The third major of the year sees the famed Los Angeles Country Club host the US Open for the first time as the national championship of the United States returns to the West Coast for third time in five years.
Best Bet
Viktor Hovland has contended in both majors this year and ticks a lot of boxes for the profile you want to see in a US Open winner. Ideally you want a Top 30 player who is between 23 and 33 years of age with a prior US Open Top 25 and a Top 10 finish in one of the two prior majors of the year. Hovland ticks every box. The only query on him is his failure to post a Top 7 during the West Coast Swing, something you want to see when the US Open heads to California. In terms of a game, you want someone who is excellent off the tee with a good approach game. Hovland ranks Top 7 for Total Driving and Strokes Gained: Off The Tee while he ranks Top 10 in Proximity and Strokes Gained: Approach. Just has a wonderful outlook this week.
Mid-Tier Bet
Morikawa ticks all the key profile boxes like Hovland does – age, recent major form, world ranking and US Open form – but also has form on the West Coast earlier this year including a sixth at The Genesis, the absolute No.1 correlation course. Augusta is also a guide and Morikawa has finished Top 10 in each of the last two runnings. He is an elite ball striker who ranks 11th in Par 3 Scoring. Excellent price this week, particularly considering he already has a West Coast major to his name.
Value Bet
The volatile Englishman has been playing some quality golf of late including a T-3 at the Canadian Open, where he was desperately unlucky not to get into the playoff. Since The Masters he has six straight Top 19 finishes including three Top 5s. Hatton’s driving has been outstanding this year ranking Top 12 in the All Round, Total Driving and Strokes Gained: Off The Tee. With an excellent scrambling game, he is a very good bet this week.
Longshot Bet
We have seen plenty of first-time major winners of late and Theegala has an excellent profile for success this week at a big price. He finished T-6 at The Genesis and a wonderful 9th at The Masters. He is a Top 30 player and excelled on the West Coast this year. Wonderful bet to finish Top 10.
