US Open Golf 2016: Odds, Favorites and Tournament Preview

At this year's U.S. Open, expect the course to get just as much attention as the golfers themselves. 

Golf's second major of the year will take place at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, near the city of Pittsburgh. This will be the eighth time Oakmont has played host to the U.S. Open, and it has routinely turned a simple par into a luxury score.

Jordan Spieth, who won last year's U.S. Open at Chambers Bay in Washington, has deep and abiding respect for the challenges Oakmont presents.

"This is arguably the hardest course in America. It’s normally the hardest U.S. Open, at least what history shows," said Spieth, per the Kansas City Star's Tom Smith.

The 2016 U.S. Open begins bright and early on Thursday. The top players in the world will descend upon Pennsylvania to take part, including tournament favorite Jason Day and surprise 2016 Masters winner Danny Willett. 

Here are the top odds for the U.S. Open, courtesy of Odds Shark and updated as of last Wednesday.

Golfer	Odds
Jason Day	+600
Rory McIlroy	+650
Jordan Spieth	+800
Dustin Johnson	+1400
Justin Rose	+2000
Rickie Fowler	+2200
Adam Scott	+2800
Phil Mickelson	+3300
Hideki Matsuyama	+3300
Henrik Stenson	+3500
Bubba Watson	+3500
Danny Willett	+3500
Sergio Garcia	+4000
Branden Grace	+4000
Patrick Reed	+4000
Matt Kuchar	+4500
Brooks Koepka	+5000
Louis Oosthuizen	+5000
Martin Kaymer	+6000
Brandt Snedeker	+6600
Paul Casey	+6600
Charl Schwartzel	+6600
Jimmy Walker	+7000
Jim Furyk	+7000
Matthew Fitzpatrick	+7000

Note: For a complete list of odds, click here.

So, what makes Oakmont Country Club such a difficult course?

Some of the holes have ridiculously long distances to go for par. The No. 8 hole, a par three, is a hefty 288 yards, according to CBSSports.com's Kyle Porter. Once one gets within striking range, speedy, unforgiving greens pose a challenge and can be a putter's worst nightmare. There's also a rough that will absolutely disappear a golf ball should you lose track of it.

Here's a view from a golfer's perspective, per Golf.com: 

The Church Pew bunkers provide an interesting and particularly difficult challenge. Smith had more on those: "Among the features at Oakmont that will challenge golfers are the 'Church Pew' bunkers that separate the third and fourth fairways—a large sand complex with seven strips of grass in the middle—and the eighth hole, which is the longest par three in championship golf. It can measure as long as 300 yards."

It's going to take a consummate all-around game to find success at this year's U.S. Open. Even then, the finals scores likely won't be pretty. Per Porter, "The combined winning score in eight previous U.S. Opens at Oakmont is nine over." Angel Cabrera won the most recent Oakmont-hosted U.S. Open in 2007 with a five-over score.

Day is the favorite, and he is in fine forming heading into the major. After finishing tied for 10th at the Masters, the world No. 1 has kept up the strong play, finishing tied for fifth at the Zurich Classic in April and then following that up with a win at The Players Championship in May. 

Matt Sullivan/Getty Images

SB Nation's Brendan Porath notes Day's strong putting game, which could come in handy at Oakmont:

"

When Day has it working, he's the best player in the game. He may not be as sexy or popular a name as Spieth and Rory. But he hits it just as far as Rory and is among the best in the world around and on the green, ranking No. 1 in strokes gained putting on the PGA Tour this year. Day may throttle down at times to avoid the jail that is Oakmont's rough, but barring some catastrophic blowup hole, he should be around on Sunday. He showed up in Pittsburgh early and was the first official player to register for the national championship.

"

It should come as little surprise that Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth are right behind Day in terms of the best odds going into the tournament. McIlroy hasn't won a major since the PGA Championship in 2014, but his golf game has been nothing but quality as of late.

The Northern Irishman has finished fourth or better in four of his last seven PGA Tour competitions. He also knocked in a truly memorable shot to win the Irish Open in May.

Darron Cummings/Associated Press

McIlroy is in perhaps the most intriguing first-round group. He'll be golfing alongside Willett and Rickie Fowler, who often saves his best golf for the biggest tournaments but is struggling in 2016. Willett, of course, carries plenty of intrigue after earning the famous green jacket in April.

Spieth had a year to remember in 2015, and the U.S. Open was a huge part of that. He'll face a much different challenge at Oakmont than he did at Chambers Bay, but it would be surprising if he wasn't somehow in the mix come Sunday's final round. 

The 22-year-old Spieth did well to finish second at the Masters, and he won the Dean & DeLuca Invitational in his home state of Texas in May.

Other players to watch include Dustin Johnson—who imploded at the end of last year's U.S. Open and is still chasing his first win at one of golf's four biggest tournaments—and Adam Scott, who is second in the FedEx Cup standings. 

However, all eyes will be on golf's superstar triumvirate of Day, McIlroy and Spieth. All three players are in their 20s, are boasting recent tournament wins and have the talent and consistency to create great rivalries. You could hardly pick a better location than Oakmont to try to find some separation among the trio.