The U.S. Open is the third biggest champion of the season, only a week away.

Several top golfers in the PGA Tour and LIV Golf League will try to fine-tune the game before arriving at Oakmont Country Club outside Pittsburgh next week.

World No. 2 golfer Rory McIlroy will return to the PGA Tour at the RBC Canadian Open and defend U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau will play in the Liv Golf League Championship in Gainesville, Virginia.

“We’re all working on feats that haven’t been done in a long time and back-to-back would be great,” DeChambeau said. “Three consecutive will be a better achievement, so it’s in the back of my head.”

What's next for the PGA Tour

Royal Bank of Canada Open
Time: Thursday to Sunday
Location: TPC Toronto TPC, Osprey Valley, Caledon, Ontario
Defending champion: Robert McIntyre
Wallet: $9.8 million

Rory is back

After skipping last week’s Memorial Championships, McKerry returned to the north of the border. McIlroy will try to be the fourth three-time champion after winning the Canadian Open in 2019 and 2022 (Tommy Armor, Sam Snead and Lee Trevino are the others).

McIlroy likes that the PGA Tour will open Canadians as planned for one month.

"I love the change in dating to be honest," McIlroy said. "I love that this is the week leading to the U.S. Open. I kind of told the story, but before attending this event (2016, 2017, 2018), I missed 3 cuts in a row at the U.S. Open. I've been in the top 10 in a row since playing the Canadian Open the week before, so there's something."

After McIlroy won a career grand slam in the Masters, he admitted that "three to four hours a day is harder than before."

"You have this incident in your life and it's happening that sometimes it's hard to find the motivation to ride again and go again," McIlroy said. "I think the past two weeks are just to figure out what I'm in my mind, what I want to do, where I want to play. Yes, reset some goals."

Scheffler ensures Ryder Cup Spot

The Ryder Cup is more than three months away, but world's number one golfer Scottie Scheffler became the first golfer to compete with the European team in the Bethpage Black course in Fanningdale, New York from September 26 to 28.

The U.S. PGA announced on Wednesday that Scheffler had enough Ryder Cup points with a score of 25,918.25, twice as many as any other golfer. Xander Schauffele ranked second with 11,905.84.

"Scottie continues to prove why he is the No. 1 player in the world, showing incredible consistency and a week of dominance," Captain America Keegan Bradley said in a statement. "He is the ultimate team player and I have no doubt he will be ready and motivated.

The top six qualified golfers will be the team after the BMW championship on August 17, 2025. Bradley will also make six captains draft picks.

This will be Scheffler's third Ryder Cup. He was 0-2-2 in 2023 in 16½-11½ losses at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club outside Rome, and became a rookie with a 2-0-1 record in 2021 in Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.

“Representing the U.S. at the Ryder Cup is one of my greatest honors in my career and I look forward to doing so for the third time this September,” Schffler said. “I will do everything I can to help our team get back the Cup and can’t wait to play in front of a New York audience at Bethpage Black.”

Cranton's time has finally come

The RCMP opens the field, with three golfers from Luke Clanton, Gordon Sargent and David Ford making their debut.

Expectations are already high for former Florida State star Clanton, who was two runner-up on the PGA Tour last year and ranked second in the John Deere Classic and RSM Classic. He was the first amateur since Jack Nicklaus in 1961, finishing three or more top ten in a season on the PGA Tour.

Clanton tied for 15th in the Farmers Insurance Open and ranked 18th in the Cognizant Classic in Palm Beaches this year.

"It's incredible," Cranton told reporters in Canada. “Like I said, it’s always been something you’ve always dreamed about. It’s here now, calling yourself a professional a little bit – to be honest, it’s a little weird at first because I’ve always been an amateur.

"It's amazing. I'm so glad to be here to compete. It's not about money. It's not about any reputation. It's about competing with these guys. It's something that I've been chasing for all my whole person, my life, and especially my family."

Clanton was the world's No. 1 amateur before turning around this week.

Cranton will compete in the first two rounds with McIlroy and Ludvig Åberg.

Clanton on Tuesday thanked his mother Rhonda, who recently retired after four decades as Delta Avters, whose father David owns two businesses to help send his son to private schools and support his golf.

“It’s incredible that they’re not only doing what they do for me, but my two big sisters are also trying to get us through it,” Clanton said. “Again, my mom and dad are two hard-working people who will never be praised for it, which sometimes makes me angry because they do everything they can.”

Clanton, who is far from the serving area (whose 312.4 yard average will be 14th if he plays enough rounds to qualify), said his "strong mindset" is one of his best attributes.

When asked if he was trying to recruit him, he said: "I want to play in the PGA Tour, it's very simple. I want to play against the best, I want to play in the professional game, that's it. It's simple."

Sargent is the 2022 NCAA solo champion and a freshman and low-level amateur at Vanderbilt at the 2023 U.S. Open. He obtained a PGA Tour card through the PGA Tour University acceleration pathway in October 2023, but delayed the return of Turning Pro to Vanderbilt.

Ford won five championships last season at North Carolina, where he finished first in the PGA Tour College Rankings, earning his cards. This spring, he won the Jack Nicklaus Award and the Fred Haskins Award.

All three golfers will ensure PGA Tour form during the 2026 season.

What's next for the LIV Golf League

Life Golf Virginia
Time: Friday to Sunday
Location: Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia
Defending champion: Harold Varner III
Wallet: $25 million

Bryson's busy months

In addition to being second in the PGA Championship, Bonneville Salt Flats in Indianapolis Raceway, the Mountains and Bryson DeChambeau of Utah and Bryson DeChambeau of White House defended U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau.

It's just a regular month for Professional Golf's content King, who has over 2 million followers on his YouTube channel.

"How do I find sleep time? I actually sleep well," DeChambeau said. "It's a lot of planning. We prepare, develop and execute these game plans and when to work according to someone else's schedule."

DeChambeau, a reserve passenger for the 180-mph lap of Indiana's famous oval ellipse, said he is now using salt from Utah.

A day in the life of a casual golfer... pic.twitter.com/2G7WFZFN6H

— Bryson DeChambeau (@BrySondech) June 2, 2025

DeChambeau is not sure to hit golf on the back lawn of the White House until President Donald Trump urges him to do so.

"I never thought I would have a chance to do this in my life, but the president himself was like, 'Just go there and shoot some shots.'" "I was like, 'Okay, yes, sir." It was a big experience, I hit a few feet of good shots and almost did some, too. ”

The Ruler Open champion said his main goal is still winning golf.

"Do I want to win every game in every game? 100%," DeChambeau said. "From my point of view, I will never be the toughest competitor. But it also allows me to do other meaningful things.

“I think creating my YouTube channel is something I always wanted to do, and seeing what Mrbeast and Dude Perfect did in the mid-2010s, I said, ‘Why can’t I do that? I think there’s a chance to be as influential as it is now, and that’s just the beginning. I think there’s a lot more to do.”

Turn

Torque GC captain Joaquín Niemann hopes he finally makes a turn after finishing eighth in the PGA Championship, his first top ten in 24 of the Big Four. His 72 holes total is below 143, putting him behind Scheffler.

"I don't feel like I've played the best game," Neman said. "I felt there were more games to do better at that time. I knew I could get better results. But I think we could take a positive attitude and go through it step by step. It was my first top 10 in the major, so it was a positive opportunity."

For Niemann, a win at the Liv Golf League isn't a problem, with Niemann finishing five times since February 2024, including three this season. His success on the Saudi-funded Tour led Phil Mickelson to call him the world's best golfer, which caught some eyebrows.

"I think because Liv is new, they don't fully realize the domain and the power of the domain, and the people you're against arena are repeatedly and repeatedly these players," Mickelson said. "Joaco won the win, and he played every week in Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson and these guys. He plays every week in the same level and it's hard to really grasp that, and how great it is."

Prepare for Oakmont

Mickelson, Niemann and other LIV golfers believe this week’s setup at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, which hosts four Presidents Cups and the 2024 Solheim Cup, is a proper test for next week’s U.S. Open.

"Our greens have 14 to 15 vegetables on the stimulator, just like we're going to be next week," Mickelson said. "We have outlines, just like next week. Short game, touch, chopping on the green, rough, speed, lag drill and speed and touch vegetables, all of which are crucial here, the same as next week. It's a better place to prepare."

Dustin Johnson won 276 four shots last time in Oakmont in 2016. Only four golfers scored under par.

"It's going to be hard," Neman said. "I know it's going to be a good challenge. Green is going to fly, so I don't think it's a lot of 5-foot-tall, 6-foot birds. I think it's going to be where you put your golf ball up the mountain putter, which is going to be easy.

"They want to win par, so at the end of the day, it's not the one who makes more birdies, I think it's a mistake for who has less bogey and less."