US Open 2019 Odds: Predictions for Top Contenders at Pebble Beach
June 11, 2019
By the time the 2019 U.S. Open concludes Sunday, the top of the leaderboard could feature plenty of the best golfers in the world.
Brooks Koepka will be viewed as the favorite by many because of his back-to-back U.S. Open titles, but he is not the only top contender in the field.
Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth are all attempting to end major droughts, while Tiger Woods is going after his second major of the season after capturing The Masters in April.
If all of the favorites play up to their full potential in the first three rounds, Pebble Beach Golf Links could be the site of a star-studded final round, similar to what we witnessed during the final 18 holes at Augusta.
U.S. Open Odds
Dustin Johnson (+700; bet $100 to win $700)
Rory McIlroy (+800)
Brooks Koepka (+850)
Tiger Woods (+1100)
Patrick Cantlay (+1600)
Jordan Spieth (+1700)
Justin Rose (+2100)
Xander Schauffele (+2200)
Predictions for Top Contenders
Dustin Johnson
Dustin Johnson has been in contention for his second major title on a few occasions since the 2016 U.S. Open, but he has not been able to finish the job.
Johnson comes into Pebble Beach with a pair of top-three finishes in the first two majors of the season and 10 rounds in the 60s in his last three tournaments.
The 2016 U.S. Open champion leads the PGA Tour in scoring average at 69.130, and he ranks eighth in driving distance at 310.2 yards.
All of those factors lead us to believe Johnson will be at the top of the leaderboard when Sunday rolls around.
In order to put the pressure on Koepka from the start, Johnson needs to produce his third first-round score in the 60s at a major this season, but recording scores in the high 60s might not be good enough given the competition in the field.
With that being said, Johnson needs to find a way to improve on his current top round at a major this season, which was a second-round 67 at the PGA Championship.
If he is able to do that on the difficult course at Pebble Beach, he could set himself apart from the pack and bring an end to Koepka's dominance.
However, that will not be an easy task given the normal complexities of U.S. Open courses. A year ago, no player finished under par at the U.S. Open despite Johnson opening the tournament with two rounds in the 60s.
Prediction: Top Five
Rory McIlroy
Rory McIlroy enters Pebble Beach in the best form possible after shooting four rounds in the 60s to win the RBC Canadian Open.
McIlroy's final round north of the border was a work of art, as he carded a 61 to finish the tournament at 22-under.
However, the four-time major winner has been in this position at a major before and has not been able to bank off the momentum from a victory.
McIlroy went into The Masters off a win in The Players Championship, but he was unable to record a score under 70 until the final round.
The 30-year-old's recent history at the U.S. Open is not working in his favor either, as he has missed the cut in each of the last three years.
In fact, McIlroy has missed the cut at five U.S. Opens, with the first of those occurrences coming in 2010 at Pebble Beach.
Despite those poor results, McIlroy is still viewed as one of the favorites because of his form outside of majors on the PGA Tour this season.
McIlroy is a bet-at-your-own-risk player entering the tournament because of his recent results at the U.S. Open, but if he is able to reverse them, he could end his major drought that is getting close to five years.
Prediction: Top 15.
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Statistics obtained from PGATour.com.