Is Luke Donald ready to take the major championship leap? (Getty Images)

Leading up to the U.S. Open, we'll offer up our thoughts on some of the game's best players and their chances to win at Olympic Club. We start things off with the No. 1-ranked golfer in the world, who's coming off a win at the BMW PGA Championship and looks primed to win his first major.

Luke Donald

His 2012 so far: Everything has gone pretty much according to plan this year for Luke Donald. He has two wins at the halfway point in the season (Transitions and BMW PGA Championship) and holds the top spot in the Official World Golf Ranking going into the U.S. Open. He also has five top 10 finishes in his last eight starts since the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral.

His record at the U.S. Open: Donald hasn't exactly had the best history at the U.S. Open. Dating back to his first appearance in 2002, he's only posted one top-15 finish in eight starts. Not only that, over the last five years, he's finished T-47, T-45, MC, WD, MC. That's not exactly the kind of record that screams future

Oakley's Cipher golf shoe. (Oakley)Welcome to Devil Ball's Proving Ground, where we put the latest golf equipment through its paces. Today, we take a take Oakley's new Cipher golf shoe for a spin around the course, and give our take on their apparel line.

Testers -- Jonathan Wall -- Handicap: 2.4

Target Golf Audience -- All Players

When it comes to playing golf during dog days of summer, the last thing you want is a pair of shoes that bogs you down -- especially if you enjoy slinging your bag in the heat.

Over the years, golf companies have come out with ways to make the trek easier, cutting down on materials and bringing the shoe closer to the ground, to make you feel as if you're one with the turf.

Both of those ideas have certainly changed the shoe game as we know it, but Oakley decided to take things another step with the Cipher, getting rid of the spikes and replacing it with NanoSpike technology (we'll touch on this more in a sec).

The result? The lightest golf shoe on the market, weighing in at 0.57 pound (or 260 grams). Making it lighter should help your legs in the long-term when you're on the course, but we all know the only thing that really matters is how it performs on the course.

How did they fare? Here's our review.

Initial thoughts

I've always been a traditional guy when it comes to my golf shoes. Give me a pair of black and white golf shoes and I'm good to go. Needless to say, I was taken aback by the Cipher's sleek, futuristic look. These aren't your grandfather's golf shoes, folks.

With moisture wicking textile liner and a breathable outer, the Cipher is built to dew sweep in the morning, and handle a round during the heat of the day.

One thing you'll also notice right off the bat is that the shoe is missing spikes. Yes, that was done on purpose, after the company found a way to cut down on the sole by adding NanoSpike technology in lieu of standard spikes. The red boards have the texture of sandpaper on steroids, giving it the ability to hold during your swing, while keeping your feet as close to the ground as possible.

And if you're wondering what happens when the NanoSpike start to wear out, Oakley sells replacement kits that cost $20 and can be popped out and replaced within a matter of minutes. We sure have come a long way from the days of trying to pop out old spikes with a cheap, metal wrench.

It was that kind of week for Rory McIlroy. (Getty Images)

Let's be honest, we're all incredibly busy. Nobody has time to sit down and watch four rounds of golf coverage -- unless, of course, you watch TV for a living, and if that's the case, please email us your number. So in an effort to condense the tournament coverage for you into a few quick hits, here are five things we learned from the FedEx St. Jude Classic.

Rory McIlroy stumbles at the worst possible time — After missing consecutive cuts, you'd think Rory McIlroy would've been happy to play the weekend and post a top-10 finish.

If only it was that easy. Instead of leaving Memphis with some positives, McIlroy crashed and burned at the most inopportune time. Tied for the lead following a clutch birdie on the 17th hole, the Ulsterman stepped onto the 18th tee tied for the FedEx St. Jude Classic lead ... and watched his tee shot land in the middle of the water. He went on to double bogey the hole, ending his chances of winning the week before his U.S. Open title defense.

With the tournament officially in the books, you can look at McIlroy's four rounds a number of different ways. On one hand he finished the week inside the top-20 in strokes gained and putts per GIR, two categories he struggled mightily in over the last month. There's no question he's going to need a hot putter at Olympic Club.

But on the other hand, he blew a golden opportunity to keep the pressure on Dustin Johnson or, heck, even birdie and get to 9-under. We can't say for sure if McIlroy's confidence was shaken after Sunday's loss, but if there was one scenario he didn't need going into the U.S. Open, it was stumbling on the final hole the week prior.

Dustin Johnson / Getty ImagesAdmit it, you probably weren't considering Dustin Johnson for your U.S. Open pool at the beginning of the week.

It's OK, we don't blame you. Having come off an 11-week layoff following a back injury that shelved the 27-year-old for the Masters, it seemed likely that Johnson would need a couple of competitive tournaments to work the kinks out of his game.

It's rare that a guy comes bursting out of the gates after an extended layoff -- even when that guy happens to be one of the best golfers on the planet.

However, after Sunday, maybe we should revise that to say most golfers need a couple tournaments to work the kinks out ... except Dustin Johnson. Following a solid T-19 finish at the Memorial -- that included finishing in the top 10 in the field in putts per GIR (fourth) and driving distance (ninth) -- Johnson built on the momentum by winning the FedEx St. Jude Classic in dramatic fashion with back-to-back birdies on the 16th and 17th to pick up the sixth win of his career.

If winning in his second week back wasn't impressive enough, here's a stat to chew on: Johnson's six wins are more than any golfer in his 20s. We keep talking about Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler being the guys to carry the torch, and rightfully so. They've both been in the headlines this year for doing some notable achievements. But after Sunday's win, we might not want to forget about Johnson just yet.

Michelle Wie / Getty Images"I might not be playing. I might be burned out. I'm not a person who 24 hours a day can only think, live, eat and breathe golf. I'm not that kind of a person. If I did that, I might be fed up with it."

To be one of the greatest athletes in any particular sport takes some incredible dedication and sacrifice. It doesn't happen overnight.

Sure, there's some God-given talent that certainly plays a role, but to be the best, you have to push yourself to unimaginable levels. It's one of the reasons Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson, to name a few, were so great at their craft: they knew what it took to be the best, and they were willing to do whatever it took to make it to the peak.

For the longest time we thought Michelle Wie was cut from the same cloth -- a young phenom who, at the ripe age of 13, became the youngest golfer to ever make the cut at the U.S. Women's Open. A year later she missed the cut by one at the PGA Tour's Sony Open, shooting 68 in the

Rory McIlroy / Getty ImagesIt looks like we can breathe a huge sigh of relief, folks. Rory McIlroy will be around for the weekend at a professional tournament. It's crazy, I know.

After questioning the 23-year-old's mindset and wondering if he'd find his swing (and confidence) before the U.S. Open, following his third straight missed cut, McIlroy gave the golf world an emphatic answer on Friday afternoon with an impressive 5-under 65 at the FedEx St. Jude Classic to grab a one-shot lead.

Spending much of the last month grinding for an under-par round, McIlroy finally looked at ease on the course, strolling the fairways with a cocksure swagger that's been absent from his game. Even when it looked like things could get ugly after back-to-back bogeys on the back nine, he didn't panic, going 3-under over his final five holes.

With the exception of an eagle and another birdie on the card, there wasn't much of a difference between Thursday's 68 and Friday's 65. Sure, McIlroy hit a couple more fairways and greens, but

Tiger's wearing red on Sunday? I'm shocked! (Nike Golf)

Admit it, you were a little curious what Tiger Woods was going to sport for the U.S. Open. We all knew he was going to roll out the Sunday red for the final round, but the other three days remained a mystery until Friday when Nike released Woods' ensembles for next week.

Our take? It looks like he's going with a subdued look on Thursday, Johnny Cash on Friday, and the color of cash on Saturday. Overall, nothing really crazy to speak of from Mr. Woods. Although, I'm kind of surprised he didn't go all black on Thursday. You'd think he'd want to intimidate Bubba and Phil right off the bat.

But I guess considering the way he's been playing recently (I think he won a tournament recently, right?), I guess he'll let his game do the talking at Olympic Club.

Via @nikegolf and @darrenrovell.

Grand Island (N.Y.) High managed to pull off an improbable comeback during the state regional playoffs on Tuesday evening, coming from three runs down with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning to defeat Honeoye Falls-Lima (N.Y.) High, 7-6.

Grand Island High's Matt Lenz and coach Dean Santorio. (BuffaloNews.com)

Normally the game should have centered around Grand Island's Dylan Kelly, who singled home the winning run to help his team advance. But it was actually pinch-runner Matt Lenz who stole the show.

As the Buffalo News reported, just hours before his team's game, Lenz's mind was elsewhere, after he spent the morning at a funeral service remembering his father, Ken Lenz, who lost his battle to cancer on June 1, one day after Grand Island had won the Section VI Class A-1 title game.

Needless to say, nobody expected Lenz to show up or play in the game. But Lenz, with the help of his teammates, who were all present at the funeral service, pressed on, taking his place on the bench. He was ready and willing to go in if his name was called.

But given the magnitude of the playoff game, Grand Island coach Dean Santorio figured it would be hard to find a spot to bring Lenz in off the bench. However, an opportunity presented itself in the bottom of the 10th inning with Grand Island down to its last out and three runs behind Honeoye Falls-Lima.

Figuring the game was all but over, Santorio allowed Lenz to come on and pinch run for C.J. Fadel, who'd just advanced to third base on a fly ball.

"I'm coaching the game to win as it unfolds, but I have to be honest, I wasn't thinking we're coming back and winning," Santorio told the Buffalo News. "We'll get him in the game, and we've had a great season. If we score him, even better. If he scores our last run of the season, wow, that would be awesome."

What Santorio didn't expect was that Lenz would play a role in Grand Island's historic win, after Jon Voyzey singled up the middle, allowing Lenz to sprint home and score, cutting the lead to 6-4 for Honeoye Falls-Lima.

After AJ Jasek singled to make it a 6-5 game, Kelly came to the plate and hammered a ball to center, bringing home two runs to win the game, 7-6. Even though Lenz didn't score the winning run, his teammates all agreed after the game that things changed when he took the field to pinch run.