LOS ANGELES – A fascinating final round of the U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club awaits us where four players have separated themselves from the pack in the fight for the championship trophy.

A life-altering chance awaits the co-leaders of Rickie Fowler and Wyndham Clark who chase their first major championship while superstars and proven major winners Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler sit well poised behind them.

Fowler and Clark sit 10 under through three rounds with McIlroy just one shot back. Scheffler closed like a freight train on Saturday to post seven under, three off the lead in fourth place.

Harris English will feel he’s still alive in fifth place at six under while Xander Schauffele and Dustin Johnson know they’ll need something very special to come back from five shots adrift.

The last 23 U.S. Open winners were within four shots with a round to play.

Before you make your final betting moves, here are the reasons why the contenders can win the 123rd U.S. Open Championship at LACC – and also why they may not.

RORY McILROY, -9, 3rd (+200 to win)

Case For: It’s time. McIlroy is a bona fide superstar of the game with three FedExCup’s to his name and four major championships, including the 2011 U.S. Open. But he hasn’t won a major since 2014 and the drought has been perplexing to say the least given the Northern Irishman’s talent levels. McIlroy leads the field this week in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and Off-the-Tee and is 11th on Approach and 15th in Putting. He’s taken to the Par 5s in six under.

“I feel pretty good. The golf course definitely got a little bit trickier today than the first couple of days. Felt like I played really smart, solid golf. Hit a lot of fairways, hit a lot of greens. Sort of felt somewhat stress free out there, if you can ever call golf at a U.S. Open stress free,” McIlroy said. “Overall, yeah, pretty pleased with how today went, and feel like I'm in a good spot heading into tomorrow.”

Case Against: The pressure of the major drought looms large for McIlroy who has made a habit of fading in big tournaments at some stage over the 72 holes. As things ratchet up, McIlroy needs to refer back to his younger self and trust his talent. His scrambling hasn’t been overly effective, connecting just 40 percent of the time, something that will no doubt come under scrutiny on Sunday.

“It's been such a long time since I've done it. I'm going out there to try to execute a game plan, and I feel like over the last three days I've executed that game plan really, really well, and I just need to do that for one more day,” he added.

RICKIE FOWLER, -10, T1 (+250 to win)

Case For: When Fowler burst on the scene over a decade ago, he was an instant fan favorite. The local Southern California kid has managed to win five times on the PGA TOUR and has notched up 12 top 10s in majors, including eight top 5s. He has the experience in these situations. Fowler ranks third in the field in SG: Tee-to-Green, fifth on Approach, sixth in Proximity, eighth Around the Green and ninth in Putting. From his record-setting 62 in the opening round he has maintained his composure, bouncing back from inevitable mistakes. He has 21 birdies through 54 holes; the most birdies or better for an entire U.S. Open over the last 40 years is 24 (Brendan Steele in 2017).

“Through three rounds we're in the spot that we want to be in, and tomorrow is when the tournament starts,” Fowler said. “This is the best I've felt all year and definitely in a long time. We all feel nerves at times, depending on certain shots or circumstances, but I mentioned it yesterday and then still stand by it. This is the best I've felt, let alone in a normal tournament but especially a major, and I would say really ever in my career.”

Case Against: For all the above-mentioned chances in majors, Fowler hasn’t won any of them. Losing can become a habit. He is also +2 for the week on the par 3s, of which there are five on the course. Now the difference this time around might be perspective. A year ago, as Fowler was coming out of a long slump and swing change, he couldn’t even get a start at the U.S. Open. Will he push too hard? Will he allow others to dictate the pace? Or will he make an aggressive move and the wrong moment? He is just 2-for-9 in closing out 54 hole leads on the PGA TOUR. His last win came in 2019 at the WM Phoenix Open.

“We have a chance tomorrow. I mentioned out there after going through the last few years, I'm not scared to fail. I've dealt with that. We're just going to go have fun, continue to try to execute, leave it all out there, see where we stand on 18,” he added.

WYNDHAM CLARK, -10, T1 (+275 to win)

Case For: Clark might not be a household name but he has experience beating them. The recent winner at the Wells Fargo Championship, where the PGA Championship has been and will be held again, proved Clark has what it takes. On Saturday people were waiting for the Oklahoma State product to falter… and he did. But he then bounced back most impressively, including a clutch birdie on the last to join the lead and be in the final group on Sunday. Clark ranks second in the field in SG: Off-the-Tee and driving distance. He is ninth Tee-to-Green, second Around the Greens and third in Putting.

“Wells Fargo is an elevated event with some of the best players in the world. That's a major championship golf course, and it demands a lot of the same things this does and a U.S. Open would demand, which is all parts of your game being on,” Clark explained. “For me, winning any tournament was big, and then that one in particular felt like a major. I just feel like I can compete with the best players in the world and I think of myself as one of them.”

Case Against: While his Quail Hollow triumph was impressive, this is certainly another level of nerves and a much tougher test. While his off-the-tee play has been immense, he is slipping on Approach, ranking 52nd and losing strokes to the field. He’s played the five par 3s in a cumulative +2. He is 1-for-2 closing out 54-hole leads on the PGA TOUR. His best finish in six prior major championship starts is T75 at the 2021 PGA Championship and he had missed the cut in two prior U.S. Open starts (2021, 2022).

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER, -7, 4th (+450 to win)

Case For: The World No. 1 and 2022 U.S. Open runner-up finished eagle-birdie for a 2-under 68 to move within three strokes of the lead, reinvigorating what appeared flagging hopes. His eagle came from 196 yards the par-4 17th hole, the second-longest hole out of his career. In the last 43 rounds of major championships (dating to the start of 2021), Scheffler has been ranked inside the top 10 at the conclusion of 27 rounds. Including two wins, leads the TOUR this season with 12 top-10 finishes and has finished T12 or better in each of his last 15 starts. He ranks fourth this week SG: Tee to Green, seventh Off the Tee and third on Approach.

Case Against: Tiger Woods (2000, 2002, 2008) is the only reigning World No. 1 to win the U.S. Open. While Scheffler’s putting has improved significantly from recent weeks, and he’s actually gaining shots against the field, he has still missed six putts inside 10-feet and missed all eight attempts between 10-15 feet this week. At some point he will need to make a clutch putt. And while his finish Saturday was insane, it can’t completely mask his struggles prior.

“I was fighting all day today, trying to just get myself back in position, starting the day six or seven shots back or whatever it was. Just trying to make some birdies and avoid the bogeys,” Scheffler said. “I didn't do a great job of that for most of the day but I grinded it out pretty hard.

“I felt like today was one of the days where I got punished for my mistakes, whereas yesterday I felt like I wasn't getting punished at all. I was hitting it all over the map and getting some decent lies and figuring it out from there, and today it seemed like every time I got offline I was really fighting for par.

“I was just fortunate to see that shot go in on 17 and then a nice birdie on 18 to kind of get myself back into it.”

WILDCARD: XANDER SCHAUFFELE, -5, T6 (+3300 to win)

Case For: There are only five players higher on the leaderboard than Schauffele, who can’t possibly play worse than he did Saturday. He will play under the radar and have a chance to post a number and it was only two days ago when he shot a record-62. Schauffele will also garner local Southern California support and be fired up to prove Saturday’s 73 was an anomaly.

Case Against: His Tee to Green game disappeared on Saturday. After gaining +6.173 strokes to the field Thursday and +3.430 on Friday, Schauffele lost -3.430 in the third round. The last 23 U.S. Open winners have been within four shots with a round to play.