The PGA TOUR heads to North Carolina this week for the 124th edition of the United States Open. The No. 2 Course at Pinehurst Resort and Country club will be the host, and measures as a 7,543-yard par 70 with Bermuda grass greens.
The field is one of the best we will see all season, with many of the top-100 golfers in the world set to tee it up.
Below I have outlined my two favorite bets for the week.
Collin Morikawa to win (+1400)
Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele have separated themselves as the two best players in the world right now, and that No. 3 spot likely belongs to Rory McIlroy, but you can make crystal clear case for Morikawa with the way he’s been playing of late. The Cal product has been on an absolute tear since April, posting top-four finishes at the Masters, PGA Championship, Charles Schwab Challenge and the Memorial. He also finished ninth at Harbour Town for good measure.
Morikawa came oh so close to toppling Scheffler last week at Muirfield Village, finishing runner-up and just one-stroke back. However, he played about as well as you could play without winning, gaining 8.2 strokes ball-striking and 3.7 putting.
The other encouraging part of this stretch for Morikawa has been his stellar around-the-green play, where he’s averaging .60 strokes per round ATG over his past 24, ranking him third in this field. Combine that with his pin-point iron play and elite driving accuracy and you have yourself a guy ready to win a U.S. Open.
Morikawa is certainly no stranger to major championships, having bagged two already at just 27 years of age. He always raises his baseline on golf’s biggest stages, and he’s as locked in as any golfer on the planet right now. If Scheffler falters whatsoever this week, there is a strong chance Morikawa will complete the third leg of the career grand slam.
Sungjae Im to win (+7500)
Very quietly, Im has completely turned his season around. He was struggling for most of the year, but then something clicked at the RBC Heritage. Since Harbour Town, Im has posted four top-12 finishes in five starts, including a T4 at Quail Hollow, T9 at Colonial and T8 last week at the Memorial.
During this stretch, the South Korean ranks 15th in the field in Total Strokes gained and has been hitting driving the ball beautifully. Im has gained strokes off-the-tee in each of his past five starts — even including his missed cut at the PGA Championship.
He will now return to a part of the country where he’s had quite a bit of success over his career. I mentioned above how strong he was at Quail Hollow this year, but in addition, he’s fared well at other difficult Bermuda tracks in the southeast as well. Im won the Honda Classic back in 2020, and has multiple top-five finishes at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, as well as THE PLAYERS Championship, Valspar Championship and Wyndham Championship. The latter is not a particularly difficult test, but it’s played at Sedgefield Country Club in North Carolina and features Bermuda greens.
Im once posted a T2 finish at the Masters as well, so we’ve already seen his ceiling in majors championships. It will be quite the task for Im trying to take down all the giants at the top of the board, but at 75/1 it’s a bet well worth making.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25263747/IMG_9722.jpeg)
Bet at a top rated Sportsbook!
View the latest odds and bet online legally at a top rated Sportsbook! Place a bet now at DraftKings Sportsbook!*
*Odds and lines are for illustrative purposes only.
Place your golf bets at DraftKings Sportsbook or by downloading the DraftKings Sportsbook app.
The Crown Is Yours: Sign up for DraftKings and experience the ultimate host for games and betting experiences!
All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook, lines and odds subject to change.
I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and customer (my username is Lan1228) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.