Betting on golf can be an exhilarating endeavor, but it can also be an extremely frustrating one. Don’t believe me? Go ahead and ask anyone who backed Dustin Johnson in the 2015 U.S. Open how they felt after he imploded on the 18th green.
That’s why it’s important to pick your spots when it comes to betting long shot value. With this year’s edition of the U.S. Open rapidly coming up, I’ve set my sights on three specific golfers who could create big payouts if they can take home the hardware.
Why should you listen to me? If you’ll recall my Masters sleeper piece, I correctly picked eventual champion Danny Willett at +3300 odds. We hope you were listening!
Here are my three U.S. Open sleeper picks:
Patrick Reed (+5000)
He’s not going to win any popularity contests, but the sheer talent Patrick Reed possesses cannot be denied. Reed is a terrific scrambler and usually excels in the putting department – two areas that will be of utmost importance at Oakmont.
Reed has finished under 10th place in more than half of his events on the year, but he hasn’t been able to crack the top 10 in a major yet. Winning the big one has eluded Reed in his career, but many golf pundits believe a major victory is right around the corner for him.
In his two appearances at the U.S. Open, Reed has finished in a tie for 35th (2014) and a tie for 14th (2015). I expect his rise will continue this weekend.
Daniel Berger (+6600)
Berger picked up his first PGA Tour win at last week’s FedEx St. Jude Classic and is riding a serious wave of momentum right now. The 23-year-old edged out higher-profile challengers Phil Mickelson, Steve Stricker and Brooks Koepka to claim the title.
Berger isn’t a household name yet, but his ceiling has never been higher. He’s placed in the top 20 in six of his last seven events with three of those finishes coming in the top 10 (including the Masters). Berger did not play in last year’s tournament, however, he did notch a respectable 28th-place finish in the 2014 U.S. Open.
The U.S. Open is unlike any other major tournament in that it’s often the toughest to predict. A player can come out of virtually nowhere to win the crown, and I fully believe Berger’s new-found confidence will make him a great candidate to do so.
Justin Thomas (+8000)
Thomas is another young up-and-comer on the scene, and he actually lost the PGA Tour’s Rookie of the Year award to Berger in 2015. Thomas collected seven top-10s and 15 top-25s, with fourth-place finishes at the Quicken Loans National and Sanderson Farms Championship highlighting his season.
The Kentucky native earned his first victory on the Tour last November by winning the CIMB Classic in Kuala Lumpur, overcoming veteran Adam Scott in the process. In an era where an abundance of youth is starting to take over the sport, Thomas should not be forgotten in the pack.
For outright U.S. Open odds, click here. To see our full list of props, visit this page.
