The U.S. Open, the third major championship of the 2021 PGA Tour season, tees off today at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, CA. Last year, Bryson DeChambeau brought home the trophy by dominating at Winged Foot Golf Club in New York. Here’s a closer look at the top five favorites to win the U.S. Open (US Tour PGA Odds at FanDuel Sportsbook).
- Rory McIlory +1800
McIlroy won the 2011 U.S. Open and found his form recently with a win at the Wells Fargo Championship back in May. The Northern Ireland native has smoked the ball off the tee all season long with an average drive of 318.6 yards which ranks second on the PGA Tour. However, the problem for McIlroy has been his accuracy off the tee.
He currently ranks 173rd in driving accuracy and even admitted to having a two-way miss from the tee box at times this year. The flat stick has also let McIlroy down this year, as he ranks 68th in strokes gained putting. It will be interesting to see which version of McIlroy shows up at Torrey Pines: The one who won the Wells Fargo or the one who has missed three cuts in 2021.
- Brooks Koepka +1800
Koepka played horribly last week at The Palmetto Championship. He shot a +3 and didn’t even make the cut in a less than stellar field. Koepka is a different beast when a major title is on the line however.
The four-time major winner knows how to sharpen his focus when the important hardware is on the line. Koepka won back-to-back U.S. Opens in 2017 and 2018. He will look to recapture some of that old glory this week.
- Bryson DeChambeau +1600
The whole golfing world is praying for a Brooks-Bryson pairing at Torrey Pines because of their ongoing feud. DeChambeau is the defending champ and he will be dialed in for a great performance here. DeChambeau ranks first in strokes gained off the tee and he will try to bomb and gouge this course.
DeChambeau played decently at The Memorial a couple weeks ago, but he’s not in great overall form. He tied for 38th at the PGA and tied for 55th at the AT&T Byron Nelson back in May. If DeChambeau can find the fairway more often, he is a threat to repeat as the champion.
- Dustin Johnson +1500
DJ had a shot to win in his home state last weekend but his putter let him down by missing several short ones. Johnson won the 2016 U.S. Open and he’s always a threat to contend at any tournament he enters. If he can find a groove with the flatstick (currently ranked 92nd in strokes gained putting), Johnson could have a shot at bringing home his third major.
- Jon Rahm +950
Golf fans had to feel bad for Rahm after he was forced to withdraw from The Memorial with a six-shot lead after a positive COVID-19 test. Thankfully, Rahm remained asymptomatic and has tested negative on two separate occasions since. The 26-year is due to win a major and it very well could happen this weekend.
There are no glaring weaknesses in Rahm’s game. This makes him a legitimate threat to dismantle Torrey Pines. Rahm should have great memories of this venue since he won his first PGA Tour tournament here in 2017 at The Farmers.
