Shinnecock Hills Golf Club will play host to the prestigious U.S. Open this June with the biggest stars all descending down the course for a chance to take home the shiny U.S. Open Championship Trophy. The course is known for being only location to have hosted the PGA event in three different centuries. Let’s now take a look at some of the key players vying for the title.
Favorites: Dustin Johnson (+1000) / Jordan Spieth (+1000)
Both Johnson and Spieth share the shortest odds to win in Shinnecock, as they are each labeled with a price of +1,000. It’s not that difficult to understand why they’re headed to the even as the top picks to win the event.
Dustin Johnson (+1000) – For Johnson, even though he shockingly missed the cut last year in Erin, it does not take away from him the credit that he’s finished with at least a T4 in each of the three US Open stagings prior to 2017. That stretch, of course, includes his win at Oakmont Country Club in 2016.
Jordan Spieth (+1000) – Like Johnson, Spieth is a US Open champion too, having topped the field at Chambers Bay. Oddsmakers are definitely high on Spieth regardless of his form of late. Spieth has yet to win this season and he had just missed the cut at the Memorial Tournament. Over his lats four starts, Spieth finished with a T41, a T21, a T32, and the aforementioned cut at the Memorial. His highest finish so far this year was a third-place spot in the Houston Open and at the Masters. Spieth is Spieth, though, so he’s always going to be a player to watch out for.
Sleeper: Brooks Koepka (+3000)
Koepka is the defending champion in this tournament, but it does feel as though he’s not getting lots of respect ahead of the 2018 U.S. Open, as evidenced by his lukewarm odds of +3,000 to repeat. However, this is an opportunity to lay money on Koepka, who is starting to heat up. After a T11 at THE PLAYERS Championship, Koepka had a strong showing at the Forth Worth Invitational late last month where he finished runner-up. The 28-year-old Florida State University product has fired a 63 in three of his last five rounds.
Long Shot: Jim Furyk (+10000)
Furyk (+10,000) has been a fixture at the U.S. Open for over two decades now. He started his streak in 1995 and since then has won the tournament just once. That was way back in 2003. Furyk has been given a special exemption by the USGA, allowing him to participate this year in Shinnecock. Odds are against Furyk, though, as only one golfer (Hale Irvin in 1990) in US Open history who managed to win via a special exemption route.
Writer’s Prediction
Jordan Spieth wins his first event of the year at Shinnecock.
