Lee Westwood will be among the big-hitters in the opening two rounds of the US Open as he has been paired with Tiger Woods and Ernie Els (Westwood 12/1 to win US Open).

The Englishman has yet to win a major but has come close in recent times, finishing tied for third in the 2009 Open Championship and the PGA Championship before coming second to an inspired Phil Mickelson at the Masters back in April this year.

He also performed well in the Players Championship at Sawgrass and led the field going into the final day before eventually finishing tied for fourth.

The Worksop-born star is currently playing the St Jude Classic in Memphis and is the joint-leader with American Garrett Willis on -9 after the first 36 holes.

The 37-year-old is in the form of his life and will draw inspiration from Woods, who has won the tournament three times and South African Els, who has two US Opens to his name.

Woods has struggled with his game after taking five months out of the sport with personal problems and has missed recent events with a neck injury.

However he won his first US Open at Pebble Beach back in 2000 and is known to be a big fan of the Californian course.

The 14-time major winner is joint-favourite to win a fourth US Open with Mickelson at 7/1, while Els is on offer at 16/1 to win his third.

Ireland’s Padraig Harrington (18/1) has been drawn with world number two Mickelson and South Korean Yang Yong-eun as he bids for his fourth major.