The elite of the PGA Tour will face off in the US Open starting on June 17. The Open will be held at Pebble Beach for the fifth time in the tournament’s history. The tough par-71 course stretches over 7040 yards and will be the site of an interesting tournament.
The last time the US Open were held at Pebble Beach in 2000, Tiger Woods crushed his competition and finished the tournament 15 strokes ahead of everyone else, the largest winning margin in the history of the four majors.
We won’t see Tiger dominate like that this time around, as his game has been shaky leading up to the Championship. Nevertheless, the odds have swung in his favor and he sits atop the list at Bodog with 7/1 odds. Phil Mickelson is a 7/1 selection as well.
As for some matchup bets for the US Open, we here two good bets to go with. Every book including Pinnacle, Bookmaker, Bodog, and 5 Dimes will have this matchup on the board.
7001 Phil Mickelson -137 over Tiger Woods
7031 Lee Westwood -119 over Tiger Woods
Just dont think Tiger has played enough golf this year to hang with the top players right now. Coaching and swing issues on the links, while off the course a possible divorce looming. Fade and short Tiger this week.
Both favorites come into the tournament after recent struggles. While Lefty finished fifth in his last outing at the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Course, he missed the cut at the Crowne Plaza Invitational three weeks ago.
However, Mickelson has shown that he can be successful this season. He won the Masters for the third time in his career in April and will try to finally get over the hump at the US Open. He five second-place-finishes to show for at the Open, and he is looking to take the next step to earning the Grand Slam this year.
Tiger missed the cut at Quail Hollow and withdrew from the PLAYERS Championship in early May. He says he likes the improvement to his game lately, and finished 19th in the Memorial Tournament.
He has had trouble with his tee-shots this season, and he can’t afford to struggle at Pebble Beach. He has been successful on this course in the past, and there is a possibility that he can end his season woes at the US Open.
Both players are expected to finish in the top 10, but their odds to do so don’t carry enough value at -175.
Two very interesting bets for top 10 finishes are Dustin Johnson at +300 and Ernie Els at +225. Els finds himself in 7th place in the World Golf Rankings and leads the 2010 Money List with $3,460,341 in earnings. He won the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the World Golf Championship in March. The South African has reached the top 10 in five of the 12 events he has played this season, but comes in struggling as well.
He missed the cut at two of the last three tournaments he played. He took the early out at the Memorial Tournament and the PLAYERS Championship. However, he finished third in the Valero Texas open a month ago. In a big tournament like the US Open, I see Els coming back from his struggles and finishing in the top 10. Els is also an interesting pick to win it all at 33/1.
Dustin Johnson comes into the tournament with recent success at Pebble beach. He won the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am this year and last year. The 25-year-old is tenth in the Money List and made the cut in 12 of the 14 events he played this year.
He isn’t a fixture in the top 10, as he only finished among the best ten players in three tournaments this season. His two previous finishes at the US Open were T-48 and T-40. However, the return to Pebble Beach after his victory in February will help him finish high.
Tim Clark is definitely worth a look at +525 to finish in the top 10. He won the PLAYERS Championship, but slowed down a little after that. However, his four top 10 finishes this season and his victory five weeks ago definitely make him an interesting long shot.
