Boris "Bubs" Malloy
After a going 0-for-73 in major championships, it figures it would take Sergio Garcia 73 hard-fought holes to finally get the monkey off his back. The Spaniard’s historic win at Augusta not only helped end the narrative of disappointment, but it also marked the sixth-straight major to be won by a first-timer. So cheer up Lee Westwood. You too Matt Kuchar. The way things are going, your time is coming, perhaps as soon as the next major: the U.S. Open at Erin Hills on June 15-18.
Of course, you could argue a big reason the Masters was there for the taking was because favorite and World no. 1 Dustin Johnson took a tumble the day before tee-off and had to withdraw. It had been a while since there was such a clear-cut favorite among the field: it almost felt like a throwback to Tiger’s dominant days. But as has been the case in DJ’s career, bad luck (or bad decision making) once again kept him from achieving his goal. Now, you can expect an extra-focused Johnson when it comes time to defend his U.S. Open crown in two months.
Redemption will be on the line for a lot of golf’s premier talents in June. Phil Mickelson continues his pursuit of a career Grand Slam, having finished a heart-breaking second place in the U.S. Open a record six times.
Then there’s Jordan Spieth, who once again crashed in his final round at Augusta, and has now finished outside the top 10 in four-straight majors. His partner on Sunday, Rickie Fowler, didn’t fare much better, as the fellow American dropped his best chance to win his first major, shooting a +4 in his final round.
This year’s US Open will be the first PGA major played at Erin Hills, a new course that may actually prove easier than the ones the USGA usually selects. Playing a par 72 for once, we could actually see golfers thriving instead of whining this year. That means the pros that go for it will be rewarded on the lengthy Wisconsin course.
The same applies for bettors; we saw risk get rewarded with Garcia (who teed off at 30/1 odds). Will there be another great value win at the U.S. Open? Let’s look at the odds.
Odds to win 2017 US Open
- Dustin Johnson: 6/1
- Jordan Spieth: 8/1
- Rory McIlroy: 9/1
- Jason Day: 11/1
- Justin Rose: 16/1
- Sergio Garcia: 18/1
- Phil Mickelson: 22/1
- Rickie Fowler: 22/1
- Adam Scott: 26/1
- Hideki Matsuyama: 26/1
- Henrik Stenson: 28/1
- Jon Rahm: 30/1
- Justin Thomas: 35/1
- Thomas Pieters: 35/1
- Branden Grace: 40/1
- Brandt Snedeker: 45/1
- Patrick Reed: 45/1
- Bubba Watson: 50/1
- Paul Casey: 50/1
- Tiger Woods: 100/1
It’s tough to get a feel for where the value is in this tournament when it’s a whole two months away, but keep Branden Grace in mind. The South African has finished in the top five in each of the past two years.
Photo Credit: Corn Farmer (Flickr)[https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/]
