It’s that time of the PGA Tour season again–golf’s third major.
And that means bettors–even those who don’t follow golf–are looking to check out the action this week as the U.S. Open is front and center.
This year’s event will be played at sunny Torrey Pines in San Diego so before you make any bets, tournament-wise or prop-wise, check out recent results for your favorite players on this impressive course.
Now there are a few bettors who may not be able to tell you the difference between golf’s Bryson DeChambeau and baseball’s Bryce Harper but they may still want to put down a wager or two when it comes to golf’s majors.
We’re going to help out a little by giving out a few prop bets that will let players have action on the tournament while not having to worry about one player beating the rest of the field.
We’re going to look at a head-to-head matchup for the first day, a head-to-head matchup for the four days of the tournament, a bet on which countryman will beat his fellow mates and a couple of off-the-wall props that may not make much money but they can certainly up the enjoyment of the four days of the tournament.
As usual, bet with your head instead of your heart and watch your budget. We’re going to use FanDuel’s odds for our numbers.
Let’s Start With a Head-To-Head Matchup
This wager will pit two of the favorites over the four days.
While we picked Brooks Koepka and Xander Schauffele as two of our picks to win the U.S. Open, we like the chances of Koepka (+126) to beat Schauffele in their matchup. The reasoning is simple as Koepka lives for the majors. End of story.
Well, not the end actually. We’ve got a few more stats to throw your way. Koepka, in his short PGA Tour career, has won back-to-back U.S. Open titles (2017 and 2018) as well as back-to-back PGA Championships (2018-2019). He’s made for these stages. Granted he did miss the cut last week but you can bet your bottom dollar (OK, please don’t bet your last few dollars) that he was already thinking about this week’s tournament and how he’s going to play the course.
How About A Top-10 Finish Wager
Sometimes it’s the players you don’t hear about who sneak up and get that solid finish. Maybe even a top-10 when he wasn’t mentioned during any of the broadcasts or stories.
But they hang around and get that solid finish that boosts their confidence as they search for that first major.
Say hello to Will Zalatoris. We’re going to look at him for a top-10 finish at +310. His game is solid and he’s getting more and more comfortable on the big stages.
This is certainly one of the biggest stages around and he’s ready to take that next step up.
Feeling Confident About A Top-5 Pick?
If you’re looking for a player who might not win but who could have enough game this week to finish in the top-five, look no further than Patrick Reed at +550.
He won the Farmers Insurance Open right here earlier this year so he’s had success on this track.
He’s also got top-20s in the first two majors of the season. He may not win it this week, but a top-five finish certainly isn’t out of the question and would provide bettors with a decent payday.
Leader After Round 1
There are always players who come out hot during a given week. They may not win the tournament or even be on the first page of the leaderboard after the first round.
Here’s your chance to make great money by picking the leader after the first round. The numbers are astronomical. The favorite is Jon Rahm at +1800. That’s a nice payday.
But we can do better.
How about someone like Patrick Cantlay at +2900. He’s coming off a victory and this is the perfect spot for a possible big payday for bettors.
Group Of 4 Betting
Want a little more bang for your buck? Who doesn’t?
Then it’s time to check out the group matchups. It’s a group of four golfers going head-to-head-to-head-to-head.
There’s one foursome in the prop bets we really like and that’s the group of Bryson DeChambeau, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, and Collin Morikawa.
We like the Morikawa choice at +270 simply for the fact of the other three are still the marquee players. Morikawa just keeps playing well, competing and winning. A great combination.
Add in the fact he just needs to beat the other three players for the week and that makes it just a little easier than having to throw in names like Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and a few other superstars.
Taking A Look At Best Player In The Country
There are a lot of prop bets dealing with the best players from a country or area of the world.
One we like is the best player from Great Britain/Ireland. The favorite is Rory McIlroy at +320 (no surprise there) but we’ve got a better option.
Check out Tyrrell Hatton at +650. He’s been playing well and if he can keep his temper in check (wonder what the odds are that he throws a club or two?) he can be the headliner of this wager.
There you have it, just a few prop bets to consider as we tee it up for the third major of the year.
About the Author
