US Open Best Bets

By: Jake Bolin Moss

It’s U.S. Open week, which means it’s time to dive into some picks for the 121st running of this prestigious event.

Before we get into who I like for the tournament, let’s break down the venue and some history along with a brief betting preview.

This year’s event will be held at Torrey Pines (South Course), which hasn’t hosted the U.S. Open since Tiger Woods won it back in 2008. Many may recall Tiger playing that tournament on one leg due to the left knee issues that kept him out for the rest of the ‘08 season.

Last year’s champion, Bryson DeChambeau (+1800) will be looking to defend his title, as rival Brooks Koepka (+1900) did back in 2017-18. The two have been exchanging pleasantries over social media since the PGA Championship, which Koepka calls “good for the game”.

Phil Mickleson (+8900) is the most recent major winner coming off a victory at the PGA Championship held at Kiawah Island. The U.S. Open title is the only major standing in Phil’s way from a career grand slam.

Patrick Reed (+2900) owns the most recent victory at Torrey Pines with a win at the Farmers Insurance Open back in January.

Outside of those four, there will be a number of other big names competing at this week’s tournament:

World number one, Dustin Johnson (+1700) will be looking for his first win since the November Masters.

Justin Thomas (+2500) will be looking to make some noise of his own. He does have a win this season at the Players but is coming off a missed cut at the recent major (PGA Championship).

Closing out the world top three is the current betting favourite Jon Rahm (+1100), who was forced to withdraw from the Memorial at the beginning of the month. He will be looking for revenge, in hopes of capturing his first major.

Picks

Xander Schauffele – Outright Winner (+2000): Schauffele is one of a number of strong players in the field that has yet to win a major. His last time out at Torrey Pines he placed runner-up to Patrick Reed, posting two sub-70 rounds over the weekend. He has put together an impressive calendar year, including four top-5s, six top-20s and only two missed cuts. He has also posted four straight top-10s at the U.S. Open and currently ranks third on the PGA Tour in scoring average.

Collin Morikawa – Outright Winner (+2500): Unlike Schauffele, Morikawa does have a major championship under his belt, which came at the 2020 PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park. Throw in a victory at the WGC-Workday in February and he’s definitely proven he can compete with the biggest names in the sport. The 24-year-old has become one of the best iron players on Tour, but if he wants to be in the running for his second major, he will need to capitalize on the few opportunities that the U.S. Open offers.

Tony Finau – Top 10 (+210): Finau remains snake bitten as he hunts for his next Tour win, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been close. The 31-year-old has finished inside the top 10 in seven of his last 10 majors and has a runner-up finish at Torrey Pines already this season. He ranks 6th in strokes gained tee-to-green, but his game will be tested if he struggles to keep his ball in the fairway. With that being said his play at majors has been promising, so I am expecting another high finish.

Will Zalatoris – Top 10 (+300): Zalatoris has been a breakout sensation since his run at the 2021 Masters Tournament, but he was making noise even before that. His sixth-place finish at last year’s U.S. Open went a bit under the radar and since then he has been inside the top-10 six different times including the 2021 Masters and PGA Championship. He currently sits 29th in the World Golf Rankings, 30 spots higher than his rank at the end of 2020. The rise of “Will the Thrill” continues this weekend at Torrey Pines.

Scottie Scheffler – Top 20 (+135): Scheffler is still early in his PGA career, but has managed to put together a strong resumé. The young American has 13 top-10 finishes since getting his PGA Tour card in 2020 and has been inside the top 20 at three straight majors. He comes into this tournament off a solo third at the Memorial, so look for him to keep the momentum going.

Abraham Ancer – Top 20 (+185): Ancer has been in good form as of late posting five top-20s in five straight starts since the Masters (including three top-10s). His best major finish happened to come at the most recent PGA Championship where he finished T8. Ancer led the field in driving accuracy at that tournament and will need to be in similar form if he wants to compete at Torrey Pines.