Posted on: June 13, 2024, 12:26h.
Last updated on: June 12, 2024, 06:28h.
The 124th United States Open Golf Championship tees off in just a matter of hours at Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina on the famed No. 2 Course.
Just like the 2024 Masters and PGA Championship, World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, unquestionably the best golfer on the planet this year with five wins, including last weekend’s Memorial Tournament, is the heavy betting front-runner. Oddsmakers say despite nearly unprecedently short odds, bettors continue to wager on the 2024 Masters victor.
When it comes to U.S. Open odds, Scottie Scheffler is a massive favorite at +300 following his win at the Memorial and five overall wins this season,” BetMGM told Casino.org.
It’s a similar scenario at other sportsbooks.
“In golf, you try to look for somebody who has a decent price (odds), but the bettors just feel like he’s unstoppable,” Johnny Avello, DraftKings’ lead oddsmaker, told ESPN.
Bettors Unfazed
Ahead of Thursday’s opening round with 156 players in what’s typically considered the strongest field in golf, Scheffler is at just 3/1 to win the U.S. Open. Such a short line for a major golf championship hasn’t been seen since Tiger Woods was in his prime.
BetMGM says Scheffler accounts for almost one in four U.S. Open ticket slips and is responsible for a staggering 45% of the overall money wagered. He is, of course, the book’s biggest liability.
BetMGM opened its U.S. Open odds many months ago with Scheffler at +750. The line has continually shrunk as Scheffler has dominated the PGA Tour with wins at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, The Players Championship, Masters, RBC Heritage, and Memorial. He won three of those tournaments by at least three strokes or more.
The U.S. Open is traditionally the hardest test in golf. A slick Pinehurst No. 2 will undoubtedly task the world’s best players with a most challenging four-day championship.
Scheffler’s mindset is perhaps his greatest asset.
I’ve learned over the course of my career to stay as patient as possible. I think that’s something you learn playing more and more golf, is that bad breaks are going to come, but it’s more about your response to those things,” Scheffler said this week.
“Over the course of a 72-hole tournament, you’re going to get plenty of bad breaks and hit plenty of bad shots,” Scheffler continued. Bad breaks will be the norm at Pinehurst this week.
Rest of the Best
After Scheffler at +300, which a winning $100 wager would net $300, the players with the shortest odds at BetMGM are Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele at +1200. Collin Morikawa is at +1400 and Viktor Hovland at +1800 rounds out the top five.
Though Woods hasn’t won a major since the 2019 Masters and hasn’t won a PGA Tour event since October 2019, the 15-time major winner remains a betting favorite whenever he’s inside the ropes. BetMGM, ESPN Bet, and other books say Woods is among its top liabilities for this week, though oddsmakers aren’t overly worried about Woods walking up the 72nd hole come Sunday evening with the lead.
Woods hasn’t made the cut in the U.S. Open since 2019 and hasn’t played in the USGA championship in four years. He accepted a special initiation into the field last month.
Tiger won the 2000, 2002, and 2008 U.S. Opens. Those tournaments were respectively held at Pebble Beach, Bethpage Black, and Torrey Pines.
