US Open preview: Prospect of facing Scottie Scheffler and challenging greens will ensure stern test

Two questions are dominating the conversation ahead of the 124th US Open, which begins at the Pinehurst No 2 course in North Carolina on Thursday.

The first is 'who can stop Scottie Scheffler?' and the second is 'will the course be close to unplayable as the severely undulating greens bake out under a scorching sun?'

Let’s look at the Scheffler question first. The world number one is on a run that it is unparalleled since Tiger Woods was in his pomp. He’s not as flashy as Woods nor as emotional on the course; there are no uppercut fist pumps. However, he is putting together a Tiger-like season, with five wins and two seconds in his last eight tournaments. While he ‘only’ finished tied eighth in last month’s PGA Championship, he was literally and metaphorically handcuffed when he was somewhat ludicrously arrested and had to start his warm-up in a jail cell a few hours before his opening round.

One of his greatest strengths is that he seems unflappable. In any round, in any tournament not everything will go right. At the Memorial last weekend, a bad bounce of a tree sent his ball out of bounds and he ran up a triple bogey at the ninth in the third round. He was three under for the next six holes and back in control.

"I try not to think about the past too much, and I try not to think about the future too much, and I just try and live in the present," he said in his press conference. "Sometimes it's easier and sometimes it's a bit harder. I feel like coming off last week, I was really excited and celebrated for a few minutes there, but my mind kind of just goes on to the next thing. I was getting ready, trying to get out of there and trying to prep for this week."

You can be sure that the rest of the field will be wondering 'what