The world’s best golfers will converge at Oakmont Country Club for the 2016 US Open on June 16-19. World No. 1 Jordan Spieth agonizingly blew his chance to defend his Masters title, but can he learn from his mistakes and successfully defend his US Open crown?
Let’s check out the early odds on Spieth accomplishing that feat, as well as some other top golfers’ odds to claim the second major of the season. Meanwhile, check out our early odds updates on the two remaining majors: the British Open and the PGA Championship.
Despite his disastrous meltdown at Augusta, Jordan Spieth is still the +700 favorite to successfully defend his US Open title. Spieth should be fully motivated to make up for his catastrophic Masters collapse at Oakmont.
The 22-year-old American has finished in the top five in each of his last four majors, including back-to-back runner-up finishes. He has just the one tournament win so far this season, the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in January.
Rory McIlroy
Rory McIlroy is hot on Spieth’s heels, and is currently priced at +800 to claim a fifth career major at Oakmont. McIlroy won his first ever major at the 2011 US Open in Bethesda. He finished tied for 9th in last year’s tournament at Chambers Bay, and was a respectable T-10 at Augusta in April.
Prior to his good Masters performance, McIlroy also had a couple of top-five finishes in March – the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship and the Dell Match Play.
Jason Day
Last but certainly not least among the usual threesome of favorites, Jason Day is +900 to add to his solitary major title, which came during last year’s PGA Championship. The Aussie was tied with McIlroy for 10th at Augusta, but he should be a major player once again at Oakmont.
Wherever the US Open is held, Day seems to excel. He’s finished in the top-10 in four of the five US Opens he’s participated in, with two runner-up finishes. Day is currently second in the FedEx Cup standings on the strength of back-to-back wins at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the WGC-Dell Match Play.
Sleeper
Branden Grace
Take a close look at Branden Grace at Oakmont. The South African missed the cut at Augusta, but has more than made up for it by winning the RBC Heritage and earning a top-10 finish at the Valero Texas Open. Those terrific results launched him up to 17th in the FedEx Cup rankings.
Despite Grace’s missed cut at the Masters, he did show the ability to perform very well at major tournaments last year. He finished T4 at Chambers Bay in last year’s US Open, and was third at the PGA Championship. Grace should be pretty decent value at +3,300 to claim his first ever major title.
Long Shot
Angel Cabrera
The US Open was last held at Oakmont back in 2007, where Angel Cabrera ended up winning his first of two career majors. Cabrera hasn’t had much success at the US Open since – four missed cuts in eight years – but maybe a return to Oakmont (which has hardly changed at all since 2007) will bring a change in his fortunes.
With odds of +10,000, anyone who does wager on Cabrera is going to earn a fortune if he does pull off the improbable win.
