As Golf fans embark on Pinehurst No. 2, in Pinehurst, North Carolina, there could not be a more exciting time for the US Open!
This field is full of ripe and hungry contenders, vets, and up-and-comers who are looking for their first Major victory.
This par 70 course is a difficult challenge, and has always been one of the tougher courses on tour. With its unforgiving rough, and undulating greens with bermuda grass, players must stay out of the rough, leaving themselves angles to these spots on and around the greens they plan to attack.
Players that can scramble around these greens, leave themselves in good proximity to the holes, read the breaks on these puts, and get a feel for the speed will certainly capitalize this week.
Scottie Scheffler is on a mission this season, and I have little doubt he will finish outside the top 10 this week. It is very juicy, so willing to take a stab at top 5, where he has finished 9 of 13 starts.
Another trend I love for him this week is he almost always follows up a top performance with another one. 3 times he has won on tour this season, in 2 of those, he followed it up with another win.
He won last week at The Memorial, and now has a chance to go 3 for 3 on back to back wins on tour this season. He has been on a tear finishing at least top 2 in 7 of his last 8 events.
There is no reason to break down his stats here. He is the best player on tour, in the best form, looking to capture his 2nd major this season.
Brooks has been in great form all LIV season, and put on good performance at both the Masters (T45) and PGA (T26). He always seems to be around on major events, last season finishing top 20 in all 3 US Majors, T17 in the US Open.
In the 20-21 season he finished T4, 18-19 season finished 2nd, 17-18 season he won, hitting back-to-back US Opens, as he also won in 16-17. He also finished T13 in 15-16, T18 in 14-15, and little nugget, at this course in 2014, he finished T4.
Koepka and the US Open have been a match made in heaven in his career, finishing top 20 in 8 of these events. His top 20 is plus money if you prefer, this is a difficult course and I am taking a little juice to see him finish top 30 this week.
Hideki Matsuyama is another player who has had a lot of success in the US Open tournaments over the years. He has finished top 30 in 7 of his last 10 US Opens, and in 2014, at this course, he finished T35.
He has seen the blueprint for this course and has the current form to be very competitive this week. Hideki ranks 6th in total strokes gained, 19th in approach to green, 64th in driving accuracy, 28th in proximity, 6th in scrambling(7th from the rough), and 52nd in putts per round.
The only stat holding him up this season has been his putter, sitting 131st in total putting, but with his experience on tour, and his experience here, as well as his ability to position himself and scramble well, he should leave himself in good spots to make the cut and make a push for a another top finish here.
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Tommy Fleetwood has been a staple to bet for us all season and we are going to continue to back him on a tough and challenging course, where he almost always rises to the challenge.
Fleetwood is coming in on amazing form, finishing top 30 in 6 of his last 7 events on tour, while finishing 1st and T14 in the two DP World tournaments that host only the top players. He always welcomes the challenge of a major championship, finishing T26 at the PGA, and T3 at the Masters. Last season he finished top 30 in 3 of the 4 majors, finishing 33rd at the Masters, barely outside top 30, and finishing T5 at the US Open.
I absolutely love Fleetwoods form and statistics leading into this difficult course. He is 3rd in driving accuracy and 15th in total driving, 58th in putting, 4th in Par 4 scoring, 3rd in scrambling from rough and 10th in total scrambling and has shown too much consistency as of late, and in major tournaments to stay away from him this week.
Sahith Theegala has become rather popular this year as his form has continued to impress and carry over from last year where he had numerous quality starts finishing top 40 in 28 of 45 events since the start of last season.
He really impressed in last season's majors finishing top 40 in all 3 US majors, T27 at US Open. Theegala has 10 top 40 finishes this season, with a T45 at the Masters as well. He finished T9 at The Players, T12 at PGA, and coming off a T12 at the Memorial on a tough course.
He ranks 5th in strokes gained overall(20th off tee, 22nd approach to green, and 21 in putting). He currently sits 19th in total driving, 50th in distance and 60th in accuracy, 25th in GIR%, 38th scrambling from rough and has a 46th ranked putting average.
If he leaves himself in good positions both off the tee and on the greens, his putting should be better than 3/4 of the field, giving him a major advantage to avoid the big scores.
I am not someone who will push for big + money plays on golf tournaments, there are too many factors in play, and I try to find good value in finishing position for my members and readers. Taking Koepka, and Theegala to finish higher will net you + money and those are probably the two I would push further if you wanted.
Scheffler could be better served as a LIVE bet once his odds to finish top 5 drop as he loves to come from behind, and that is something I will have my eye on tomorrow and Friday.
Most of these plays will be on Bet365 or BetRivers as they normally offer the lowest odds on these plays mid-week. Let's have a fantastic tournament everyone!
My Best Bets:
Scottie Scheffler Top 5 (-120) Bet365/BetRivers
Brooks Koepka Top 30 (-137) BetRivers
Hideki Matsuyama Top 30 (-105) Bet365
Tommy Fleetwood Top 30 (-120) BetRivers
Sahith Theegala Top 40 (-137) BetRivers