While the diehard sportsbook players are following the PGA’s St. Jude Classic this weekend, most golf bettors are preparing for next week’s U.S. Open at Bethpage Black. Odds have been posted and, while the St. Jude could shift things slightly, we have a pretty good idea of who will succeed at the U.S. Open. Bethpage Black favors long hitters, meaning we can probably count out guys like Zach Johnson, who is having a great year but doesn’t have the length to keep up.
Here are a few names to think about before betting online on the U.S. Open odds next week.
Tiger Woods (7 to 4)
No-brainer here. Obviously, Tiger is a long hitter who contends in every single major no matter what level his game’s at. 2009 has been rocky at times by his standards, as he’s struggled to find the fairway with his drives, but he does have two wins. As always, he’s as strong a pick as any, but keep in mind that the easy-to-hit fairways at the Memorial may have artificially boosted his stats last week.
Phil Mickelson (8 to 1)
It’s been a rough year for Lefty. His usually strong scrambling has abandoned him and his wife was diagnosed with cancer. It would be a nice story to see him overcome his off-course struggles and pull out a win at Bethpage, but he’s not playing at the level he has to compete in a major at the moment. Keep a close eye on how he does at the St. Jude before putting any money down on him at your offshore sportsbook.
Paul Casey (20 to 1)
Very quietly the third-ranked player in the world, Casey isn’t far away from challenging Sergio for the “best player not to win a major” title. He has three top-fives and a win this season and he’s a bomber off the tee, so he could break through at Bethpage.
Jim Furyk (25 to 1)
He’s not the “sexy” pick, but neither were the Orlando Magic, and they got all the way to the NBA Finals odds. Furyk isn’t blowing away the competition this year but he’s certainly heating up, with three straight top 10s and five finishes of 11th or better in his last six tournaments. He also has a U.S. Open title, and you can never count out past winners. Furyk loves this tournament, with one win, two second-place finishes and two fifth-place finishes.
Angel Cabrera (50 to 1)
Ooh, boy. Here’s one to watch when making your sports predictions. Cabrera is certainly hit-miss this season but he always seems to elevate his game for majors and quietly has two under his belt. One of them was the 2007 U.S. Open, so he’s proven he has the type of game needed to compete. His length off the tee should help him next week and he could contend if he keeps his drives in the fairway.