2012 US Open golf championship: Who and what to watch for

Defending US Open champion Rory McIlroy has had an up-and-down season so far in 2012. The Northern Irishman won the Honda Classic in early March. But since then, he's been inconsistent, shooting over par in the final two rounds of the Masters and not making consecutive cuts at the Players Championship and the Memorial.

However, last weekend, he finished tied for seventh at the FedEx St. Jude Classic in Memphis and got some positive feedback, according to USOpen.com.

"It was a really good idea that I went there. I definitely feel more comfortable about my game going into this week [than] if I hadn't have played. So I'm happy that I did," McIlroy said on Tuesday.

The 2011 US Open champ is paired for the first two rounds with Lee Westwood and Luke Donald, two men who are still looking for their first win in a golf major.

Another golfer to keep an eye on will be Jason Dufner, who has won twice in the last seven weeks. He won his first PGA Tour title at New Orleans, then followed it up with victory No. 2 at the Byron Nelson.

The youngest golfer in the 112th US Open field will be 14 year-old Andy Zhang, who was born in China, but now lives in Florida. He qualified as an alternate and got into the tournament when Britain's Paul Casey withdrew.

Every year, the US Open is contested on a very challenging layout. This year is no different, with an interesting note about the Olympic course: the 16th hole measures 670 yards, the longest hole in US Open history.

The first two rounds of the US Open will be televised on both NBC and ESPN. Coverage on ESPN begins at 12 noon Eastern time Thursday. At 3 p.m. Eastern, NBC will provide coverage until 5 p.m. Eastern. Then, ESPN will come back with more golf from 5-10 p.m. Eastern time. This schedule will be repeated on Friday.

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