The 122nd U.S. Open will be played at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts as the USGA returns to the Boston suburb for the fourth time overall and the first since 1988.
It figures to be an immensely challenging weekend, particularly for those who have trouble finding the fairway and that type of chaos is exactly why we tune into this tournament year after year.
As we’ve done with all the major tournaments, we’ve gathered up our best bets, fantasy one-and-done picks and our favorite props before the action tees off on Thursday.
Rory McIlroy enters the field as the odds-on favorite (+1000 at Tipico), followed closely by Justin Thomas (+1200), Scottie Scheffler (+1300) and Jon Rahm (+1300). A full breakdown of the pre-tournament odds can be found here.
All odds via Tipico.
Who's winning?
Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
Blake: Matthew Fitzpatrick (+3000). For so many reasons, I would love to see Rory win it this weekend—and I’ll certainly be betting on him elsewhere on my slip—but I need a little more bang than just +1000 odds. I’m going with Fitzpatrick, who has been nails off the tee this year (40th in accuracy) and won the U.S. Amateur at Brookline back in 2013. It certainly doesn’t hurt that Fitzpatrick has played 14 events this year and finished inside the Top 10 in seven of them.
Charles: Sam Burns (+3000). I’m shying away from the favorites and focusing on Burns, who has played some amazing golf in recent months and who also has the kind of game that will help him excel on a very tough U.S. Open course.
Andy: Rory McIlroy (+1000). The King of Golf and the hero we all need right now gets his first major since 2014 and increases his lead over Greg Norman in the process.
Who's a lock to finish top 10?
(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Blake: Jordan Spieth (+260). Again, not a great price here, but after he sank at the PGA Championship during an otherwise fantastic stretch from mid-April to early-June, I’m convinced we’re going to see Spieth in control again this weekend.
Charles: Jon Rahm (+140). The defending champ who has a T3 at the 2019 Open? I’m in!
Andy: Tony Finau (+500). Finau has two Top 5 finishes in his last two starts, including a second place finish last weekend in Canada. When he gets hot like this he can reel off a bunch of good finishes in a row. I think he does that here.
Who's missing the cut?
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Blake: Dustin Johnson (+135). And Phil Mickelson, too, for that matter. I’m Team Karma over here and for as lame as those two dudes are, I’ll gladly root against them with some money on the line.
Charles: Cameron Young (+162). One week he’s contending, the next he’s missing cuts. I love the hot streak, but I’ll fade him this week.
Andy: I like that DJ pick a lot. I know he has a lot of new, dirty money that he’s focused on and will probably want to get home quickly to hang out with it some more. He’s also missed two of the last three cuts in real tournaments that he’s played in that have cuts, unlike last week’s exhibition in London which let everyone play all three rounds.
Who's a longshot you like?
Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports
Blake: Justin Rose (+6000). It feels like we’re all kind of sleeping on the fact this dude just carded a 60 on Sunday at the Canadian Open. He also finished T-13 at the PGA Championship earlier this year. At the very least, you gotta take him +500 to finish Top 10.
Charles: Tommy Fleetwood (+6000). Am I picking him because I want to put some money behind rooting for him to finally win a major, especially one that he’s finished fourth and second in during his career? … Yes. But still, I’m intrigued after that T5 at the PGA.
Andy: Davis Riley (+7000). Here are his last six finishes: T4, 5, 9, T13, T4, T13. Dude is playing some really good golf right now and it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see him in the mix this weekend.
Fantasy one-and-done pick
Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports
Blake: Justin Thomas is dialed in and I don’t believe I’ve picked him yet this season, so here we go.
Charles: In real life, one of my options left is Cameron Smith. Therefore, I am going to will it into existence that he’s a good pick.
Andy: Matt Fitzpatrick. Won the U.S. Amateur on this course in 2013. I like those positive vibes. Plus he has 7 Top 10s in his last 10 events, which is pretty good.
Prop Bets!
First Round Leader
Blake: Gary Woodland (+9000). He loves showing up early in the week—in the later rounds, not so much.
Charles: Collin Morikawa (+3000). Feels like we’ll get that WIRE TO WIRE?? buzz going.
Andy: Tony Finau (+4000). As I said above, he’s on a heater and loves to go low, even on tough courses.
Will There Be A Playoff?
Blake: No (-500)
Charles: No (-500)
Andy: Yes (+300)
Will There Be A Hole-In-One?
Blake: LOL, no (+110)
Charles: No (+110)
Andy: No (+110)
Predict Winning Margin
Blake: 1 Shot (+230)
Charles: 2 Shots (+380)
Andy: 1 Shot (+230)
Top Former Winner
Blake: Rory McIlroy (+210)…with a sprinkle on Rose (+900)
Charles: Jon Rahm (+300)
Andy: Rory McIlroy (+210)
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