English golfers to end 40 year US Open drought?

No English golfer has won the US Open since Tony Jacklin in 1970, but with Luke Donald, Lee Westwood and Justin Rose in top form, 2012 could be the year

Luke Donald

Over the last couple of years the majors have been dominated by Northern Irishman, while English golf fans have had to satisfy themselves with a sting of top-ten finishes and a series of near misses.

The last Englishman to win a US Open was Tony Jacklin in 1970 and the last to win a major Nick Faldo in 1996, but no one would be surprised if an Englishman's name is engraved on the US Open trophy come Sunday night.

Whilst Donald isn't the longest on tour, he has improved his driving accuracy considerably of late. He is currently the 8th straightest on the PGA Tour and, perhaps more significantly, 3rd in strokes gained - putting. His remarkable consistency, coupled with improved driving and phenomenal putting and chipping (he leads the tour in scrambling), could see him lift his first US Open trophy on Sunday.

The potential for an english major winner at San Francisco's Olympic club is in plain view; all that remains to be seen is how well Donald, Westwood and Rose deal with the pressure of being labelled as favourites for one of the biggest tournaments of the year.

Nick Bonfield
Features Editor

Nick Bonfield joined Golf Monthly in 2012 after graduating from Exeter University and earning an NCTJ-accredited journalism diploma from News Associates in Wimbledon. He is responsible for managing production of the magazine, sub-editing, writing, commissioning and coordinating all features across print and online. Most of his online work is opinion-based and typically centres around the Majors and significant events in the global golfing calendar. Nick has been an avid golf fan since the age of ten and became obsessed with the professional game after watching Mike Weir and Shaun Micheel win The Masters and PGA Championship respectively in 2003. In his time with Golf Monthly, he's interviewed the likes of Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Jose Maria Olazabal, Henrik Stenson, Padraig Harrington, Lee Westwood and Billy Horschel and has ghost-written columns for Westwood, Wayne Riley, Matthew Southgate, Chris Wood and Eddie Pepperell. Nick is a 12-handicap golfer and his favourite courses include Old Head, Sunningdale New, Penha Longha, Valderrama and Bearwood Lakes. If you have a feature pitch for Nick, please email nick.bonfield@futurenet.com with 'Pitch' in the subject line. Nick is currently playing: Driver: TaylorMade M1 Fairway wood: TaylorMade RBZ Stage 2 Hybrid: Ping Crossover Irons (4-9): Nike Vapor Speed Wedges: Cleveland CBX Full Face, 56˚, Titleist Vokey SM4, 60˚ Putter: testing in progress! Ball: TaylorMade TP5x