US Open Odds 2013: How Top 5 Favorites Will Fare at Merion

Household names hope that their odds hold up and the recent U.S. Open streak shatters in 2013.

The past four U.S. Open champions hadn’t won a major PGA Tour event prior to their title. That trend doesn’t bode well for Tiger Woods, Adam Scott and Phil Mickelson, who are among the top-five favorites to triumph in Ardmore, Pa. However, it’s in favor of the other two golfers with top-five odds, Matt Kuchar and Brandt Snedeker.

Here is how the U.S. Open will play out for the five favorites.

Note: All odds according to Bovada.

5. Phil Mickelson

Odds: 25-1

If the U.S. Open tournament was a living thing which could show emotion, it would hate Mickelson.

Lefty has never won it in his 21-year career. He nearly claimed victory numerous times, but finished in second place on five occasions. Mickelson couldn’t even say “close, but no cigar” the past two years, though, finishing tied for 54th in 2011 and tied for 65th in 2012.

While he’s coming off an impressive performance in the FedEx St. Jude Classic in which he finished second, Mickelson failed to finish in the top 35 in his last four major efforts. At 42 years old, he won’t contend like his former self.

4. Brandt Snedeker

Odds: 25-1

Snedeker never got as close to winning the U.S. Open as Mickelson, but outside of when he missed the cut in 2009, he's finished 11th or better in his last three attempts. He isn’t a favorite to win the tourney because of his past success in it, though, but for his hot start to the 2013 season.

He worked his way to as high as No. 4 in the Official World Golf Ranking by finishing in the top three in four out of his first five tournaments of the year, including his AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am victory. Snedeker missed the cut in four out of his next seven events, including the last two, but he earned top-10 finishes at The Players Championship and Masters.

Snedeker is hit or miss. He’s capable of not only missing the cut, but competing with everyone in the field. His recent performances suggest the former is more likely.

3. Adam Scott

Odds: 25-1

Like Mickelson, the U.S. Open is Scott’s least favorite major.

He’s coming off a 2013 Masters victory, and he’s finished in the top three in The Open and PGA Championships. The Australian never finished higher than tied for 15th in the U.S. Open, though. He’s actually missed the cut more times than he’s made it.

Scott is currently the Official World Golf Ranking No. 3 player in the world, behind only Woods and Rory McIlroy, but his play this season isn’t enough to make one forget his past struggles. He's finished better than 10th just twice in 2013—the Masters and his third-place performance at the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship. And no golfer has won the Masters and U.S. Open in the same year since Woods in 2002.

 

2. Matt Kuchar

Odds: 14-1

The older the 34-year-old Kuchar becomes, the better he becomes.

He didn’t make the cut in a major PGA tournament until the ninth year of his career, but he's finished in the top 10 in three of his past five major efforts. Kuchar has racked up six top-10 finishes this year, including victories in the WGC: Accenture Match and last weekend’s Memorial. His other notable 2013 performances include second place at the Crowne Plaza Invitational in late May and eighth at the Masters.

Kuchar is the hottest golfer in the PGA right now. Expect him to contend for, if not win the U.S. Open.

1. Tiger Woods

Odds: 1-20

Every active golfer on the planet’s U.S. Open resume pales in comparison to Woods’. He’s won the tournament three times; the 2008 U.S. Open was the last major he won.

His near five-year major drought is due to end. He's won four PGA tourneys this season, once again securing his title as the best golfer in the world.

Woods won three out of the past five PGA events he’s competed in. One of the two that he didn’t win was a fourth-place finish at the Masters. The only reason to doubt that Woods will win the U.S. Open is the fact that he’s coming off his worst performance of the year, a 65th-place finish in the Memorial.

Still, a single poor outing in the past three months isn’t nearly enough to bet on anyone beating Woods at Merion.

David Daniels is a breaking news writer at Bleacher Report and news editor at Wade-O Radio.

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