The 124th United States Open Golf Championship is set to tee off shortly at Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina on the renowned No. 2 Course.
Just like in the 2024 Masters and PGA Championship, World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, undoubtedly the best golfer this year with five victories, including last weekend’s Memorial Tournament, is the heavy betting favorite. Oddsmakers report that despite the unusually short odds, bettors continue to place wagers on the 2024 Masters champion.
Regarding US Open odds, Scottie Scheffler is a significant favorite at +300 following his Memorial win and five overall victories this season, BetMGM informed Casino.org.
A similar situation is observed at other sportsbooks.
“In golf, you try to look for someone with decent odds, but bettors just believe he’s unstoppable,” Johnny Avello, DraftKings’ lead oddsmaker, told ESPN.
Ahead of Thursday’s opening round with 156 players in what is typically considered the strongest field in golf, Scottie Scheffler stands at just 3/1 to win the US Open. Such short odds for a major golf championship haven’t been seen since Tiger Woods was in his prime.
BetMGM reports that Scheffler accounts for almost one in four US Open bets and is responsible for an astounding 45% of the total money wagered, making him the book’s biggest liability.
Initially, BetMGM opened its US Open odds many months ago with Scheffler at +750. As Scheffler has dominated the PGA Tour with victories at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, The Players Championship, Masters, RBC Heritage, and Memorial, his odds have continually shortened. He won three of those tournaments by at least three strokes or more.
The US Open is traditionally the toughest test in golf, and a slick Pinehurst No. 2 will undoubtedly challenge the world’s best players with a demanding 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.
After Scheffler at +300, where 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.
Although Tiger 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 competes. BetMGM, ESPN Bet, and other sportsbooks report that Woods is among their top liabilities for this week. However, oddsmakers aren’t overly concerned about Woods leading on the 72nd hole come Sunday evening.
Woods hasn’t made the cut in the US Open since 2019 and hasn’t played in the USGA championship in four years. He accepted a special invitation into the field last month.
Tiger won the US Open in 2000, 2002, and 2008. These tournaments were held at Pebble Beach, Bethpage Black, and Torrey Pines, respectively.
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