PGA Betting – 2012 US Open Tournament Predictions
The US Open comes our way this weekend from Olympic Club in San Francisco with the world’s best coming together to chase the second major of the year.
2012 US Open
Date: Thursday, June 14th – Sunday June 17th, 2012
Location: Olympic Club, San Francisco, CA
Defending US Open Champion: Rory McIlroy
2012 US Open TV Coverage – Network: ESPN and NBC
Olympic Club will provide the difficult stage – accuracy and mistake avoidance will be key. The Olympic is said to posess the toughest starting six holes in PGA history – the frontrunners will be determined early in this one.
Rory McIlroy is back to defend and although he is not in the greatest form at present he should be in contention along with the reborn Tiger Woods. This weekend should be fun – I can’t wait!
Let’s take a look at some of the competitors and how they should fare on Fathers’ Day weekend.
The Favorites:
Tiger Woods 6/1
Don’t look now but Tiger is starting to resemble the Tiger of old with two wins in his last five starts. At the Memorial he picked his spots, stayed out of trouble and won largely because of great iron play and a putter that became Tiger’s friend once again. He will get to keep the driver in the bag this week which plays right into his hands and he will be able to exploit the best part of his game right now – his irons, to the fullest. It makes for great TV doesn’t it?
Rory McIlroy 10/1
After three straight missed cuts, Rory looked OK in Memphis but fell off down the stretch to finish T7. He missed 30 of 56 fairways last week – not a good sign going into Olympic Club. He leads the PGA TOUR in birdie average and is still one of the top 3 most talented guys on TOUR but his form right now is not exactly at the caliber it needs to be at to win a major.
Luke Donald 12/1
Donald has yet to win a major despite being World #1. He ranks eighth on the PGA TOUR in fairways hit and fifth in bogey avoidance and has the game perfectly suited for Olympic. His accuracy and his putter could be the difference this week in helping him to his third win this year and his first ever major championship.
Lee Westwood 12/1
Destroyed the field at the Nordea Masters and comes into the US Open with a bit of confidence. He is 15th on the PGA TOUR in total driving and first in greens hit and has threes in six of his last 10 starts in majors. The one hole in his game could be the difference this week however – Westwood’s putting may let him down on a course where a good flat stick is absolutely paramount.
The Contenders:
Phil Mickelson 18/1
Has finished second in this event a staggering five times. He has played 13 tournaments in 2012 and has a win and four top 5s to show for it. Phil is a factor in any tournament he enters – period. He has to hope that his magical putter can make up for some inevitable mistakes off the tee.
Jason Dufner 25/1
It’s pretty hard not to like Dufner this week isn’t it? He is the FedExCup points leader, he is first on TOUR in both proximity to the hole and pre-cut scoring average, he is 11th in fairways hit, sixth in greens in regulation and ninth in bogey avoidance. He also led the Masters at the half way point this year – it is safe to say that Jason has the all around game and the confidence to make some noise this week. His care-free attitude should serve his well at Olympic as well!
Dustin Johnson 28/1
Wow – Johnson showed absolutely no effects of injury last week in winning at TPC Southwind! Johnson has quietly put together a nice little season – four top 10s in his last six starts. He has also shown that he loves the West Coast with two wins at Pebble Beach. Olympic may not exactly suit his style, but neither did Southwind!
Matt Kuchar 30/1
Kuchar has recorded top 10s in four of his last eight tournaments and has finished top 15 in the last two US Opens. He is currently second on TOUR in bogey avoidance, 25th in fairways hit and 10th in greens in regulation and is as confident as any golfer teeing it up this week. Kuchar is a beauty and should contend with a smile on his face this week.
Justin Rose 30/1
Rose has put together quite a nice year already – five top 10s in his last eight starts. He is 19th on the PGA TOUR in fairways hit and third in both greens in regulation and bogey avoidance – all terrific traits for Olympic!
Rickie Fowler 30/1
Had four straight top 10 finishes derailed by a closing 84 at the Memorial – a tournament in which he was contending before that horrendous round. Fowler has been a beast and is third on TOUR in total driving (23rd in accuracy) and 21st in greens in regulation. Fowler simply cannot be overlooked anymore!
Hunter Mahan 30/1
Has anyone seen the real Hunter Mahan? Chances are he shows up with a good tournament this week now that he is almost completely off the radar!
The Sleepers:
Jim Furyk 40/1
It is hard to believe that Furyk is at 40/1 – barely in the Sleepers category because of seven top 25s in his last eight starts. He leads the PGA TOUR in bogey avoidance and ranks second in fairways hit, 25th in greens in regulation and 24th in Strokes Gained-Putting. He is the ultimate grinder – something that is essential on this track. Furyk is likely the best value on the board overall.
Steve Stricker 40/1
Stricker is one of many that will be looking for their first major win – surprising that he hasn’t won on the big stage yet! Olympic suits his game very well however – he is magic with the putter and his terrific short iron game will be called upon often on this most difficult course. Stricker hasn’t made a ton of noise lately but we all know that he can’t hold a good man down for long!
Sergio Garcia 45/1
Garcia finished T3 last week in Europe and he does have a good history at the US Open – eight top 25s in 12 starts. He has the all around game to contend but does he ever show up huge in a major? [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Peter Hanson 66/1
Tied Sergio at the Nordea Masters and now has seven top 5s in his last 16 starts. He is a magical putter and he just may be due for a huge pay day.
Jonathan Byrd 100/1
Has four straight top 12’s on TOUR including a T6 at the Memorial. The one hole on his game – his driver likely won’t factor in this week at Olympic. He is a terrific scrambler – 14th in greens hit from lies off the fairway, eighth in scrambling and T15 in bogey avoidance.
The Pick:
There are a couple of players that I really like going into the Open this week but I have to go with the World #1 Luke Donald at 12/1 whose work around the greens will be the difference. Nobody is as confident and as complete from 150 yards in on TOUR.
His game is perfectly suites for Olympic and he is therefore my pick for this week.
My sleeper is Steve Stricker at 40/1. Like Donald, his game is predicated on his accuracy around the greens. At 40/1 he may be worth a small wager!
2012 US Open Championship Betting Lines & Future Odds
CLICK TO BET
| Tiger Woods | 13/2 |
| Rory McIlroy | 14/1 |
| Lee Westwood | 11/1 |
| Luke Donald | 11/1 |
| Phil Mickelson | 20/1 |
| Jason Dufner | 25/1 |
| Dustin Johnson | 25/1 |
| Justin Rose | 28/1 |
| Matt Kuchar | 28/1 |
| Rickie Fowler | 33/1 |
| Adam Scott | 33/1 |
| Zach Johnson | 33/1 |
| Hunter Mahan | 40/1 |
| Sergio Garcia | 40/1 |
| Bubba Watson | 50/1 |
| Jim Furyk | 33/1 |
| Webb Simpson | 66/1 |
| Louis Oosthuizen | 50/1 |
| Jason Day | 66/1 |
| Steve Stricker | 40/1 |
| Martin Kaymer | 50/1 |
| Charl Schwartzel | 50/1 |
| Keegan Bradley | 66/1 |
| Ernie Els | 66/1 |
| Padraig Harrington | 80/1 |
| Nick Watney | 66/1 |
| Graeme McDowell | 80/1 |
| Peter Hanson | 66/1 |
| Bo Van Pelt | 50/1 |
| Ian Poulter | 66/1 |
| Geoff Ogilvy | 80/1 |
| Bill Haas | 100/1 |
| Francesco Molinari | 80/1 |
| Martin Laird | 100/1 |
| K.J. Choi | 80/1 |
| Ben Crane | 125/1 |
| Jonathan Byrd | 80/1 |
| Aaron Baddeley | 80/1 |
| Brandt Snedeker | 100/1 |
| Charles Howell III | 125/1 |
| Henrik Stenson | 100/1 |
| Kevin Na | 150/1 |
| Carl Pettersson | 80/1 |
| Sean O’Hair (Suspended) | 1/100 |
| Davis Love III | 125/1 |
| Fredrik Jacobson | 150/1 |
| Alvaro Quiros | 150/1 |
| Retief Goosen | 150/1 |
| Vijay Singh | 150/1 |
| Kyle Stanley | 150/1 |
| Thomas Bjorn | 150/1 |
| John Senden | 125/1 |
| David Toms | 125/1 |
| Nicolas Colsaerts | 150/1 |
| Y-E Yang | 150/1 |
| Tim Clark | 150/1 |
| Branden Grace | 150/1 |
| Matteo Manassero | 150/1 |
| Robert Karlsson | 175/1 |
| Gary Woodland | 200/1 |
| Stewart Cink | 175/1 |
| Rafael Cabrera -Bello | 250/1 |
| Ryo Ishikawa | 100/1 |
| Robert Garrigus | 200/1 |
| Sang-Moon Bae (Suspended) | 1/100 |
| Trevor Immelman | 200/1 |
| D-A Points | 250/1 |
| Patrick Cantlay | 250/1 |
| John Huh (Suspended) | 1/100 |
| Johnson Wagner (Suspended) | 1/100 |
| Paul Casey | 200/1 |
| Gonzalo Fernandez | 250/1 |
| Mark Wilson | 200/1 |
| Alexander Noren | 200/1 |
| Miguel Angel Jimenez | 200/1 |
| Angel Cabrera | 200/1 |
| Kyung-Tae Kim | 300/1 |
| Charlie Wi | 200/1 |
| Blake Adams | 300/1 |
| George Coetzee | 250/1 |
| Soren Kjeldsen | 250/1 |
| Simon Dyson | 250/1 |
| Robert Rock | 200/1 |
| Bob Estes | 300/1 |
| Edoardo Molinari (Suspended) | 1/100 |
| James Hahn | 500/1 |
| Scott Piercy | 250/1 |
| Jim Herman | 500/1 |
| Kevin Streelman | 300/1 |
| Peter Lawrie | 250/1 |
| Hiroyuki Fujita | 400/1 |
| Brice Garnett | 1000/1 |
| David Mathis | 300/1 |
| Stephen Ames | 400/1 |
| Anders Hansen | 250/1 |
| Lucas Glover | 250/1 |
| Michael Allen | 500/1 |
| Joe Durant | 300/1 |
| Tim Herron | 400/1 |
| Robert Castro | 350/1 |
| Rod Pampling | 400/1 |
| Morgan Hoffman (Suspended) | 1/100 |
| Raphael Jacquelin | 300/1 |
| Brendan Jones | 350/1 |
| Scott Langley | 500/1 |
| Michael – H Thompson | 300/1 |
| Toru Taniguchi | 500/1 |
| Casey Wittenberg | 500/1 |
| Alex Cejka | 300/1 |
| Darron Stiles | 500/1 |
| Steve Marino | 300/1 |
| Jason Bohn | 400/1 |
| Hunter Haas | 400/1 |
| Alistair Presnell | 500/1 |
| Gregory Bourdy | 300/1 |
| Matt Bettencourt | 500/1 |
| Kevin Chappell | 400/1 |
| Shane Bertsch | 650/1 |
| Bill Lunde | 500/1 |
| Chez Reavie | 500/1 |
| Joe Ogilvie | 600/1 |
| John Peterson | 750/1 |
| Paul Claxton | 600/1 |
| Mikko Ilonen | 500/1 |
| Nicholas Thompson | 500/1 |
| Martin Flores | 500/1 |
| Lee Slattery | 500/1 |
| Brian Harman | 600/1 |
| Marc Warren | 500/1 |
| Tadahiro Takayama | 1000/1 |
| J.B. Park | 500/1 |
| Steve Lebrun | 1000/1 |
| Edward Loar | 1000/1 |
| Daniel Miernicki (Suspended) | 1/100 |
| Jeff Curl | 1000/1 |
| Michael Campbell | 1000/1 |
| Beau Hossler | 1000/1 |
| Dong Hwan Lee | 1000/1 |
| Aaron Watkins | 1000/1 |
| Matthew Baldwin | 1000/1 |
| Anthony Summers | 1000/1 |
| Brian Rowell | 1000/1 |
| Tommy Biershenk | 1000/1 |
| Cole Howard | 1000/1 |
| Jesse Mueller | 1000/1 |
| Olin Browne | 1000/1 |
| Hunter Hamrick | 1000/1 |
| Dennis Miller | 1000/1 |
| Mark McCormick | 1000/1 |
| Samuel Osborne | 1000/1 |
| Casey Martin | 1000/1 |
| Cameron Wilson | 1000/1 |
| Brooke Koepka | 1000/1 |
| Brian Gaffney | 1000/1 |
| Scott Smith | 1000/1 |
| Tim Weinhart | 1000/1 |
| Nick Sherwood | 1000/1 |
| Alberto Sanchez | 1000/1 |
| Spencer Levin | 150/1 |
| Andy Zhang | 1000/1 |
