Summer is here, and so is the heart of the 2014 major championship schedule.
The best golfers in the world will head to Pinehurst, North Carolina from June 12-15, 2014 to contest the year’s second major, the US Open. 2013 champion Justin Rose will look to be the first person since Curtis Strange in 1988-89 to successfully defend the title, but he’ll face stiff competition from some immensely talented golfers.
The beauty of the US Open is that a new champion is almost guaranteed to be crowned every year as the tournament moves from one devastatingly difficult course to another. Create a betting account and read on for a breakdown of the field that will chase the championship this year.
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2014 U.S. Open Golf Preview and Picks
The Favorites – Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott
[sc:Golf240banner ]Fresh off his first win of the season at the BMW PGA Championship two weeks ago, 2011 champion Rory McIlroy is the big favorite at +1,000 to claim his second US Open title. McIlroy famously set the tournament’s lowest score in his 2011 win in Bethesda, and will enter this year’s tournament in good form. McIlroy has finished in the top 10 in five of his last six tournaments, including an eighth-place finish at The Masters last April.
Another big favorite on a roll is Aussie Adam Scott. Priced at +1,400 to win his second major, last year’s Masters champion won the Crowne Plaza Invitational on a playoff, and finished a solid 4th in the Memorial. But while Scott owns top 5 finishes in the Masters, British Open and PGA Championship, he has not finished better than 15th in the US Open.
High-Value Sleepers – Graeme McDowell and Jason Dufner
McIlroy may be grabbing the headlines as the tournament favorite, but another Northern Irishman, Graeme McDowell, looks like a good under-the-radar value pick at +3,500. McDowell is a former champion of the event from back in 2010 and almost added another victory when he finished second in 2012. McDowell has finished in the top 10 in five of the eight tournaments where he made the cut this year.
Another somewhat unheralded golfer worth considering is Jason Dufner. The American has finished in the top 5 of the US Open for two years running, and yet is priced at just +3,500 odds to win. More recently, Dufner finished a close second in the aforementioned Crowne Plaza Invitational, where he lost the playoff to Adam Scott.
Long Shots – Hideki Matsuyama and Ernie Els
For a golfer with longer odds, take a look at young Japanese golfer, Hideki Matsuyama, who’s priced at +6,000. The 22-year old cracked the top 10 of the US Open last year in his very first appearance. Matsuyama will also be entering this year’s tournament on a high after winning the Memorial earlier this month in a playoff.
A $25 bet on the red-hot Matsuyama would pay out a whopping $1,500, so why wait? Create a betting account now and cash in on as good a bet in this field as any.
Also, don’t sleep on former champ Ernie Els. Despite Els’s recent struggles this season (he’s missed the cut in half of his last 10 tournaments), there’s something about the US Open that brings out the best in the South African. Els is a two-time US Open champion, and has finished in the top 10 in three out of the last four years. At very long +10,000 odds, “The Big Easy” could be an intriguing bet.
Writer’s Prediction
Graeme McDowell steals the spotlight from his Northern Ireland compatriot McIlroy. Take McDowell at +3,500 to win his second US Open.
