Scottie Scheffler is golf’s most dominant force since Tiger Woods but he’s no shoo-in

On the basis of range talk and betting odds, it will presumably be a source of some relief to 155 of the 156 men at the US Open that a tournament has even been deemed necessary here in the suburbs of Pittsburgh.

If conventional wisdom was all that mattered, then plenty of time and money would be saved by signing over the trophy to Scottie Scheffler at the outset.

But thankfully golf is a fickle game and Oakmont Country Club is quite capable of burying form guides beneath five inches of dense rough.

And therein lies one of the fascinating subplots of this 125th edition of golf’s most sadistic major. By that, we mean Scheffler’s ability to withstand the really nasty stuff between Thursday morning and Sunday evening.

Across the past three years or so, there has been a rapid dwindling in the areas where we can legitimately scrutinise his talent and progress. His three major titles, Olympic gold medal and 16 other wins on the PGA Tour have made Scheffler the most dominant force since Tiger Woods in consideration of the speed and performance metrics with which they were acquired.

Amid such brilliance, there are precious few loose ends but this is one: can he do it when the setting is truly fiendish and as far removed from the usual target golf as we will ever see?