Oddsmakers Favor DJ to Win U.S. Open
It’s hard to argue with the oddsmakers installing Dustin Johnson as the favorite to win this year’s U.S. Open after the season he’s had. If you missed it, Johnson tied for second in the PGA Championship last month and followed that with a win at the Tour Championship, his first-ever at that event, and simultaneously claiming the $15 million FedEx Cup Playoffs prize. Oh, and to add the cherry on top of the sundae, DJ was named the 2020 PGA TOUR Player of the Year.
“On behalf of the PGA TOUR, my congratulations to Dustin Johnson on being voted the 2020 PGA TOUR Player of the Year by his peers, the ultimate compliment a player can receive,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan. “Dustin made it known throughout the season that the FedExCup was a priority and his performances in the FedExCup Playoffs were nothing short of spectacular with two wins and a playoff runner-up at the BMW Championship. His demeanor and athleticism on the course make it look very easy, but behind the scenes, he’s worked incredibly hard coming back from injury and his 2019-20 season speaks for itself in further bolstering his World Golf Hall of Fame resume.”
One of the preeminent online sportsbooks, Heritage, has Johnson as a +800 favorite to win the U.S. Open which will be held from September 17th through the 20th at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York. Johnson previously won the 2016 U.S. Open by shooting a 276 over four rounds at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania.
Speaking of Winged Foot, it has been 14 years since that venue hosted the U.S. Open and it is an unforgiving course that causes even the best in the world to complain. Winged Foot has hosted nine major championships with only two winners shooting below par. The most grueling of the nine came in 1974 when Hale Irwin won the event with a shocking seven-over-par. The late Dick Schaap, a sportswriter, and broadcaster, wrote a book about it called “The Massacre at Winged Foot.”
“It’s just a difficult course,” world No. 2 Jon Rahm said after a recent trip to see the course for the first time. “It’s long. It’s narrow. It’s undulated. You just need to play really good golf. I’m not shocked that the winning score last time was 5-over par. And if it gets firm … I don’t see how any of us shoots under par.”
Masters in November
Golf’s most glorious tournament, The Masters, was originally scheduled for April 9th through the 12th at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. However, like many other sporting events, it was a casualty of the global pandemic and has been rescheduled to November 12th through the 15th.
As of this writing, the oddsmakers have the following as the Top 10 favorites to win the tournament and bring home the green jacket:
Rory McIlroy +900
Jon Rahm +1100
Dustin Johnson +1200
Justin Thomas +1200
Brooks Koepka +1400
Bryson DeChambeau +1400
Tiger Woods +1600
Collin Morikawa +2200
Patrick Cantlay +2200
Xander Schauffele +2200
Last year the golf world shook when Tigers Woods brought home the hardware after a drought of winning majors that spanned all the way back to 2008 when he won the U.S. Open. Woods has won five Masters events, trailing only the legendary Jack Nicklaus with six.
Woods was clearly emotional when describing his elation last year at winning what many believe to be the pinnacle of golf’s major events, “It was so special for all of us because they had seen me — people know and laugh and joke that with my kids, I was a YouTube golfer. I wasn’t the golfer that played golf anymore. I was that dude on TV that they could make fun of. ‘Oh, look at the shot you could hit then. Look at the shot you could do then.’ Well, they got a chance to witness it.”
“They {his children} are witnessing their father win a golf tournament in person because they have never really witnessed me win a golf tournament in person. On top of that, it happens to be the Masters. A major. Hadn’t won a major in God knows when — not in their lifetime. For them to see it, feel it, experience it, understand it … but now, because they’re of age, they’ll remember it for the rest of their lives.”
