Picks To Win Us Open 2018
Gary Williams, Damon Hack, John Cook, and Robert Damron reveal their picks to win the U.S. Open 2018: Morning Drive picks to win Golf Channel Skip to main content. The 2018 US Open returns to Shinnecock Hills, a course that eats up lesser golfers. Phil Mickelson, who finished second at Shinnecock in 2004, can achieve the career Grand Slam with a win. Does the betting value lie with “Lefty,” a resurgent Tiger Woods, or a hotter player like Patrick Reed?
- Open 2018: 11 sleeper picks (not named Tiger Woods) who could win at Shinnecock Hills Updated May 14, 2019; Posted Jun 13, 2018 By Matt Stypulkoski NJ Advance Media for NJ.com.
- Our weekly pre-tournament ranking (with Vegas odds) of the best bets to win the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills.
The U.S. Open returns to a place in search of redemption. The last time the U.S. Open was at Shinnecock Hills, in 2004, things got out of hand, when the seventh green became nearly unplayable and the USGA had to take the blame. While the course and the USGA look to redeem themselves, the players come here in search of a major. Some seeking their first. Some seeking a return to glory. Some looking to add to already impressive trophy cases.
Picks To Win Us Open 2018
Our experts went with names we're sure you'll recognize.
Matt Barrie
U.S. Open champion: Dustin Johnson
Winning score: 6 under
Why he'll win: We're starting to see peak Dustin Johnson again after retaking the world No. 1 ranking following his win this past week at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. This tournament will always fit his skill set. He missed the cut last year at Erin Hills. Shinnecock is going to pay for it.
Michael Collins
U.S. Open champion: Dustin Johnson
Winning score: 4 under
Why he'll win: Taking back the world No. 1 ranking is something Rory McIlroy, Adam Scott, Jordan Spieth and Jason Day all failed to accomplish. You know why? Because they wanted it too badly. DJ doesn't seem to care much about it and only wants to win tournaments. Actually, it seems like he doesn't even care that much about winning tournaments, but that's also why he does win so much. It's also why he can block all the noise about how 'no one has ever won the U.S. Open the week after winning' out of his head.
Michael Eaves
U.S. Open champion: Jason Day
Winning score: 7 under
Why he'll win: This year's setup at Shinnecock will definitely favor the big hitters. Day is one of the longest hitters on tour, and he currently leads the PGA Tour in strokes gained putting. The second major of the year is his for the taking.
Bob Harig
U.S. Open champion: Justin Rose
Winning score: 6 under
Why he'll win: Somehow Rose manages to stay under the radar despite being ranked third in the world. The 2013 U.S. Open champion has been one of the game's most solid players over the past six months, and just followed up a win at the Fort Worth Invitational with a tie for sixth at the Memorial. He also has the length and precision to excel at Shinnecock, which should demand both.
Ian O'Connor
U.S. Open champion: Rickie Fowler
Winning score: 4 under
Why he'll win: Fowler finally responded to the Sunday pressure in a major at Augusta, making birdie to force eventual Masters champion Patrick Reed to make par on the 72nd hole to win. Fowler says he's ready to finally win a big one -- and I believe him. His recent engagement to his girlfriend, Allison Stokke, should put him in a great frame of mind.
Nick Pietruszkiewicz
U.S. Open champion: Justin Thomas
Winning score: even par
Why he'll win: He has the length and the demeanor. And being part of one of the circus groups ... sorry, marquee groups ... with Tiger Woods and Dustin Johnson over the first two days won't matter to him.
Marty Smith
U.S. Open champion: Rory McIlroy
Winning Score: 3 under
Why he'll win: Shinnecock Hills is notoriously unforgiving. It has hosted three U.S. Open championships in the past three-plus decades. Just three players total shot under par. Driving the ball with length -- and more importantly, accuracy, both McIlroy strengths -- will be critical. These are small greens. You don't want to waste strokes chasing them. Experts tell me this, almost universally: McIlroy's A-game is better than everyone else's A-game. When all else is equal, and everyone shows up to ball, McIlroy is the best in the world. He'll need to show it this weekend.
Kevin Van Valkenburg
U.S. Open champion: Justin Thomas
Winning score: 3 under
Why he'll win: Thomas' game sets up perfectly for Shinnecock. He hits it long and straight off the tee, hits his irons a mile high, can make enough birdies to overcome the inevitable stretch of bogeys and has a simmering intensity that runs hot but never really boils over. Even though he lost the No. 1 ranking to Dustin Johnson this week, I'm still convinced Thomas is the game's best player. This is his chance to make that argument stick.
The 2018 US Open tees off on June 14 from Shinnecock Hills on Long Island, New York. The tournament will be played at the course for the fifth time in its history.
Although there are still four PGA tournaments to go before the US Open begins, the golf world has already turned its attention to the event. The US Open has been called the toughest major golf tournament to win. This is due to the large field of 156 players and the variety of skill levels involved.
The field at the US Open is made up of both professional and amateur players and surprises are not uncommon when the tournament takes place. The 2017 winner, Brooks Koepka, had never been victorious in a PGA major before. In fact, he had only won once previously on the tour and that had come over two and a half years prior to the US Open.
The US Open will be the second major of the season. The first major, the Masters, went to Patrick Reed. The PGA professional picked up his first ever major victory and first tour win since 2016.
US Open best odds
Dustin Johnson +900
Dustin Johnson is currently odds on favorite to win at Shinnecock Hills. The 2016 US Open champion has won just once on the PGA Tour this season. That win came in January at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Johnson has been victorious at the US Open before, and with 17 career PGA Tour wins, outlasting the competition is nothing new.
Rory McIlroy +1100
The 2011 US Open winner, Rory McIlroy, is one major tournament victory away from winning the golf grand slam. Unfortunately for McIlroy, the one trophy he is missing is the green jacket from Augusta. A 14-time PGA Tour event winner, McIlroy went all of 2017 without a victory. He ended his drought in March at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Jordan Spieth +1100
Jordan Spieth is another PGA professional that is one win away from the grand slam. Spieth won the 2015 edition of the US Open just months after claiming a green jacket at Augusta. An 11-time tour winner, Spieth took home his third major title in 2017 at The Open Championship.
Justin Thomas +1400
Justin Thomas finished the 2017 season in fantastic form. The golfer won his first ever major tournament at the PGA Championship in August. Less than a month later, Thomas won the Dell Technologies Championship. He went on to claim victory at the CJ Cup and The Honda Classic in February. Thomas has been brilliant over the last 12 months, which is why he could win the US Open. His best finish at the tournament came last season when Thomas came ninth.
Jason Day +1400
Picks To Win Us Open 2018 Bracket
Two second place finishes is the best Jason Day has done previously at the US Open. The Australian finished runner-up in 2011 and 2013. In 2015, Day won his first and only major tournament. The victory came at the PGA Championship. Day has collected 11 other PGA Tour wins, including two this season already. He won the Farmer’s Insurance Open and the Wells Fargo Championship.
Based on the talent that will assemble at Shinnecock Hills, the US Open throws up some curve balls each year. They will have four days to master the course and put their best foot forward.
Picks To Win Us Open 2018 Schedule
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