US Open Golf Betting Tips
The US Open is the 3rd of four majors played and arguably one of the hardest for golfers to win and bettors to make picks for. Anyone that’s followed golf and bet on the US Open can tell you wild stories of bets they lost because of how hard the course conditions were at the US Open.
If you are going to be brave and place a wager on the United States Open then you should consider some of the US Open Betting Tips that we provide below. We offer these tips with a caveat…No matter how much you prepare to make picks for the US Open, it is the one tournament that can have all logic go out the window with the first tee shot!
US Open 2020
The US Open is put on by the USGA (United States Golf Association) and normally played in mid-June with the final round on Sunday played on Father’s Day. The tournament was first played in 1895 and is the second oldest major behind the Open Championship. Like most of the other majors the tournament is played on a different course every year, many times it is hosted by one of the best courses in America which many will never get to see otherwise. It is also traditionally the hardest of the golf majors to win with tough course setups greeting golfers on every hole. Avoiding punishing rough is hard with narrow fairways and only leads to players having to put on incredibly slick greens. To the USGA, having a player after playing four rounds have a score of par is the goal of the tough set up.
History has had some US Open’s where course conditions were laughable with 1 foot putts rolling 20 feet past the cup or rough so thick that golfers have injured their wrists trying to punch the ball out. However, there are years that the scoring average is normal and resembles a typical tournament of golf which is why each year is unpredictable.
Betting Tips For The US Open
The US Open along with the Open Championship are notoriously the two hardest courses every year when it comes to the Majors. This makes betting picks a bit more difficult due to the wild swings that can occur on any hole throughout the tournament. It’s fair to say usually only the elite golfers are Top 20 players tend to win these events. Let’s look at some key betting rules to follow for betting the US Open golf tournament.
1) Check The US Open Odds
Who do the odds makers like to win the US Open or more importantly where is the money going in terms of betting? Betting sites put up their odds and much of the early action is the sharp money which will sway the odds based on where the money is going. Although eventually the odds will change as the US Open gets closer and more money is bet by the public, watching the odds gives you an idea of who the masses like to win. Whether that helps you or not, it is a betting tip to consider when looking at making your picks.
2) Research Golfer’s Course History
Although not always a great predictor, knowing which golfers have previous course experience or success can be helpful. Look for players that grew up in the area to see if they were a member of that course or at least mentioned having played it. Scour the social media of players to see if any of them mention playing practice rounds at a course that the US Open is being played at. If there are any past tournaments that the course has hosted such as amateur championships or previous US Opens, how did the players perform? As I said I wouldn’t put too much stock into this betting strategy but it bears having a look at anyway.
3) Use Their Current Form To Predict Play
Who has been playing well the last three weeks? That’s one of the things I look for in general when making golf bets but it is pretty important for the US Open. The course will be set up to be tough and you want a golfer who is playing with confidence teeing off on the Thursday. Guys that have doubts about their game can be swallowed up in the pressure of a major but could be worse on a challenging course set up for failure. When making a golf bet, I look for guys that the last three weeks have been atop the leaderboard but couldn’t win or just putting together a run of made cuts with solid finishes. For US Open specific betting, look for the guys who are high percentage putters and have been the last few weeks and whose short iron play has been solid the last bunch of tournaments. Both of these are needed for success in general in a US Open and it’s nice to find guys that are “peaking” heading into the major.
4) Check The Course Layout
Every year the US Open is played on a new course and the types of courses that the USGA chooses varies greatly. Things for you to know about the golf course are: Is it long or short, are the holes fairly straight and are there a lot of doglegs to play and do those dogleg holes favor a righty or a lefty, is there a lot of water to contend with or bunkers to avoid, are the fairways narrow or forgiving and wide, are the putting surfaces small or large and are the greens fairly flat or undulating. Knowing what kind of course the US Open is being played on will help you focus on what type of golfer to pick for your betting slip as some set ups will be an advantage to golfers and some will be a disadvantage. Visit the official website of the host golf course or check out write-ups by other golf sites with writers that have played the course and done an analysis of the upcoming US Open to get any extra advantage that will help you win your golf bets.
5) What Is The Weather Forecast
You could almost do a whole article on how weather can and has affected US Opens. Hot and dry can mean impossible putting surfaces (Shinnecock Hills 2004), wet conditions will soften the greens allowing golfers to aim at the pin but reduce the roll in the fairway and make the rough possibly thicker and tougher to play out of. Then of course you have the wind which can completely blow up a round sending tee shots into the rough and approach shots into bunkers. If the course is full of trees than the wind can be mitigated but if it’s a golf course with very few trees (Chambers Bay 2015) then a windy day can play havoc on the round. Watch what the weather will be during the four rounds of the US Open but also what it was the previous week or so. Depending on how the weather was ahead of the US Open can determine what condition the course will be in and the weather during the round could be an indicator of what’s ahead and what players have a better chance of succeeding during the week.
6) Look At The PGA Stats Leaderboard
If you go on the PGA Tour website you can find a stat for almost every scenario and if you are going to make a bet on the US Open then here’s a tip…Stats matter! Although golf stats aren’t a predictor of the outcome of the tournament they will lead you to finding the picks that have a better chance at winning the major. Keep in mind too, the key golf stats for the US Open don’t apply to every US Open as the courses are different each year but there are some stats that can be applied for every year.
Key Stats For The US Open
- Greens in Regulation (GIR)
- Strokes Gained: Putting
- Strokes Gained: Approach
- Strokes Gained: Total
- Sand Saves Gained (Only If Course Has Many Bunkers)
- Putting Average
- Scrambling
- Bogey Avoidance
- Driving accuracy
If I had to narrow down the key stats I would look at Greens in Regulation, Strokes Gained – Total, Bogey Avoidance, Putting average and Approach stats from 100-125 and 125-150. Guys that are consistently ranked high in these stats will have a better chance at managing the golf course no matter what the USGA throws at them.
7) Bet The Best Overall Golfers
The big names at the US Open will always be the favorites and they definitely need to be considered when making bets to win but in the past it was the golfer who generally had the total golf game that came away the winner. Guys that rank high in stats for putting, have a great short game, generally grind out pars on a course and rarely bogey are some of the guys I like to focus on. Most of the time they are the guys on the PGA Tour that will make most of the tournament cuts that they enter because they are more apt to play it safe and not put up big numbers. Past winners that fit the mold are Jim Furyk, two time US Open winner Retief Goosen, Justin Rose, Graeme McDowell, Webb Simpson and even Jordan Spieth.
Betting on the US Open is hard…maybe the hardest of all the tournaments so keep in mind the tips and strategies that we mentioned when you are looking at making your US Open Betting Picks!
