Defending Champion<\/strong>: Webb Simpson ($1,440,000)<\/p>\nThe course measures just 6,996 yards – the shortest since 2004 but to say that this track will be easy is a colossal understatement. Course management will be key, ball striking will be essential and slick greens are promised as well this week. To add to the intrigue in the second major of the year, most of the field had never played here before Merion was announced as host of the Open. Rain early in the week may slow down the course but a stiff test is absolutely guaranteed.<\/p>\n
So let`s break it down, let`s take a look at some names that should do well this week in the year`s second major.<\/p>\n
The Favorites:<\/h3>\n
Tiger Woods 9\/2<\/strong><\/p>\nTiger enters as the overwhelming favorite and why not? His wedge game and putting have gone to a different level this year although those two aspects of his game were awful at the Memorial two weeks ago. He currently leads the PGA TOUR with four victories and is first in adjusted scoring and the all-around ranking and as long as he\u2019s entered he absolutely has to be in the conversation.<\/p>\n
Graeme McDowell 20\/1<\/strong><\/p>\nMcDowell has been heating up as the year wears on and his history at the Open is undeniable. McDowell has won two of his last four starts worldwide, has made the cut in the US Open all seven times with a win in 2010 and a T2 last year. He\u2019s first on TOUR in driving accuracy and scrambling and already proved this year that he doesn\u2019t mind small tight tracks \u2013 he won at Harbour Town on a course similar to this one. Graeme always seems to show up on the leaderboard in the US Open and this year should be no different.<\/p>\n
Matt Kuchar 20\/1<\/strong><\/p>\nKuchar enters the US Open as the hottest player on TOUR \u2013 two wins this year and a runner-up finish ( a win and a T2 in his last two events played). He was T6 at the Open in 2010, T14 in 2011 and T27 in 2012 but enters in the best form of his career. Stats like 13th in strokes gained-putting, 10th in scrambling, fourth in adjusted scoring, T7 in par-4 scoring and fourth in par-5 scoring will certainly help him this week.<\/p>\n
Phil Mickelson 20\/1<\/strong><\/p>\nCan anyone figure Phil out? He has nine top 10s in the US Open and has finished second a staggering five times. But he enters this week as inconsistent as we have ever seen him. He did finish T2 at TPC Southwind, his fourth top-three finish of the year but has had a knack of missing the cut the week after a good performance. Phil scares me for sure this week!<\/p>\n
Rory McIlroy 20\/1<\/strong><\/p>\nRory is another tough guy to figure out \u2013 he certainly hasn\u2019t been all that dominant this year. But as a former US Open champ he has to be in the conversation. Rory just hasn\u2019t been the same guy since Nike snatched him away but talent trumps all \u2013 if he gets it going early, confidence could take him to a championship.<\/p>\n
The Contenders:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nAdam Scott 22\/1<\/strong><\/p>\nHasn\u2019t been playing all that much but if there is a better \u201cbig-tournament golfer\u201d on the planet right now, I\u2019d like to see him! He hasn’t finished outside the top 15 in a major since the 2011 Open Championship and has already won the Masters this year. Scott always come up huge in the biggest events and although the tight track doesn\u2019t necessarily suit his game, it wouldn\u2019t be a shock to see him contend.<\/p>\n
Justin Rose 22\/1<\/strong><\/p>\nRose is a dangerous guy if only he could get his putter working! His history at the US Open isn\u2019t great – two top 10s, but four missed cuts in seven starts. Currently he is 17th on TOUR in fairways hit, seventh in GIR, sixth in adjusted scoring and first in par-5 scoring and is coming off an OK T8 at Memorial in his last start. Rose is a quality guy although his game may not suit this track all that well.<\/p>\n
Charl Schwartzel 28\/1<\/strong><\/p>\nWe are still waiting for Schwartzel to get back to the form that made him the hottest golfer on the planet over the winter. He has 11 top 10s in his last 16 starts worldwide and is coming off a T8 at Muirfield Village. He is 15th in ball-striking on TOUR, T9 in proximity and third in adjusted scoring but may suffer a bit due to his average driving accuracy and scrambling.<\/p>\n
Lee Westwood 28\/1<\/strong><\/p>\nC\u2019mon Westy \u2013 it\u2019s your turn! He had five straight top 10s before a withdrawal at the Memorial and enters having finished no worse than a T23 in last five editions of the U.S. Open. He is third on TOUR in scrambling, 33rd in fairways hit; 16th in adjusted scoring \u2013 perfect attributes for this track. Could this be Westwood\u2019s year to finally break through with his first major? [soliloquy id=”82219″]<\/p>\n
Webb Simpson 40\/1<\/strong><\/p>\nDefending champion here has eight top 20s this year including a solo second at Harbour Town. He enters this week 40th in greens in regulation and 30th in adjusted scoring and in the top 30 in both par-4 and par-5 scoring. He is always a threat.<\/p>\n
Jim Furyk 40\/1<\/strong><\/p>\nFinished T4 in the Open last year and has to be mentioned due to being fourth on TOUR in fairways hit, first in proximity to the hole and 22nd in adjusted scoring.<\/p>\n
Steve Stricker 40\/1<\/strong><\/p>\nStricker keeps plugging along with his abbreviated schedule but has the game to contend this week. He would be inside the top 25 on TOUR \u2013 13th in driving accuracy13th in fairways hit, second in greens in regulation, 13th in strokes gained-putting and 20th in adjusted scoring if he qualified for the official stats. He has made 15 of 17 cuts here and seemingly has the perfect game to challenge here. Don\u2019t sleep on Stricker \u2013 he could emerge.<\/p>\n
The Sleepers (50\/1 or higher):<\/h3>\n
Henrik Stenson 66\/1<\/strong><\/p>\nAlways seems to be in the mix in major tournaments and enters playing arguably his best golf \u2013 eight cuts made in 10 starts with three top 10s. He is the PGA TOUR leader in fairways hit, is third in greens in regulation, T23 in adjusted scoring and T5 in par-5 scoring. Stenson\u2019s skills are very well suited for this track making him an intriguing 66\/1.<\/p>\n
Bill Haas 66\/1<\/strong><\/p>\nIs coming off a T4 at the Memorial where he led after 36 holes \u2013 a troubling trend that has seen him look good only to stumble in the last round. He has six top 10s and nine top 25s this year but has a sketchy record at the US Open. He enters 53rd in fairways hit, 13th in greens in regulation, 39th in adjusted scoring, 11th in scrambling and T1 in par-4 scoring.<\/p>\n
Billy Horschel 80\/1<\/strong><\/p>\nHad a win earlier this year at the Zurich Classic and is coming off an OK T10 at the FedEx St. Jude. He has been terrific this year on TOUR and ranks 31st in fairways hit, 34th in GIR, 17th in strokes gained-putting, 10th in adjusted scoring and T7 in par-4 scoring. If Billy can put it all together this week, he could represent a very nice payday at 80\/1.<\/p>\n
Scott Stallings 100\/1<\/strong><\/p>\nWill play the US Open for the first time this week but enters in very good form – T4-T4-T2 in his last three starts. He comes into the US Open with a ton of confidence and is probably the best value on the board.<\/p>\n
The Pick:<\/h3>\n
My pick this week also happens to be one of my favorites Graeme McDowell at 20\/1<\/strong>. He has been on fire around the world and is as tough mentally as he is physically. With a soft course and his straight driver, he will have mid to short irons in; he ranks 3rd in approach shots from 125-150 yards.<\/p>\nMy sleeper is Henrik Stenson at 66\/1<\/strong>. Stenson is No. 1 on the PGA Tour in driving accuracy and No. 3 on Tour in greens in regulation and he loves the big stage.<\/p>\n2013 Memorial Championship at Muifield Betting Lines & Future Odds<\/h3>\n
Tiger Woods 5.10 to 1
\nGraeme McDowell 21 to 1
\nMatt Kuchar 21 to 1
\nPhil Mickelson 22 to 1
\nRory McIlroy 22 to 1
\nAdam Scott 23 to 1
\nJustin Rose 25 to 1
\nBrandt Snedeker 30 to 1
\nLee Westwood 30 to 1
\nCharl Schwartzel 35 to 1
\nJim Furyk 40 to 1
\nLuke Donald 40 to 1
\nSergio Garcia 40 to 1
\nDustin Johnson 45 to 1
\nJason Day 45 to 1
\nSteve Stricker 45 to 1
\nKeegan Bradley 50 to 1
\nWebb Simpson 55 to 1
\nLouis Oosthuizen 65 to 1
\nMatteo Manassero 65 to 1
\nRickie Fowler 65 to 1
\nHunter Mahan 70 to 1
\nJason Dufner 70 to 1
\nHenrik Stenson 80 to 1
\nBill Haas 85 to 1
\nBoo Weekley 85 to 1
\nBubba Watson 85 to 1
\nMartin Kaymer 85 to 1
\nZach Johnson 90 to 1
\nIan Poulter 95 to 1
\nPadraig Harrington 95 to 1
\nAngel Cabrera 100 to 1
\nErnie Els 100 to 1
\nScott Stallings 100 to 1
\nTim Clark 100 to 1
\nNick Watney 110 to 1
\nRyan Moore 110 to 1
\nFrancesco Molinari 115 to 1
\nKevin Chappell 115 to 1
\nThorbjorn Olesen 115 to 1
\nRussell Henley 120 to 1
\nBilly Horschel 125 to 1
\nKevin Streelman 125 to 1
\nKyle Stanley 125 to 1
\nMichael Thompson 125 to 1
\nBo Van Pelt 150 to 1
\nFredrik Jacobson 150 to 1
\nKJ Choi 150 to 1
\nPeter Hanson 150 to 1
\nFIELD (all others) 5\/1<\/p>\n
VIEW OUR TOP CAPPERS PICKS FOR ALL SPORTS – EVERY SINGLE DAY 24\/7 \u2014\u2013><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"U.S. Open Predictions The 113th edition of the US Open returns to Merion Golf Club for the first time since 1981 this week. Golf`s biggest names will be after one of the four most prestigious prizes on the planet when they tee it up Thursday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":63024,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[53103,59189,59190,16692,528,28024,1676,534,59193,10988,6794,11245,30054,59192,59191,14203,14392,30056],"class_list":["post-63003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pga-golf","tag-53103","tag-2013-us-open-picks","tag-2013-us-open-tee-times","tag-free-golf-picks","tag-golf-betting-picks","tag-golf-handicapping","tag-golf-odds","tag-golf-predictions","tag-merion-golf-club","tag-pga-betting-picks","tag-pga-odds","tag-pga-tour-golf-preview","tag-pga-us-open-picks","tag-pga-us-open-predictions","tag-us-open-free-pick","tag-us-open-odds","tag-us-open-predictions","tag-us-open-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63003"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63003\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63025,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63003\/revisions\/63025"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}