The very best in the world have made their way to Oakmont, Pennsylvania and the Oakmont Country Club for the 116th edition of the US Open this week. The second of the year’s four major tournaments is almost always the toughest of the four and a return to Oakmont will not change that. The difficulties of the tournament and this course in particular should make for an entertaining four days of action and we have broken down the field to make sure you are in the best position to make some money picking winners.
Event Details
Event: U.S. Open
Category: PGA
Date: June 16-19
Location: Oakmont Country Club, Oakmont, Pennsylvania
Jordan Spieth won this tournament a year ago at five-under but this course hasn’t been the site of the U.S. Open since a disastrous tournament in 2007 in which no golfer posted a better score than five-over. It will certainly be a tough challenge for even the best golfers on the PGA Tour and it will be very interesting to see how they respond at Oakmont in this tournament.
Past Five Winners
2015: Jordan Spieth -5
2014: Martin Kaymer -9
2013: Justin Rose +1
2012: Webb Simpson +1
2011: Rory McIlroy -16
What To Know About The Course
Widely regarded as one of the toughest courses in the entire world, Oakmont has staged this event on eight previous occasions including in 2007 when Angel Cabrera won with a ridiculous plus-five score. The course is famous for its bunkers that come to play in the third and fourth holes as well as the narrow fairways and brutal rough that line it. While the courses are always different, the past 10 U.S. Open winners have ranked in the top-25 in Driving Accuracy and Driving Distance on average as well as in the top-10 in putting average. The bigger hitters will have the edge keeping the ball closer to the greens but scrambling and putting will be just as important to contend for the victory this week.
The Field
It should be no surprise that the big three lead this year’s list of the sports betting favorites to win the U.S. Open with Jason Day at +650, Rory McIlroy at +700 and the defending champion Jordan Spieth at +900. Spieth’s 2015 victory came at a different venue but it’s still worth noting that he was able to find a way to come out on top in a difficult major tournament. All three golfers are in decent form with Day winning The Players Championship, McIlroy winning the Irish Open victory and Spieth winning the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational last month. Dustin Johnson is expected to be in the mix once again at +1000 odds but there is a major drop off after that according to the odds with Justin Rose listed at +2800, Phil Mickelson at +3000 and Adam Scott, Hideki Matsuyama and Rickie Fowler each listed at +3300 odds to win outright.
A Good Matchup To Bet: Jason Day over Rory McIlroy
Day absolutely deserves to be the betting favorite to win the U.S. Open so it only makes sense that we like him to edge out McIlroy in the head-to-head betting matchup. The World No. 1 has won seven of the last 18 tournaments that he has played in and he has placed in the top-10 in four of his five U.S. Open starts since his tournament debut in 2011. Meanwhile, McIlroy won this tournament in 2011 but since then he hasn’t finished better than ninth including a missed cut in 2012 and a 41st-place finish in 2013. Day’s talent and consistency should give him the edge this week as he contends for the outright victory and finishes ahead of McIlroy.
Top-Five Pick: Dustin Johnson
Day and Spieth are intriguing bets here especially with Spieth looking to successfully defend his title but we like D.J. to deliver a strong performance at better value as a top-five pick than either of those other two. Johnson traded odds-on twice last year before three-putting the final green to lose out and he will be eager to earn a measure of redemption at this tournament. He has both the power and accuracy off the tee to contend this weekend and if he can put it all together he will come through as an excellent value play to finish in the top-five.
Top 10 Odds To Win The US Open
Rory McIlroy +605
Jason Day +650
Jordan Spieth +805
Dustin Johnson +1415
Adam Scott +1815
Justin Rose +2050
Rickie Fowler +2250
Phil Mickelson +2250
Danny Willett +2550
Sergio Garcia +3050
