2020 U.S. Open: Betting odds, props, and picks

Anyone else waking up in a cold sweat late at night? Screaming in your sleep? Waking bolt upright at 4:00 a.m. with images of six inch rough and lightning fast greens running through your mind? Yeah, I hear you.

Winged Foot is an absolute beast. Almost 7,500 yards of narrow fairways, raised bunkers, greens no bigger than a dime. But the prize if you can conquer this demon is a slice of history – the 120th edition of the U.S. Open, golf’s second of three Majors this year.

As we turn our attention towards prop bets for the weekend, we are looking for someone who ideally drives it long, scrambles well when they need to, and hits their greens in regulation.

One or fewer players under par (-155)

Let’s start with the obvious – Winged Foot is as frightening as it looks and sounds. A course designed by A.W Tillinghast, it was last used for an event in 2006 when Geoff Ogilvy won with a five-over-par score.

These greens are ridiculously hard to hit. The leader in greens in regulation in 2006 was Jeff Sluman, and he still only hit 48 of the 72.

Getting onto the dance floor is one thing, but you’ve then got to be equally hot with the flatstick as well with Tillinghast’s greens famously raised and contoured.

All that considered, backing one player or fewer to finish the tournament under par is a solid bet.

Sebastian Munoz Top South American (+110)

This is a straight up match bet between Munoz and Joaquin Niemann in which I am happy to take the underdog.

I’ve heaped praise on Niemann on BetAmerica Extra in the past, and there is no doubt the Chilean has bags of talent, but Munoz is longer and straighter off the tee and ranks better than Niemann in a lot of the putting stats.

In four of the last six starts Munoz has outperformed Niemann and I fancy him to do so again here.

Tommy Fleetwood Top GB & Ireland (+450)

The favourite in the Top GB and Ireland market is new dad Rory McIlroy, but it is the course that puts me off Rory rather than the late-night feeds and the dirty diapers! McIlroy has been in and out of form since coming back from lockdown, and I’m still not convinced he plays his best stuff when conditions are this tough.

Fleetwood flashed a glimpse of how good his game can be when he shot a 64 on the Friday in the PGA Championship, frustratingly dropping to 29th after a difficult final round. He is long off the tee and a good scrambler, but even more appealing is his recent U.S. Open form, finishing fourth and second in the last three years.

He knows what it is like to be in the mix at a major and +450 is too appealing to turn down. 

Jason Day Top 10 finish (+330)

Albert Einstein said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. I’m starting to think he was referencing my Jason Day betting strategy…

Yes, I’ve put up Day in this column the last couple of weeks and he has absolutely tanked. Before dreadful efforts at the BMW Championship and The Northern Trust, Day had posted four Top 7 finishes on the bounce, so I’m going to the well once again and backing him here.

Nobody on the PGA Tour ranks better this year for shots gained around the green, and he is in the Top 25 for scrambling. The Australian can be brilliant off the tee when in the groove as well.

Most promising, however, is his form at Tillinghast courses – he’s posted Top 5 finishes at Ridgewood, Baltusrol, and Bethpage – and his U.S. Open form where he has five Top 10 finishes in nine attempts.

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Get in the swing of things with BetAmerica's 2020 U.S. Open odds and props.