underdog has managed to overcome a heavy favorite to win the title.

Considering the amount of burgeoning talent participating at this year's event, it isn't far-fetched to think that the trend will continue this weekend. It could even mean the first major championship for Cleveland native, Jason Dufner.

Via the Philadelphia Inquirer:

"Dufner fits right into the U.S. Open mold of a guy who has learned to temper his emotions totally, like Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus did," said NBC-TV analyst Johnny Miller, who as a 19-year-old amateur finished tied for eighth in the 1966 Open at Olympic, a club where he was a member.

"Those are the guys that seem to flourish in a U.S. Open, not the flamboyant types that are smiling and giving gestures and that kind of thing. You look at the Open winners at Olympic, they sort of fit that mold."

Dufner is scheduled to begin the tournament in the afternoon wave when his pairing with fellow Ohio native Jason Day and Louis Oosthuizen start at tee No. 9 at 4:47 p.m., ET. He is currently a 25/1 early odds favorite to win the tournament.

2012 US Open Tee Times And Pairings: Tiger Woods' Monster Group Has Early Tee Time

The trio of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson boasts the biggest names heading into the start of the US Open on Thursday. But the group of Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood and Luke Donald might have the biggest chance of winning.

While Woods is the odds-on favorite to win the US Open, Nos. 2 through 4, in order, are Westwood, Donald and McIlroy. Which is to say there is more than one top-flight group.

The complete list of tee times and pairings for Thursday's first round is below. All times are Eastern.

Morning wave off No. 1 tee:

10:15 a.m.: Scott Langley, Steve Lebrun, Beau Hossler (a)
10:26 a.m.: Jason Bohn, Raphael Jacquelin, J. B. Park
10:37 a.m.: Michael Thompson, TBD, Steve Marino
10:48 a.m.: Brendan Jones, George Coetzee, Gregory Bourdy
10:59 a.m.: Patrick Cantlay (a), Jonathan Byrd, Kyle Stanley
11:10 a.m.: Retief Goosen, Vijay Singh, Zach Johnson
11:21 a.m.: Paul Casey, Hiroyuki Fujita, Mark Wilson
11:32 a.m.: Adam Scott, Keegan Bradley, Webb Simpson
11:43 a.m.: Tim Clark Toru Taniguchi, Rod Pampling
11:54 a.m.: Francesco Molinari, Bo Van Pelt, Peter Hanson
12:05 p.m.: D. A. Points, Dong-Hwan Lee, Kevin Streelman
12:16 p.m.: Edward Loar, Paul Claxton, Alistair Presnell
12:27 p.m.: Mark McCormick, Nick Sherwood (a), Cole Howard

Morning wave off No. 9 tee:

10 a.m.: Shane Bertsch, Martin Flores, Tommy Biershenk
10:11 a.m.: Scott Piercy, Matthew Baldwin, Matt Bettencourt
10:22 a.m.: Thomas Bjorn, Kevin Na, Branden Grace
10:33 a.m.: Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Bubba Watson
10:44 a.m.: Joe Ogilvie, Stephen Ames, Tim Herron
10:55 a.m.: Davis Love III, Padraig Harrington, David Toms
11:06 a.m.: Carl Pettersson, Charl Schwartzel, Charles Howell III
11:17 a.m.: Robert Karlsson, Bob Estes, Robert Rock
11:28 a.m.: K. J. Choi, Y. E. Yang, K. T. Kim
11:39 a.m.: Fredrik Jacobson, Robert Garrigus, Alexander Noren
11:50 a.m.: Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, Sang-Moon Bae, Rafael Cabrera-Bello
12:01 p.m.: Marc Warren, Anthony Summers, Michael Allen
12:12 p.m.: Hunter Hamrick, Tim Weinhart, Scott Smith

Afternoon wave off No. 1 tee:

3:45 p.m.: Casey Martin, Cameron Wilson (a), Dennis Miller
3:56 p.m.: Jim Herman, William Lunde, David Mathis
4:07 p.m.: Nicolas Colsaerts, Charlie Wi, Simon Dyson
4:18 p.m.: Alvaro Quiros, Gary Woodland, John Senden
4:29 p.m.: Rory McIlroy, Luke Donald, Lee Westwood
4:40 p.m.: Jim Furyk, Sergio Garcia, Graeme McDowell
4:51 p.m.: Stewart Cink, Trevor Immelman, Lucas Glover
5:02 p.m.: Ernie Els, Geoff Ogilvy, Angel Cabrera
5:13 p.m.: Martin Laird, Ben Crane, Anders Hansen
5:24 p.m.: Matteo Manassero, Aaron Baddeley, Miguel Angel Jimenez
5:35 p.m.: Brian Harman, TBD, Mikko Ilonen
5:46 p.m.: Brice Garnett, TBD, Jesse Mueller
5:57 p.m.: Brian Rowell, Alberto Sanchez (a), Brian Gaffney

Afternoon wave off No. 9 tee:

3:30 p.m.: John Peterson, Morgan Hoffmann, Aaron Watkins
3:41 p.m.: Jeff Curl, Nicholas Thompson, Casey Wittenberg
3:52 p.m.: Soren Kjeldsen, Chez Reavie, Peter Lawrie
4:03 p.m.: Michael Campbell, Olin Browne, Joe Durant
4:14 p.m.: Bill Haas, Nick Watney, Brandt Snedeker
4:25 p.m.: Martin Kaymer, Hunter Mahan, Justin Rose
4:36 p.m.: Steve Stricker, Ian Poulter, Matt Kuchar
4:47 p.m.: Jason Day, Louis Oosthuizen, Jason Dufner
4:58 p.m.: Rickie Fowler, Ryo Ishikawa, Dustin Johnson
5:09 p.m.: Hunter Haas, Tadahiro Takayama, Lee Slattery
5:20 p.m.: Alex Cejka, Kevin Chappell, Blake Adams
5:31 p.m.: James Hahn, Darron Stiles, Roberto Castro
5:42 p.m.: Brooks Koepka (a), TBD, Samuel Osborne

2012 US Open Odds: Tigers Woods The Favorite

Tiger Woods is the favorite to win this year's US Open, according to online sports betting outlet Bovada.

Woods is at 6/1, and second-place Lee Westwood is 10/1. Last year's winner, Rory McIlroy, is fourth at 14/1.

Here are some of the top bets:

Tiger Woods 6/1
Lee Westwood 10/1
Luke Donald 12/1
Rory McIlroy 14/1
Phil Mickelson 20/1
Dustin Johnson 25/1
Jason Dufner 25/1
Matt Kuchar 28/1
Justin Rose 28/1
Bubba Watson 30/1
Adam Scott 33/1
Jim Furyk 33/1
Rickie Fowler 33/1
Zach Johnson 33/1
Hunter Mahan 40/1
Sergio Garcia 40/1
Steve Stricker 40/1

Woods has won three US Opens, most recently in 2008.

The US Open will be held at the Olympic Club near San Francisco. Woods last won at Torrey Pines. Americans have won two of the past eight US Opens dating back to 2004.

For more on the US Open, you can stick with this stream, or head over to SB Nation's dedicated golf hub. You can also check out SB Nation's YouTube channel:

2012 U.S. Open: Jason Day Will Go Home If Wife Has Baby During Tournament

Jason Day plans to spend the next week in San Francisco for the U.S. Open, but he will head back home to Ohio if necessary. His wife, Ellie, is due to have their first child in four weeks' time. Day said that, even if he was leading the tournament, he wouldn't hesitate to hop on a plane if Ellie went into premature labor, via the Australian Associated Press:

"If I am doing well at the US Open and for some reason she goes into labour - I don't care about the tournament, I have to be there for the birth.

"It might sound stupid to some people to say if you're leading a major you will just leave but family comes first and I'll do that.

"My family will be there my whole life, golf won't."

Day, an Australian who lives in Columbus, knows exactly where his priorities lie.

For all your news and updates in the run up to the 2012 U.S. Open at Olympic, visit SB Nation's dedicated golf hub. Be sure to head over to USOpen.com for even more coverage from the event.

2012 U.S. Open: Cleveland's Jason Dufner Calls It His Favorite Major

Jason Dufner, the 35-year-old Cleveland native, is looking forward to the U.S. Open because it's a chance to win his first major, but it's not just that. Winning the Open would carry a special significance for Dufner, via the Contra Costa Times' Steve Corkran:

"It would be awesome," he said. "It's my favorite major. It's the one that, as a kid, I followed most closely. Never missed one. I even went to a couple as a spectator. To win your national open would be something of a fairy tale."

Dufner has 28/1 odds to win the tournament and leads the PGA Tour in FedEx Cup points and earnings. He's scheduled to tee off on 1:47 p.m. on Thursday afternoon.

For all your news and updates in the run up to the 2012 U.S. Open at Olympic, visit SB Nation's dedicated golf hub. Be sure to head over to USOpen.com for even more coverage from the event.

2012 U.S. Open Odds: Cleveland Native Jason Dufner 28/1 Early Odds To Win Open

On Thursday morning, the 112th United States Open will begin play at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, California. Fresh off a win at the Memorial Championship, Tiger Woods is predicted as an early favorite to build off of his success and win the U.S. Open. Ohio area golfers such as Jim Herman (500/1), Joe Ogilvie (600/1) and Dennis Miller (1000/1), however, do not have the confidence of the early oddsmakers.

Cleveland native, Jason Dufner on the other hand was predicted at 28/1 odds, which gives him the seventh best odds of any other hopeful.

Here are the early odds to win the 2012 U.S. Open:

Tiger Woods 7/1

Lee Westwood 12/1

Rory McIlroy 14/1

Luke Donald 14/1

Phil Mickelson 18/1

Dustin Johnson 28/1

Jason Dufner 28/1

Matt Kuchar 28/1

Zach Johnson 33/1

Jim Furyk 33/1

Adam Scott 40/1

Hunter Mahan 40/1

Bubba Watson 50/1

Louis Oosthuizen 50/1

Martin Kaymer 50/1

Keegan Bradley 66/1

Nick Watney 66/1

For all your news and updates in the run up to the 2012 U.S. Open at Olympic, visit SB Nation's dedicated golf hub. Be sure to head over to USOpen.com for even more coverage from the event.

U.S. Open 2012 Field: Previewing The 112th Championship

The best players in golf will converge on the Olympic Club in San Francisco, California over the next week, as last year's champ Rory McIlroy tries to defend his crown at the 112th annual U.S. Open Championship.

This year will mark the fifth time the tournament will be held at the 7,170-yard, par-70 course, as the private social club last hosted an Open in 1998. A number of players with local ties will also be in the field as expected, as Jason Dufner, Jim Herman, Joe Ogilvie, Jason Day, and Dennis Miller will each try to bring a title back home to the state of Ohio.

Dufner and Day, arguably the top talents of the local bunch, will join Louis Oosthuizen in a three-man group for both Thursday and Friday's rounds. The three will tee off at 4:47 pm ET and begin on the ninth tee for the opening 18 holes, and then get underway at 11:32 am ET the following morning.

In addition to the Day-Dufner-Oosthuizen group, the golf world is already abuzz over the Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods and Bubba Watson combination also set for Thursday and Friday. After Woods' impressive performance at the Memorial last week, there are many who feel he is poised for another run at a major championship. But to pull that off , however, he will need to first deal with the rigors that come with playing in a group with two of his most talented adversaries right off the bat.

For more 2012 US Open coverage, stay with SB Nation Cleveland's StoryStream. For more coverage, head over to USOpen.com

US Open Golf 2012: The Olympic Club Course Ready To Test World's Best Golfers

The Olympic Club golf course in San Francisco will once again offer an extreme golf test for the world's best golfers in next week's U.S. Open.The USGA enjoy pushing the limits of fairness in their course setup for the U.S. Open and the layout at Olympic helps make a tough test a reality. This year, the first two rounds will utilize the first and ninth tees to run the large field through the course. Normally, players start on the first and tenth tees but at Olympic the ninth tee is near the clubhouse putting the unique starting situation in play.

The U.S. Open champion will need to be sharp on Olympic's hilly layout, but making what appears to be the right golf shot may not even be enough as Tiger Woods found out in a recent practice round leading up to next week's tournament.

Woods recently played a practice round and was amazed to see a 9-iron hit the green and bounce as high as the top of the flagstick. Olympic is nearly 200 yards longer than when Lee Janzen won at even-par 280 in 1998. Some of the fairways have been shifted. The greens have been resurfaced. The 520-yard opening hole is now a par 4, while the 522-yard 17th hole is now a par 5. An additional tee was built on the par-5 16th hole, making it 670 yards, the longest hole in U.S. Open history.

"It's going to be a hell of a test," Woods said.

Sound like Olympic is ready to make the tournament organizers at the USGA smile.

For all your news and updates in the run up to the 2012 U.S. Open at Olympic, visit SB Nation's dedicated golf hub.

US Open 2012 Tee Times And Pairings: Superstar Groupings Dominate Headlines At Olympic Club

The pairings and tee times for the 2012 US Open have been announced and they are bound to create some excitement.