The U.S. Open begins on Thursday with Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson the two favorites at the sportsbook. There are three golfers with single-digit odds at the sports book with Woods and Mickelson at 6.5 to 1 while Lee Westwood is 9-1.
Sportsbook odds for the U.S. Open list two other golfers at less than 20-1. Ernie Els is 15-1 while Padraig Harrington is 18-1. It has taken some time but the odds makers are starting to realize that Woods is not the golfer he once was. This is the first time in recent memory that Woods is not a big favorite. There are four golfers, Steve Stricker, Rory McIlroy, Retief Goosen and Geoff Ogilvy listed with odds of 23.5 to 1. Paul Casey, Ian Poulter, Jim Furyk and Camilo Villegas are 28-1. Adam Scott, Hunter Mahan and Dustin Johnson are 32.5 to 1. Johnson has won the last two events at Pebble Beach as he won the 2009 Pro-Am at Pebble Beach and the tournament this year.
Long shots this week at the sportsbook begin with Nick Watney and Luke Donald at 38.5 to 1. Golfers listed at 50-1 are Martin Kaymer, Tim Clark, Sean O’Hair, Sergio Garcia, Zach Johnson and Stewart Cink.
Anytime a major takes place you can count on all of the top golfers in the world being in the field. That is the case with the U.S. Open as the top ten players in the world are in the field. Woods is still ranked number one in the world but not because of anything that he has done this year. Mickelson is 2nd, Westwood 3rd, Stricker 4th, Furyk 5th, Donald 6th, Els 7th, Poulter 8th, Casey 9th and McIlroy 10th.
The favorite this week at the sportsbook probably should be Westwood. He has played very well all year and is overdue to win a major. He would become the first player to win the week before the U.S. Open with a victory. Mickelson would be the second choice as he always seems to play well in the Open.
If you are looking for a long shot at the sports book then Nick Watney might be a good choice. He leads the PGA Tour in greens hit. He has four top 10’s in 14 starts this year.