The Official Barstool 2024 United States Open at Pinehurst No. 2 Betting Preview
David Cannon. Getty Images.PINEHURST BABY!!!!
It doesn't get much better than this. US Open golf at the American capital of golf.
The US Open typically serves as golf's greatest test. That's wavered a bit in recent years with only one winning score landing over par in the past decade… but this week could be a big one for The Course. Across 3 US Opens at Pinehurst No. 2, only 4 players have finished under par - Payne Stewart, Erik Compton, and Rickie Fowler each finished at -1 and Martin Kaymer finished at an absurd -9 when he won in 2014. Plus the course and the weather should lead to a baked out and absurdly challenging test of golf.
As for last year, Wyndham Clark is our defending champion after holding off a star-studded leaderboard at LA Country Club. He entered the final round tied with Rickie Fowler and Rory right on his tail a shot back, but fired an even par 70 to earn a narrow win.
Last year's leaderboard and recent winners, along with the 2014 leaderboard from Pinehurst.
2023 Leaderboard
2014 Leaderboard at Pinehurst No. 2
Recent Winners
Major Champions at Pinehurst
The Course
David Cannon. Getty Images.
Pinehurst No. 2 is an American gem. It's as tasty as it gets. Opened in 1907 and regarded as Donald Ross' greatest masterpiece set in the Carolina sandhills, it's gone through numerous transitions throughout the years. Most notably, Coore Crenshaw led a restoration in 2010 where they removed the thick bermuda rough that had been installed in the 70's and returned the course to its roots - namely hardpan sand and native scrub off the fairways. This image really accentuates how the course has changed since the restoration.
This leads to a minefield of nasty stuff if you get a little wayward off the tee. There is a degree of luck relative to what kind of lie you'll get if you do - sometimes you'll have to chop out of the scrub and other times you'll have a suuuper tight lie off of hard sand with little margin for error with regards to hitting it clean. Either way its a challenge and penal if you miss.
Of course, the star of this course is the green complexes. Virtually every green here is a turtleback shell. Everything slopes off the green in every direction. There are hardly any backstops to throw the ball into and trust that it's going to hold the dance floor. So the trajectory and angle of attack is going to be very key for guys as they target the middle of these greens and try to avoid having to scramble for pars on these lightning fast greens. The lies off the greens tend to be very tight and grainy - so you'll see a lot of different approaches as guys try to get up and down - high loft wedges, mid-irons, hybrids, woods, and putters are all options guys have been testing in practice this week and we'll be sure to see a lot of variety on that front this week.
Tying into all of that is the course is a lengthy 7,540 for a par 70. It's not the longest course we've seen, but the nature of these green complexes will make distance off the tee a premium so that approaches can be hit with higher lofter clubs and controlled into the greens.
All of that is to say that this is going to be a remarkably tough and fair test of golf. You'll need to hit it long, hit it straight, hit it with control, and have a tight short game to lift the trophy on Sunday. As it should be.
Best Hole - 18th Hole, 448 yards
Ask somebody who knows what the best hole is at Pinehurst and you might get 4 or 5 different answers. One answer you might get is the 18th, so it's probably fitting to pick the course that will decide the champion. Mid-length par 4 with an S-turn and dogleg right where the fairway looks a bit wider off the tee than it really is. Payne Stewart hit his ball into the right rough before he got it up near the green and up and down for his winning par, but that miss off the tee would now be in the sandy junk… so who knows how that might've played out. Much tighter than the fucking acre wide fairway that held Wyndham Clark's slice on 18 last year at LACC.
The Coverage (all times Eastern)
Thursday: USA 6:30 am - 5 PM, Peacock 5-8 PM
Friday: Peacock 6:30 am - 1 PM, NBC 1-7 PM, Peacock 7-8 PM
Saturday: USA 10 am - Noon, NBC Noon - 8 PM
Sunday: USA 9 am - Noon, NBC Noon - 7 PM
US Open is NBC's bag. Which means they're jamming the Cock down everybody's throats. I don't much care either way, but rest assured people are up in arms about the Scheffler/Rory/Xander grouping getting the late/early wave where the majority of their first two rounds will be played on the Cock.
Format
This is golf's largest field at 156 players. So they'll be off early and playing well into the early evening. Cut is top 60 and ties, and the playoff is now a 2-hole aggregate and not the 18-hole playoff on Monday that was so closely associated with the US Open for so many years. Boo.
The Weather
There's been some talks of a little rain to soften the course out but it's not showing here… it's already crispy out there and it just might stay crispy.
The Trophy
Richard Heathcote. Getty Images.It's glorious. This is the one. This is the one ya dream about. Legendary characters from Hogan to Nicklaus to Palmer to Woods hoisted this thing. So many trophies want to be this one but there's only one. Plus the gold medal to go with it. Easy. 10/10.
The Board
Scottie Scheffler is obvvvvvviously a heavy favorite here at an absurd +280. That'll happen when you win 5 of the last 8 events you've played. And everything I described about what it takes to win this tournament above…. screams Scottie Scheffler. Guy hits it long and straight, leads the PGA Tour in GIR percentage by a mile, and is sharp around the greens with tight lies. It's really hard to imagine him not being right there at the finish line.
Who can challenge him? Rory is by no means a longshot but I really like the way he can drive it and flight it high to hold the greens. For him personally, it's going to be about the distance control and whether his work around the greens can pass the test, but I'd take him at +1100 if you're looking to swerve on Scottie.
Other Plays
Brooks Koepka To Win +2000/Top 10 +200 - Guy has top 10'd in 18 of 40 majors and 17 of the last 32, so +200 feels like a steal here. His T-4 here in 2014 when he was a relative nobody was his first of his career.
Cameron Smith To Win +5000/Top 10 +350 - Tight lies and using the putter off the greens? Feels a lot like an Open in that regard and certainly a strong suit of Cam.
Shane Lowry Top Win +8000/Top 10 +600 - Similar to Cam. Has played decent golf this year including T-3 and 4th place finishes at PGA National and Bay Hill where conditions are tough. Also T-6 at the PGA, so this is value.
Denny McCarthy Top 20 +320 - It's going to require some grit out there this week. That's Denny.
Ryan Fox Top 10 +1000/Top 20 +400 - Almost won a couple weeks ago and has contended a few times this year. Very underrated and great length.
Rickie Fowler To Win +20000/Top 10 +1200/Top 20 +450 - Rick actually has zero Top 10's since his win at the Rocket Mortgage last year, but these odds are crazy good. Worth a flyer given the good history here.
End of Round 1 Leader Scottie Scheffler +1200 - I'm struggling to find ways to squeeze value in for Scottie and this is how I'm doing it. He's going to win this week, it feels inevitable. Go for him Top 5 +300 end of Round 1 too.
Let's have ourselves a week. Enjoy the US Open.
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