2023 U.S. Open Betting: Picks, Odds, Predictions and Best Bets

Written by

Updated on June 13, 2023 7:40PM EST

U.S. Open Betting Preview

The third major championship of the year has arrived, and the professional golf worlds ascends to Los Angeles Country Club for the U.S. Open.

Scottie Scheffler enters as the tournament favorite at 13-2 odds, and he is followed by world No. 2 Jon Rahm, who is listed at 9-1 to win. The will be joined by 19 amateurs who made their way through open qualifying as well as 15 LIV golfers. Rory McIlroy will once again look to end his major championship drought, and Phil Mickelson will attempt to complete the career Grand Slam.

Last year, Matt Fitzpatrick defeated Will Zalatoris and Scottie Scheffler by one stroke for his first PGA Tour victory.

All odds via DraftKings Sportsbook as of 7:30 PM ET Tuesday.

Check out the best sports betting websites for other odds, offers and promotions.

Course Characteristics

Par 70, 7,421 yards

Average Strokes Gained Rankings: U.S. Open Champions Since 2019

SG: Off-the-Tee: 7.8
SG: Approach: 6.3
SG: Around-the-Green: 15.5
SG: Putting: 21.0
SG: Tee-to-Green: 3.3
Driving Distance: 11.8
Driving Accuracy: 19.8

LACC will be hosting a professional event for the first time since 1940 and will play long with six par-4s stretching out to at least 480 yards. There are three par-5s and five par-3s. Per usual with the USGA setup, the rough is going to be thick, and players that miss the fairways will have a difficult time advancing approach shots to the green. That should put a premium on accuracy over distance off the tee. However, a combination of both will be needed due to the length of some of the holes. Strokes Gained: Approach played a crucial role over the last four years, with the winner finishing no worse than 11th in that department over that span. Expect a lot of approaches from over 200 yards this week.

U.S. Open Success

These five players have the lowest scoring average over the last five U.S. Opens.

Scheffler narrowly edges out two-time U.S. Open champion Koepka for the best scoring average on the heels of back-to-back top-10 finishes in this event. He enters amid a run of four straight top-5 finishes but continues to be hampered by his putter, as he has led the field in SG: Tee-to-Green in consecutive tournaments but was unable to win. Another player that's shown an affinity for the USGA setups is Schauffele, who has three top-5s in six U.S. Open appearances with a worst finish of T14. The SoCal native is sixth in SG: Approach this season, and it's easy to argue that given his track record he's a value at 18-1 odds. He has not won this season but did record a pair of top-5s over his last four starts.

The Right Approach

The following golfers, on a per-round basis, gained the most strokes on approach over their last 20 rounds.

Scheffler finds himself atop yet another list and is followed closely behind by Morikawa, who has gained strokes on approach in every tournament this season. Unfortunately, the results haven't mirrored his exceptional iron play, as he has lost some distance off the tee and is losing shots around the green and on the putting surface. Morikawa is just outside the top 10 choices on the board at 35-1 odds. Next on the list we find Rahm, who followed up his 2021 win with a T12 at last year's U.S. Open. Since winning The Masters, he struggled with his short game in two designated events and was a non-factor at the PGA Championship. If he can shore up that area, he will certainly work his way into contention.

U.S. Open Bets: Outright Picks

Rory McIlroy (14-1)

McIlroy was in contention to win going into the final round each of the last two weeks, and although he didn't get it done, his game is clearly in strong form. He's posted a top-10 in four consecutive U.S. Opens, and his ability to use his length advantage off the tee and creativity on this course should give him a great opportunity to win.

Patrick Cantlay (16-1)

Cantlay jumps off the page in a number of statistical categories this season, most notably SG: Tee-to-Green (sixth), Off-the-Tee (second), total driving (first) and greens in regulation (seventh). With five top-5 finishes this season, it's just a matter of time before he wins.

Max Homa (35-1)

It's difficult to overlook Homa in his home state -- where he has picked up four of his six PGA Tour victories -- yet alone his home city. The knock on Homa is his subpar track record in majors, but he has to break through eventually, right? Following a poor stretch this spring, he responded with two top-10s in his last three starts.

U.S. Open Bets: Top-10 Wagers

Si Woo Kim (11-2)

Kim has put on a clinic in the long game this year, ranking top-30 in both SG: Off-the-Tee and Approach. That's led to only three missed cuts on the season and a pair of top-5s over his last four starts. He's coming off a fourth-place finish at Muirfield Village in which he finished second in SG: Tee-to-Green.

Denny McCarthy (17-2)

McCarthy is coming off a runner-up finish at The Memorial and has been playing the best golf of his career, with six top-15 results over his last 13 events. He has become an above-average ball striker, which bodes well for a player who is arguably the best putter on Tour.

Patrick Rodgers (14-1)

Rodgers has somewhat quietly put together his most consistent season on Tour, notching eight top-20 finishes and sitting 32nd in SG: Total. He's a little sporadic off the tee but above average everywhere else, and he has made the cut in all four of his U.S. Open appearances.

U.S. Open Bets: Head-to-Head Matchups

Cameron Young (-110) over Shane Lowry

Coming off a 2-0 week in one-on-one bets, I'll try to keep rolling with Young, who feels undervalued after a stretch of tournaments in which he struggled mightily with the putter. If he can have even a decent week on the greens, big things could be in store, as he's one of the best ball strikers on Tour. I like him over Lowry, who has just one top-10 this season. This has historically been his weakest major of the four.

Adam Schenk (-110) over Chris Kirk

A matchup between two players going in opposite directions, I'll go with the player in much better form in Schenk. Kirk has never shown much in majors, with just one top-10 in 22 appearances, and he has finished 75th or worse in four of his five U.S. Open appearances. Schenk has back-to-back top-10s and his all-around game should fit the setup well.

Be sure to stay on top of everything going on in golf with RotoWire's latest PGA odds, the most up-to-date PGA injury report, our expansive PGA stats database and much more!