US Open Odds: Two-Time Defending Champ Brooks Koepka Favored With Dustin Johnson
Posted on: June 10, 2019, 11:02h.
Last updated on: June 10, 2019, 11:02h.
The 119th US Open tees off Thursday at famed Pebble Beach Golf Links, and two-time defending champion Brooks Koepka arrives on the Monterey Peninsula as a clear favorite.
The Westgate SuperBook has Koepka – who is also the current two-time winner of the PGA Championship and the No. 1 ranked golfer on the planet – at 8/1 to win the third major of 2019. If he wins, bettors who risk $100 will net $800.
Typically considered the strongest field in golf, the 8/1 line implies a winning chance of 11.11 percent. A total of 156 players will tee off on Thursday.
Dustin Johnson, now ranked No. 2 in the world, shares the 8/1 line. He’s had a history of success at Pebble, and won the 2016 US Open when it was played at Oakmont in Western Pennsylvania.
US Open Test
It’s one of the strongest fields in golf, and is played annually on a course that is set up to be the most difficult test of the year. The 2019 US Open will be no exception.
The rough will be long, greens fast, and course tipped to its maximum. Pars are typically the name of the game this week.
Like Koepka and DJ, Rory McIlroy arrives at Pebble Beach will much optimism. The 2011 US Open champ won the RBC Canadian Open on Sunday by seven shots, which included a final round 61.
Asked whether he wished the US Open started Monday after such a stellar Sunday, McIlroy responded, “No, because I’ll be hungover, probably. Part of the reason for playing here was I wanted my game to be in good shape for Pebble Beach, but it doesn’t mean this tournament doesn’t mean anything,” McIlroy said of the Canadian Open.
The SuperBook has McIlroy at 10/1 to win this week. The line is shared with Tiger Woods – a three-time US Open champ who won the major at Pebble Beach in 2000 by a record 15 strokes.
Phil’s Time?
The feel-good story many golf fans will be hoping for is Phil Mickelson winning this week to cap off the career grand slam. Lefty is one of just 16 players to win at least three of golf’s four majors.
The US Open has eluded him throughout his Hall of Fame career. Most notably, Mickelson collapsed on the final hole of the 2006 championship held at Winged Foot when he doubled the final hole to lose by a shot to Geoff Ogilvy.
Mickelson’s record at Pebble is as good as any. He’s won on the course five times by claiming the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, most recently in February 2019. But the track will look very different this week.
Mickelson is at 30/1 to complete the career grand slam and join Jack Nicklaus, Woods, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, and Gene Sarazen as the only players to win each of the four majors.? ?
Graeme McDowell – who won the US Open the last time it was contested at Pebble (2010) – is a distant 100/1 to win. Jordan Spieth, the 2015 winner, enters the week at 14/1.
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