US Open Odds 2019: Predictions for Top Favorites Heading into Pebble Beach

The U.S. Open returns to Pebble Beach on Thursday, and golf fans will see a course that is quite a bit more challenging than the course they saw earlier this year.

Pebble Beach hosted the AT&T Pro-Am in February, but the course the United States Golf Association set up in June is far more challenging than it was during the winter.

That's just what the USGA does. It designs the U.S. Open to be the most challenging tournament of the year by making sure its designated courses punish golfers who do not hit perfect shots. While many believe the USGA has gone too far in recent years, it does give the U.S. Open a different look than any other tournament.

Brooks Koepka comes into the tournament having won the last two U.S. Opens, and if he can make it three in a row, he will do something that Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Sam Snead and Ben Hogan have never done—win three U.S. Opens in a row.

The only golfer to accomplish that feat is Willie Anderson, who won the U.S. Open in 1903, '04 and '05.

2019 U.S. Open Information

June 13-16. All times Eastern.

TV: First and second rounds (12:30-7:30 p.m., FS1; 7:30-10:30 p.m., Fox), third round (noon-10 p.m., Fox), fourth round (2-10 p.m., Fox)

Live Stream: Fox Sports Go, USOpen.com

Koepka, Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy are the three betting favorites to win the U.S. Open at 8-1, followed by Woods at 10-1, per VegasInsider.com.

A case can be made for any of them to win the tournament, but the course setup and the huge field can also allow a long shot to come in and take the lunch money of the favored players.

Koepka has the strength, consistency and mental toughness to stay in contention for all four rounds. Can he really do something Hogan, Palmer, Nicklaus and Woods have not been able to do? If he does, Koepka will have definitively shown that he walks with the all-time greats.

Koepka has shown that his preparation for the majors is impeccable. In addition to his two U.S. Open victories, he also won the 2018 and '19 PGA Championships.

Koepka has four major championships in the last six he has competed in, and while he may be the best player in the world right now, he simply can't win three U.S. Opens in a row. Koepka settles for second place.

Seth Wenig/Associated Press

Johnson may be even more talented than Koepka, but he has just one major to his credit, and he often has trouble playing four consecutive excellent rounds in the majors. Johnson must show he can handle the pressure of the moment. Pebble Beach sets up very well for him, and look for Johnson and his prodigious length and shot-making ability to have the lead at the halfway point. The pressure will get to him during Saturday's moving-day round or Sunday's finale. Either way, Johnson will be left shaking his head as he finishes in the top-10, but no better than that.

There's nothing that golf fans would enjoy more than seeing Woods win his second major championship of the year. His celebration after winning the Masters lit up the sports world and may turn out to be the lasting sporting image of the year, but Tiger has more to offer.

The key for Woods is accuracy off the tee, and if he can stay consistent this week, he will have a chance to contend. Tiger will have a couple of struggles in the opening round, but he will find his stride in Round 2. He will play in the final three groupings each of the last two days, and he will contend for the title. However, he will slip up on the back nine Sunday, and Woods will have to settle for third place.

That brings us to McIlroy, who is the hottest golfer in the field. He is coming off a brilliant victory in the RBC Canadian Open, and he finished that tournament with a closing 61. While McIlroy's U.S. Open record includes failing to make the cut each of the last three years, he has been too strong this year to overlook.

He has won two tournaments, has 10 top-10 finishes and has won more than $6.7 million. Like Woods, McIlroy will start slowly with an ordinary first round, but he will get better with each round. As his competitors struggle Sunday, McIlroy will play his best golf, and he will win the U.S. Open.