2015 US Open Golf Preview

2015 US Open Golf Preview

The 115th US Open Championship is scheduled for June 18-21 at Chambers Bay in University Place, Washington. Chambers Bay Golf Course is only eight years old and will be host to the first US Open held in the Pacific Northwest.

Last year Martin Kaymer won this tournament at +4000 odds and there have been a number of big longshots to take the win in this major. Below shows recent winners dating back to 2003 with their pre-tournament consensus odds:

The early favorite for yet another major win is Rory McIlroy but recent Masters winner Jordan Spieth has been gaining traction. The table below shows the full list of odds at 5Dimes for each contender, including Tiger Woods who is coming off a career-worst outing at the Memorial:

Since bettors are always eager to bet on Tiger Woods (seemingly regardless of the price) his odds are typically shaded very heavily. However, now the question isn’t whether Tiger will win, it’s whether he’ll even make the cut:

Tiger Woods is -120 to miss the cut at the US Open this week @bet365. -110 @paddypower.

— Jon Campbell (@JonnyOddsShark) June 16, 2015

There are also some general prop bets available for the US Open:

US Open tourney props Hole in one: +105 Playoff: +300 Lowest round: 65.5 Winning score: 279.5

— Sports Insights (@SportsInsights) June 18, 2015

Last year Jordan Spieth was the most popular golfer for bettors in last year’s US Open as more bets were placed on Spieth than any other golfer at LVH, and this year is shaping up to be similar. Spieth has now won the 2015 Masters and has already moved from 16:1 to 7:1 around the market to win the 2015 US Open. However, McIlroy’s dominant performances over the last few weeks have kept him at the top.

Golf bettors and fans alike should be excited for this weekend’s tournament, as it will provide more of a British Open feel in terms of looks and layout. There are no trees on the course and the greens are likely to be fast and bumpy. The course is a rollercoaster with its up-and-down hills, exemplified by the 5th hole below, showing the importance of accuracy and scrambling:

Picks to win the US Open:

Dan M: I picked Henrik Stenson to win the Masters and although he ended up getting sick before the tournament, put up a respectable 19th place finish. Past major performances may not matter for this course but he’s had 9 career Top 10 finishes and has the skill to win at a course like Chambers Bay. He may be a bit of a trendy selection but I’m going with Henrik Stenson +2700 to win the 2015 US Open. For those that don’t have the confidence in picking an outright winner, betting on a Top 10 or Top 5 finish can also net a decent return.

Travis: I immediately looked for golfers that are long off of the tee as I feel they should have a distinct advantage over the shorter players at this course.  After looking past some of the favorites, I ended up going with Brooks Koepka at +6000 who is 6th on the PGA in driving distance.  This should lead to some shorter approach shots where Koepka ranks 24th in approaches between 100-125 yards.  Once he gets on the green, he’s ranked 8th this season in strokes gained putting and he’s coming off of a third place last week and I believe recent form is an important factor to consider as well.

PJ: As mentioned at the beginning of the article, Chambers Bay is a relatively new golf course, meaning there have been very few opportunities for players to experience the course in tournament conditions. However, Chambers Bay did host the 2010 U.S. Amateur Championship, which included my pick, Patrick Reed at +6000. Because we’re not sure what type of player and/or skill set is needed to get around this course, I’m starting my US Open card off with Reed, a player who has both tournament experience at Chambers Bay and the ability to get hot and make birdies (Reed currently ranks 12th in average birdies per round this season).