US Open 2024 Predictions: Scottie Too Good

• Pinehurst No.2 in North Carolina stages the event for the fourth time

• Martin Kaymer won by eight the last time it played host in 2014 

• Scottie Scheffler is the hot favorite to win his third major

US Open Odds

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US Open Picks and Predictions

• Scottie Scheffler to win at +330 with BetMGM

• Matt Fitzpatrick to beat Max Homa over 72 holes at -110 with bet365

• Russell Henley for Top 10 at +650 with bet365

US Open 2024 Intro

Fans of great golf course architecture have been waiting for this one: a US Open at famed Pinehurst No.2.

The North Carolina venue designed by Donald Ross is a revered piece of property and gets to host this event for the fourth time in the last 25 years.

This was the scene of the late Payne Stewart’s memorable victory (and air punch celebration) over Phil Mickelson in 1999. Winning score: 1-under.

In 2005, Kiwi Michael Campbell produced a shock, his even par total enough to hold off Tiger Woods by two shots.

And in 2014, Martin Kaymer burst out of the blocks and disappeared over the hill. His 9-under total was eight clear of the field.

Overall, in the three US Opens held at Pinehurst, just four players have finished under par for the week.

A par 70 measuring over 7,500 yards, the test will be serious once more although with a touch of rain forecast and little wind, scoring could improve slightly.

Wyndham Clark defends the title he won at Los Angeles Country Club last year but World No.1 Scottie Scheffler is the man they all have to beat.

Scrambling was a key skill in past tournaments at Pinehurst, whose upturned saucer greens repel all but the most accurate approach shots.

And finding the fairway will be important too with sandy waste areas waiting to gobble up errant tee-shots.

Power hitters have dominated most US Opens over the last decade but accuracy is certainly a valued commodity at Pinehurst. 

Last 5 Winners of the US Open

Course Notes

• The tournament was first contested in 1895

• Pinehurst No.2 is a Par 70 and can extend to 7,540 yards from the tips

• It was designed by Donald Ross, with a Ben Crenshaw/Bill Coore redesign in 2010

• Rory McIlroy (2011) holds the 72-hole aggregate US Open record of 268 

• Xander Schauffele and Rickie Fowler hold the US Open’s 18-hole record of 62 (2023) 

Favorites to Win the US Open 2024

Scottie Scheffler (+330) at BetMGM

Put the World No.1 on any course right now and he’d be incredibly hard to beat. Scheffler’s victory at The Memorial Tournament on Sunday was his fifth win in eight starts. In the other three, he was twice runner-up and eighth. Scheffler seems to specialize in winning elite events and victory at Muirfield Village made him just the second player after Tiger Woods to win The PLAYERS Championship, The Masters and The Memorial in the same year. 

Bet on Scottie Scheffler (+330) at BetMGM  

Rory McIlroy (+1100) at BetMGM

Rory smashed the field by eight shots to win at Congressional in 2011 but also missed the cut in five of his first 10 appearances in the US Open. But since then he’s been one of the event’s leading performers with a run of 9-8-7-5-2 since 2019. As impressive as that is, the Northern Irishman is still looking for a first major since 2014, a year when he followed his 23rd here at Pinehurst with victories in both the Open Championship and PGA Championship later that summer.

Bet on Rory McIlroy (+1100) at BetMGM  

Xander Schauffele (+1100) at BetMGM

Schauffele opened with a US Open record round of 62 in LA last year but gradually fell away to finish 10th. But, remarkably, that was his sixth top 10 in seven US Open starts, the other a 14th in 2022. He’ll play this year’s edition as a major winner at last having captured the PGA Championship at Valhalla last month. Schauffele added eighth at Memorial on his only start since.

Bet on Xander Schauffele (+1100) at BetMGM  

Scheffler Too Strong

Scheffler is in rarified air right now, winning at a level not since the days of a peak Tiger Woods.

And the bad news for those hoping to knock him off his perch is that Pinehurst No.2 looks set up to play right into the No.1’s hands.

If a course could be designed to play to Scheffler’s strengths it would be one that demanded strong and accurate driving, elite distance control with mid-to-long irons and a brilliant short game to recover when greens are missed.

That is the examination paper at Pinehurst No.2 and Scheffler should be licking his lips.

This season, he ranks 10th for Driving Accuracy, 2nd Strokes Gained: Off The Tee, 1st SG: Approach and 4th in Scrambling.    

He’s a mile clear in SG: Tee To Green and while far from the Tour’s best putter, he’s recorded positive Strokes Gained Putting figures in seven of his last eight events.

In nine majors since the start of 2022, Scheffler has two wins, two seconds, a third and two further top 10s.

Basking in the glow of being a new father, this is his time to take his tally of majors to three.

Back him for the ‘W’ at +330 with BetMGM. 

Fitzpatrick to Beat Homa

Our hotstreak in 72-hole match bets continued at Memorial with Tony Finau beating Si-Woo Kim by three shots in a -110 (via bet365 Sportsbook) pick ‘em.

This week the bet is Matt Fitzpatrick to outscore Max Homa.

Fitzpatrick won the 2022 US Open at Brookline and has two other top 12s and a 17th since 2018. 

He has the skills to thrive at Pinehurst and comes in off a top five at Memorial.

Homa has four missed cuts and a 47th in the US Open and has lost strokes off the tee in his last five events.      

Henley to Bank Top 10

Russell Henley thrives on Donald Ross layouts and has five top 10s in his last six starts in North Carolina.

Pinehurst No.2 will play to his strengths and finishes of 13th (2021) and 14th (2023) in two of the last three US Opens suggest he can get in the mix here. 

A straight hitter, Henley has three top 10s in his last eight PGA Tour starts and is worth a go at +650 (via bet365) to add another here.

How to Watch US Open 2024

• Tournament: US Open

• Location: Pinehurst No.2, NC

• Date: Thursday, June 13 - Sunday, June 16

• How to Watch: Thursday 6.30 a.m.-5 p.m. ET (USA), 5 p.m. - 8 p.m. (Peacock), Friday 6.30 a.m.-1 p.m. (Peacock), 1 p.m. - 7 p.m. (NBC), 7 p.m. - 8 p.m. (Peacock), Saturday 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. (USA), 12 p.m. - 8 p.m. (NBC), Sunday 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. (USA), 12 p.m. - 7 p.m. (NBC). And all four days on Sky Sports.