Who Is Going To Win The 2012 US Open?

Today sees the start of the 112th U.S. Open with golf's elite players destined to compete against one another to see who can come out on top in San Francisco come Sunday.

Over its illustrious history the tournament has made a habit of allowing surprise winners to be victorious and 155 of the world's best golfers will be teeing off dreaming that they can usurp Rory McIlroy as the 2012 champion.

But I'm sure the Northern Irishman will also be hoping for a repeat of last year's endeavors which saw him break 11 U.S. Open records on his way to a total under par score of -16.

Will he be able to though? And who are his main rivals? Look below for a preview of the main contenders for the 2012 U.S. Open.

Lee Westwood - The world number three is regarded as golfs nearly man. He doesn't garner as much press as McIlroy, Woods and Donald and he wouldn't want it any other way. If he can master his putting and keep his drives long and straight then this could finally be the time where he wins his first major.

Bubba Watson - His Masters victory has earned him a whole new set of fans and the affable and loveable American can now find himself ranked fifth in the world for good reason. However he has only played twice since Augusta having adopted a new baby son so his mind might not be fully on the game.

Luke Donald - Mr Consistent, England's Luke Donald has proved that he has the potent mixture of skill and mental strength which has seen him clinch the world number one spot, as well as quite a large amount of money over the last 18 months. Like Westwood he is still yet to win a major but he definitely has the tools to be in contention come Sunday, with his short game a particularly potent element of his play.

Rory McIlroy - The current golden boy of golf, Rory's performance last June sent tingles down the spines of sporting fanatics and sponsors the world over, who immediately replaced their retinas with dollar signs. Despite rising to the world number one spot and various tournament victories he hasn't really delivered on the really big occasions since with the Masters being a huge disappointment, but who will bet against him finding his form again when he tees off on Thursday.

Tiger Woods - Tiger has slowly been working his way back into contention with a series of solid if not unremarkable performances throughout the year, including two wins, and his new swing is definitely a force to be reckoned with. However it has let him down in the past but if he can produce some of the old Tiger magic he will definitely be there or there abouts come Sunday.

Jason Dufner - He might well be playing the greatest golf in the world at the moment, with two wins and a second place finish over his last four events. At the Masters in April he co-led with Fred Couples at the half way point, and if he can just settle himself coming into the latter stages of the competition could easily find himself right up there in contention.

Phil Mickelson - Mickelson has been runner up at the US Open on 5 separate occasions and this popular left hander knows that the crowd is going to be fully behind him over the entire four days. His comeback at this years Masters shows that he can be the best in the world on any day, but he recently had to pull out of the Memorial Tournament due to mental fatigue.

Winner? I'm gonna say Mickelson and Dufner to be fighting all the way to the end with big Phil just coming out on top and finally securing the title he craves most.