U.S. Open Picks

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is favored to win this week’s U.S. Open at BetRivers. The fact that Scheffler is favored is probably not good news for him, as golf betting favorites lose almost every single week on the PGA Tour. Last week it was Rory McIlroy failing as the favorite at the RBC Canadian Open. Scheffler is listed at odds of +650, followed by Jon Rahm at +900, Brooks Koepka at +1100 and McIlroy at +1200. The U.S. Open will be held in Los Angeles this year on the North Course at Los Angeles Country Club. It will be the first time the course has hosted a U.S. Open in 75 years. Four players ranked in the Top 10 in the latest World Golf Rankings are trying to win their first major. They are Patrick Cantlay, Viktor Hovland, Xander Schauffele and Max Homa. Let’s look at U.S. Open picks.

Venue: Los Angeles Country Club (North Course) is a par 70 that measures 7,421 yards. The course is known for its wide fairways, as some are up to 60 yards across.

Last Year: Matt Fitzpatrick won the U.S. Open last year, beating Will Zalatoris by one shot. Zalatoris finished in a tie for second with Scottie Scheffler, while Hideki Matsuyama finished in fourth and Rory McIlroy and Collin Morikawa tied for fifth place.

TV Coverage: NBC, USA and Peacock

U.S. Open Odds

Scheffler, Scottie +650

Rahm, Jon +900

Koepka, Brooks +1100

McIlroy, Rory +1200

Cantlay, Patrick +1400

Schauffele, Xander +1600

Hovland, Viktor +1600

Hatton, Tyrrell +2500

Morikawa, Collin +2800

Spieth, Jordan +2800

Smith, Cameron +3000

Homa, Max +3000

Fitzpatrick, Matthew +3300

Finau, Tony +3500

Matsuyama, Hideki +4000

Johnson, Dustin +4000

Fleetwood, Tommy +4000

Thomas, Justin +4500

DeChambeau, Bryson +4500

Rose, Justin +4500

Young, Cameron +4500

Scott, Adam +5000

Lowry, Shane +5000

Sungjae Im +5000

Day, Jason +5000

McCarthy, Denny +6600

Conners, Corey +6600

Fowler, Rickie +6600

Burns, Sam +6600

Clark, Wyndham +7000

Reed, Patrick +8000

Niemann, Joaquin +8000

Pereira, Mito +8000

Bradley, Keegan +8000

Henley, Russell +8000

Si Woo Kim +8000

All other players are listed with odds of +10000 or more.

Favorite

Scheffler, Scottie +650

I really like the game of Scheffler and there is no question he could win this week, but if you follow these picks each week you know that golf favorites are a huge losing proposition. I have resisted picking the favorites in golf tournaments even if I like the favorite. It wouldn’t surprise me if Scheffler wins this week, but I am not taking him as the favorite.

Value Picks

Koepka, Brooks +1100

It is major week and that means you have to take a long look at Brooks Koepka. We had him when he won the PGA Championship and why can’t he win two straight and take the U.S. Open? Koepka has won a total of nine times on the PGA Tour and five of those wins are majors. Koepka has also played well in his career in the state of California. Koepka is capable of making it two straight major wins.

Cantlay, Patrick +1400

I know that Cantlay has yet to win a major but he has all of the skills necessary. He really has no weaknesses and this could be the week where he finally wins a major. Six of the par four holes at LACC will play at over 450 yards and five will play at more than 490 yards. Cantlay is one of the top players in the world when it comes to scoring on par four holes that measure 490 yards or more. I’ll go with Cantlay at golf betting odds of 14-1.

Hovland, Viktor +1600

Hovland won the Memorial and looked good in doing it and that win may propel him to bigger things. He has played well in the majors in the past including a 4^th in last year’s Open Championship, 7^th at this year’s Masters and 2^nd at the PGA. Los Angeles Country Club sets up well for Hovland and it doesn’t hurt his cause that the greens this week are Bentgrass.

DeChambeau, Bryson +4500

There is no question that distance off the tee will help this week, especially with the wide fairways. DeChambeau won the U.S. Open in 2020 and he comes in playing well with a fifth, fourth and ninth place in his last three events. He normally does well in majors and he could be in contention on Sunday.

Conners, Corey +6600

Will Conners take inspiration from Nick Taylor winning last week? It could happen, as Conners has solid overall numbers. He has played well on tough courses in the past and he has putted well on Bentgrass greens. I’ll take a flyer on Conners at the big number.

Theegala, Sahith +10000

My big longshot this week is Theegala. He will be playing in front of a lot of cheering fans, as he has ties to the Los Angeles area. It is interesting to note that Theegala does well on long par three holes and four of the five par 3’s at LACC measures over 280 yards. I’ll throw in Theegala this week at longshot odds.

Check out the latest U.S. Open odds at BetRivers.