Scottie and the rest: Contender tiers for U.S. Open

Golf's annual toughest test heads to arguably the hardest golf course in the country with the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club this week.

The historic layout challenges players with narrow fairways, diabolical rough, and some of the fastest greens they will see all season.

We won't rank all 156 players in the field, but some clear tiers for the contenders stand out heading into Thursday's opening round.

Tier 1 - Scottie

Scottie Scheffler

When people are making comparisons to Tiger Woods - realistic ones at that - you get your own tier. Scheffler is clearly a cut above everyone else in golf at the moment, with three wins over his past four starts. Like virtually every other golf tournament in the world, Scheffler's U.S. Open record is very impressive. With three consecutive top-seven finishes heading into last year at Pinehurst, he fell to 41st at that event and lamented the luck-of-the-draw type of situation every time a drive found the rough. Good news for Scottie and bad news for the rest of the field: The incredibly thick rough at Oakmont is consistent throughout the course, a situation he thrives in.

Tier 2 - The big two

Bryson DeChambeau

Oakmont might as well be Bryson DeChambeau Golf Club because of how well the challenging track sets up for the defending U.S. Open champion. There's nobody better - or longer - off the tee than DeChambeau, and his elite short-game should come in handy out of the gnarly rough around the greens. The question with DeChambeau is whether his approach game can hold up under the major-championship test. He's had legit chances to win the Masters and PGA Championship this season but was eventually let down by porous approach play in both.

Rory McIlroy

The glass half-full approach for McIlroy: He finally harpooned his white whale in April to complete the career Grand Slam with a dramatic Masters win for the ages. That marked his third trophy of the season with Pebble Beach and The Players already won. The glass half-empty look: He's coming off a 149th-place showing in Canada - the worst finish of his PGA TOUR career. His off-the-tee game has been a mess since his driver was one of those deemed nonconforming at the PGA Championship. However, he has six consecutive top-10 finishes in the U.S. Open and vowed to do plenty of driver testing over the weekend before Oakmont.

Tier 3 - Wouldn't shock anyone with a win

Jon Rahm

We can probably retire the idea that Rahm's move to LIV has hampered his chances to win golf's biggest titles. Rahm rose from the field on Sunday at the PGA Championship to provide Scheffler with his biggest challenge before crashing out on Quail Hollow's closing stretch while he was forced to fire at pins. Nevertheless, three consecutive top-15 finishes in major championships should serve as a reminder the Spaniard is one of the world's best. The U.S. Open might be the best tournament to watch Rahm, as he teeters on what often seems just one shot away from an eruption should the result not go his way.

Xander Schauffele

Is this the week Schauffele flashes the form that made him the the toast of the golfing world last year? After claiming two of the four major titles last season, Schauffele has struggled to regain that form after a rib injury sidelined him earlier in the year. The difference this season for Schauffele is clearly his putting and driving - two areas he finished top-12 in last year on TOUR. This season, he's 127th off the tee and an eye-popping 141st on the greens. However, it appears he's turned a corner as he's gaining strokes in both areas over his past two events. Now might be the time to jump in on Schauffele as he flies under the radar coming to Oakmont.

Tier 4 - Contenders with questions

Justin Thomas

Thomas should have the game to compete at Oakmont with elite iron-play and top-level short-game prowess. However, we said the same things about the Masters and PGA Championship, and he finished 36th and missed the cut, respectively. Thomas' biggest issue is the driver, with his off-the-tee game handicapping him severely as of late. According to Data Golf, he's finished below field average in adjusted driving accuracy for five tournaments in a row. That simply won't work at Oakmont with 5-inch rough bordering the fairways. If he keeps it in play, he's a threat to win. If he can't, it will be a short week once again for Thomas.

Collin Morikawa

Morikawa has two major wins on his resume but neither came with a full complement of fans because of COVID restrictions. He's been incredibly consistent since then without ever really threatening to win. While length off the tee will be a bonus at Oakmont, the 2016 U.S. Open featured a top 10 mostly made up of the most accurate drivers in golf. That's where Morikawa slots in as one of the most precise players in the game. However, he hasn't won on U.S. soil in more than four years, and it feels unlikely the first one will come in the cauldron of the U.S. Open.

Shane Lowry

Lowry was actually the 54-hole leader at the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont before fading with a final-round 76. That shows he's comfortable on the course, and he comes in with the eighth-most strokes gained total in men's professional golf over the past six months. The knock on Lowry is he struggles to finish the job, as he has just one worldwide individual win since his major triumph six years ago at Royal Portrush.

Brooks Koepka

Koepka used to be the most feared man on major championship leaderboards, but times have changed over the past two years. Koepka is without a top-25 finish in his past seven major starts and missed the cut at the Masters and PGA Championship this season. However, Oakmont is primed to be the hardest major championship we have seen in years with conditions that will drive even the most patient golfer insane. That's sweet, sweet music to Koepka's ears.

Tier 5 - Trending but have never done it

Sepp Straka

Straka has transformed his game this season, rising from a solid PGA TOUR player to one of the hottest golfers in the game. He's seventh in Data Golf's strokes gained statistic over the past six months and already has two wins on the season. His accuracy off the tee should be a major bonus at Oakmont this week.

Joaquin Niemann

Niemann finally posted the first top-10 finish of his majors career at the PGA Championship, one that was celebrated like a win by some corners of the internet. He undoubtedly has the talent to compete in golf's biggest events, but when the test ramps up, Niemann falls back. Quail Hollow wasn't exactly the toughest major test we've ever seen, so Oakmont will be a good indicator if he's a changed man or if it's the same old Niemann.

Ludvig Aberg

Aberg has played in six career major championships with a top-12 finish in half of them. He's missed the cut in the other half, so it's a bit of a feast or famine situation for the Swede at golf's biggest events.

Ben Griffin

This might seem like a stretch, but only four men have gained more strokes across professional golf than Ben Griffin has in the past 30 days. He missed the cut or withdrew in his first four major starts but tied for eighth last month at the PGA Championship.

Tier 6 - Let's get nuts

Patrick Reed
Viktor Hovland
Tyrrell Hatton
Jordan Spieth
Phil Mickelson

Hovland's ceiling is the best player in the world, while his floor is someone who readily admits he has no clue where the ball is going. He seems to be in the middle of those two scenarios at the moment. The same could be said for Spieth, although the former World No. 1 has flashed some solid form as of late. Reed thrives in difficult conditions that require short-game magic, while watching Hatton try to hold his emotions in over the Oakmont test will be must-see television. Mickelson acknowledged this could be his last U.S. Open, with the six-time runner-up needing the trophy to complete the career Grand Slam. Sure, it sounds crazy, but the 55-year-old just finished third last week at LIV Virginia.