We’re just hours away before the US Open tees of from the quaint course at Erin Hills, and there’s no question that this year’s edition of the major tournament is stacked with prominent golfers looking to win on one of the grandest stages on the PGA Tour.
While there are certainly some notable favorites in this week’s field, it’s also worth keeping tabs on some sleepers in Wisconsin to possibly get the most bang out of your betting buck. Having said that, let’s hear it from a handful of the internet’s experts below as for who they believe has the best chances of pulling out a surprising victory.
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2017 US Open Expert Sleeper Picks and Predictions
Bleacher Report
Rory Marsden of Bleacher Report went with three names as his dark horse picks: Branden Grace, Louis Oosthuizen and Kevin Kisner, with all three of competitors currently priced at a cool +5,000 to win at Erin Hills.
Out of this bunch, it’s Oosthuizen who’s been the closest to tasting US Open victory, finishing tied in second place with reigning champion Dustin Johnson (+700) back in the 2015 edition of the tournament.
But it goes without saying that Grace and Kisner also make for viable sleeper candidates. Marsden pointed out that Grace is coming off back-to-back top-five finishes at the US Open, as well as a couple more top-fives from another major in the PGA Championship. Meanwhile, Kisner has momentum on his side, currently tied with Johnson and former US Open champion Jordan Spieth (+1,000) for the second-most top-10 finishes this season with six.
CBS Sports
| Expert | Prediction |
|---|---|
| Kyle Porter | Jordan Nierbrugge |
| Chip Patterson | Lucas Glover |
| Adam Silverstein | Billy Horschel |
The three-man panel over at CBS Sports did not arrive at a unanimous nor a majority-voted sleeper pick, and neither of the the trio’s respective choices appeared in B/R‘s own selections from earlier, either. This goes to show just how deep this week’s field of golfers really is.
Chip Patterson’s decision to go with Lucas Glover as his sleeper candidate is a pretty sound one, as the South Carolina native is the only former US Open champion (2009) out of the three names listed above. What’s intriguing about Glover is that he’s slotted into odds for the entire field at +500, which means you’ll still have a decent shot at winning if and when another wild card entrant not found on the oddsmakers’ list strikes gold in Wisconin. You can even count Kyle Porter’s pick – the fourth-place finisher from last year’s Erin Hills Invitational, Jordan Nierbrugge – into that same pool.
But if you’re looking for a huge payday, perhaps Billy Horschel (+7,000) is your man. As Adam Silverstein noted, Horschel has the power to cut through Erin Hills’ daunting length, having finished a career-best T4 at the 2013 edition of the US Open at Merion, which sports a rather similar 7,000-yard distance to this week’s course.
Heavy
| Expert | Prediction |
|---|---|
| Tim Keeney | Brooks Koepka, Paul Casey, Kevin Kisner,
Francesco Molinari, Tony Finau |
Like Rory Marsden of Bleacher Report, Tim Keeney from Heavy recommended more than just one sleeper candidate.
Kevin Kisner is the only golfer to appear twice in this here feature, but it’s Keeney’s top sleeper pick in Brooks Koepka (+3,500) who’s arguably the safest bet amongst all the dark horses we’ve just covered and not just because of his current odds.
Keeney highlighted that the FSU product has the driving power capable of conquering Erin Hills, currently ranked fifth on the PGA Tour this season in driving distance and third in Par-5 scoring and with this week’s course sporting four such holes. Heavy‘s featured columnist also added that Koepka has made eight-consecutive cuts heading into this week’s tournament, having secured an 11th-place finish at The Masters and a runner-up finish at the Texas Open during than span. For good measure, the 27-year-old has a T4 finish from the 2014 installment of the US Open as well.
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