Star youngster Collin Morikawa took out the first major of the season at the PGA Championship last month and now, the best golfers in the world will be back in action this Thursday night as they take to Winged Foot Golf Club for the 2020 U.S. Open!
As usual, we have you covered with a full preview, power rankings and betting tips for the major championship below!
2020 U.S. Open Betting Tips
The 2020-21 PGA Tour season got underway last week with the Safeway Open and the U.S. Open will mark the first of six major championships that will offer players FedEx Cup points throughout this season.
Players will converge on Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York for the U.S. Open, which gets underway Thursday night and boasts an absolute star-studded field.
The Field
As you’d expect for a major championship, the field for the U.S. Open this week is stacked full of talent. All of the top 50 players in the world rankings will be suiting up this week except for one, Brooks Koepka. The back to back 2017-18 champion was forced to withdraw from the major citing a back injury and could possibly not play until the Masters in November.
Leading the rest of field in the betting markets is the likes of Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, Webb Simpson, Xander Schauffele and Bryson DeChambeau.
The headline of the event, however, is no doubt the Big Cat. Tiger Woods will make his first start of the fresh PGA Tour season after a few weeks off and will be hunting his fourth U.S. Open crown to tie record holders Jack Nicklaus, Willie Anderson, Bobby Jones and Ben Hogan.
The Course
Winged Foot Golf Club in New York will play host to the U.S. Open for the 6th time this year after hosting successful tournaments in 1929, 1959, 1974, 1984 and the most recent in 2006, which was won by Australian Geoff Ogilvy.
Founded in 1921, the course was originally designed by A.W. Tillinghast but underwent renovations in 2015 led by famous course designer Gill Hanse to make if more playable for the modern day golfer. The course will set up as a monster 7,477 yard, Par 70 this week and will feature it’s famous punishing rough and difficult greens. Expect this week to be a difficult test for all styles of golfer.
Power Rankings
1. Xander Schauffele ($15)
Hard to believe that this guy is still just 26 years of age. The youngster has played well beyond his years and has made a living of being in contention on the Sunday of the majors in recent times, particularly the U.S. Open. Schauffele has lined up in 12 major tournaments in his short career so far, making the top 10 on six different occasions. In the U.S. Open, he is 3/3 for top 10 finishes with a T5 in 2017, T6 in 2018 and T3 in 2019.
2. Dustin Johnson ($8.50)
The best player in the world at the moment is without doubt Dustin Johnson. After a little rough patch that included two missed cuts in a row back in July, DJ has been on an absolute tear, finishing 12th, 2nd, 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 1st in his last six tournaments. For all of Dustin Johnson’s dominance over the last decade, he still only boasts one major tournament. Will be looking to change that this week.
3. Justin Thomas ($13)
Thomas finished third in the Tour Championship to round out what was overall a well above average PGA Tour season. He was just one of two players to win three tournaments last season alongside Dustin Johnson and has already racked up 13 PGA Tour trophies at the young age of 27. Hasn’t set the world alight in the Majors of late but is a threat on any longer course where ball striking is premium like Winged Foot.
4. Jon Rahm ($10)
The Spaniard found some fantastic form towards the latter part of the PGA Tour season and is currently the 2nd ranked player in the world. Finished 6th in the Northern Trust before winning the BMW Championship in the FedEx Cup playoffs, just a few months after a great win in the Memorial Tournament. The course should set up well for Rahm this weekend, who is generally pretty long and straight off the tee.
5. Collin Morikawa ($15)
How can you look past the form of the youngster at the moment. He didn’t have the best time throughout the FedEx Cup playoffs but in saying that, he still managed to finish 7th in the Tour Championship. Is the only major winner in 2020 so far and will be looking to keep it that way.
Best Bet
Can’t get enough of Xander Schauffele this week. The kid is a different beasts when it comes to majors, particularly the U.S. Open. It feels like he has been featured heavily on the Sunday broadcast of every major in recent history and it’s only a matter of time before someone this talented breaks through for a big win. We like him to finish in the top five after putting in some really solid performances of late, most notably at the Tour Championship, which he would have won if not for the handicap system.
Value: Xander Schauffele Win ($15.00)
Xander Schauffele Top 20
$1.80
Placing Bets:
Abraham Ancer Top 40 ($2.25 at Sportsbet)
Harris English Top 40 ($2.00 at Sportsbet)
Daniel Berger Top 20 ($2.30 at Sportsbet)
Other Bets:
H2H Xander Schauffele to beat Colin Morikawa ($1.84 at Sportsbet)
H2H Adam Scott to beat Jason Day ($1.94 at Sportsbet)
H2H Tiger Woods to beat Rickie Fowler ($1.88 at Sportsbet)
Tournament Hole In One - Yes ($1.72 at Sportsbet)
