By Tom Wilkinson
Golf takes the national spotlight this week with the U.S. Open taking place at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. Golf’s third major of the year will have a lot of great storylines and no shortage of contenders. Last week’s winner at the RBC Canadian Open, Rory McIlroy is listed as a slight favorite. A plethora of other players are right behind McIlroy in the golf betting odds, including Justin Thomas, Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm. Also getting headlines this week are players who participated in last week’s LIV event. Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson are two of the high-profile players who will have to answer questions this week.
Let’s look at U.S. Open matchup picks.
Defending Champion: Jon Rahm
RBC Canadian Open Matchups
Rory McIlroy -142 vs. Scottie Scheffler
Rory McIlroy -130 vs. Justin Thomas
Jon Rahm -120 vs. Scottie Scheffler
Justin Thomas -126 vs. Jon Rahm
Xander Schauffele -120 vs. Patrick Cantlay
Jordan Spieth -120 vs. Cameron Smith
Xander Schauffele -126 vs. Cameron Smith
Patrick Cantlay -142 vs. Jordan Spieth
Will Zalatoris -116 vs. Shane Lowry
Matthew Fitzpatrick -126 vs. Sam Burns
Dustin Johnson -152 vs. Brooks Koepka
Patrick Cantlay -126 vs. Cameron Smith
Keegan Bradley -140 vs. Abraham Ancer
Sam Burns -130 vs. Viktor Hovland
Dustin Johnson -130 vs. Daniel Berger
Matt Fitzpatrick -130 vs. Collin Morikawa
Tommy Fleetwood -130 vs. Justin Rose
Talor Gooch -130 vs. Tyrrell Hatton
Brian Harman -110 vs. Jason Kokrak
Harold Varner -140 vs. Russell Henley
Denny McCarthy -130 vs. Tom Hoge
Joaquin Niemann -120 vs. Max Homa
Billy Horschel -110 vs. Corey Conners
Mackenzie Hughes -130 vs. Nick Taylor
Shane Lowry -120 vs. Sungjae Im
Luke List -110 vs. K.H. Lee
Alex Noren -120 vs. Marc Leishman
Sebastian Munoz -110 vs. Cameron Tringale
Cameron Young -110 vs. Mito Pereira
Aaron Wise -110 vs. Davis Riley
Webb Simpson -130 vs. Adam Scott
Si Woo Kim -130 vs. Gary Woodland
Erik Van Rooyen -120 vs. Kevin Kisner
Will Zalatoris -120 vs. Tony Finau
Collin Morikawa -112 vs. Tony Finau
Joaquin Niemann -130 vs. Viktor Hovland
Xander Schauffele -118 vs. Matthew Fitzpatrick
Will Zalatoris -126 vs. Jordan Spieth
Shane Lowry -126 vs. Sam Burns
Aaron Wise -126 vs. Seamus Power
Collin Morikawa -122 vs. Viktor Hovland
Tony Finau -134 vs. Billy Horschel
Hideki Matsuyama -152 vs. Brooks Koepka
Joaquin Niemann -118 vs. Sungjae Im
Cameron Young -130 vs. Daniel Berger
Dustin Johnson -126 vs. Max Homa
Corey Conners -134 vs. Tommy Fleetwood
Davis Riley -126 vs. Justin Rose
Mito Pereira -126 vs. Louis Oosthuizen
Golf Picks
Cameron Smith -104 vs. Patrick Cantlay
We know that Smith performs well on the big stage and did you see what he did last week after shooting an opening 76? He rebounded with a 65 to make the cut. Cantlay has yet to show he can do well in majors, as he has just two top 10’s and those were both in 2019. I’ll take Smith at the short price in this matchup.
Daniel Berger +100 vs. Dustin Johnson
You have to think that this course will suit Berger who is strong off the tee and around the green. I don’t know that Johnson is ready to win again, but you never know what you are going to get with DJ. He has to deal with questions about the LIV Tour and he hasn’t really played well in a while. I think Berger is in better form and the right choice in this matchup.
Cameron Young -110 vs. Mito Pereira
Young is excellent off the tee, as he ranks 6th on the PGA Tour in total driving. We know that this week will be a combination of distance and accuracy and Young fits really well. He has played well against top competition all season and I think he can contend this week. Pereira has shown flashes of greatness but he is still too inconsistent for me right now. I’ll take Young in this matchup.
Corey Conners -134 vs. Tommy Fleetwood
Conners tied for 4th last week and he should feel really good, as he closed with a 62. He is a really good fit for this course with his length and accuracy and strong play around the green. Fleetwood shows up on leaderboards now and then, but he hasn’t really been in top form for a while. I will take Conners in this matchup.
Davis Riley -110 vs. Aaron Wise
Have you noticed how often Riley has been on leaderboards this season? He has finished 13th or better in six straight events and he has four top-five finishes this season. He also ranks highly in one of our key stats this week and that is total driving, as he is tied for 8th on the PGA Tour. I’ll take Riley in this matchup against Wise.
Check out the latest U.S. Open odds at SugarHouse.
