Christ I just spit Keystone Ice all over the place even came out my nose thanks a ton.
More like I think Koepka is not emotionally mature enough to handle the rigors of this tournament.
Personal Problem really (mine). This Koepka guy has lost Matchup plays for me to a degree thats only outdone by Bubba and Ricky.
My own emotional immaturity has me Fading Koepka to extract some Revenge here, I've not uncovered any particular reason he should do poorly.
anyone else read the wsj brief on this course?
they've taken down like 7500 trees in the last 9/10 years or something...and faced lawsuits from members all throughout.
when they initially started taking them down...they were doing it at 4 in the morn, and replacing all the dirt, grass, etc to make it look like there was never a tree
they've taken down like 7500 trees in the last 9/10 years or something...and faced lawsuits from members all throughout.
when they initially started taking them down...they were doing it at 4 in the morn, and replacing all the dirt, grass, etc to make it look like there was never a tree
haven't seen it yet but I'll find it and post it.
In the meantime....
Anonymous Pro: Oakmont has cleared so many trees that it's difficult to get sight lines and aiming points from the tees. The church-pew bunkers on 3 and 4 are really cool and visually intimidating, but they won't get much action with players laying up at 3 and favoring the right side at 4 for a chance to go for the green. You have to avoid the bunkers, and there are hundreds of them. Oakmont's fairway bunkers are very shallow front to back, so the ball almost always comes to rest against a steep, deep face. Going for the green is usually impossible.
Van Sickle: They're like Carnoustie's bunkers—a one-shot penalty.
Anonymous Pro: Exactly. So is Oakmont hard? Yes. It's brutally awesome. But is it fair? Ehhh....
Bamberger And the rough! That can be more than a one-shot penalty. I played Oakmont the other day. The rough is straight up and down; your ball settles so deep, there is no way to advance it much. If you took an unplayable lie and dropped from shoulder height, you would most likely face the same shot and at that rate, never finish. I'll be shocked if the Friday-afternoon rounds aren't six hours.
Shipnuck: It tells you how much respect Oakmont gets that they can play a par-3, the 8th hole, at 300 yards. Anywhere else players would bitch and be outraged. At Oakmont it's accepted.
Van Sickle: We often bitch about Open courses being over the top, but at Oakmont we celebrate it.
Shipnuck: It's different when the USGA loses control of one of its other Open courses. Oakmont is just a difficult test that is overwhelming. You can't blame the course or the USGA; this is how Oakmont has been for a hundred years. You have to blame yourself when you crash and burn.
Morfit: And what other major course gets a pass for having an interstate that runs through it? I love that the Pennsylvania Turnpike splits the course.
Bamberger: It's a noisy intrusion, but the members are like, What turnpike? Their message is, Oh, were you expecting a quaint little course with flowers and flavored water bottles on the tees? We don't do that. We're Oakmont. Man up. Play hard.
Oh wait found the WSJ Trees article already...
Why Oakmont Waged a War on Trees
The Pennsylvania country club has felled 7,500 trees since it last hosted the U.S. Open—a once sacrilegious move that has blazed a trail for other golf courses.
By Brian Costa
<time class="timestamp"> June 13, 2016 4:21 p.m. ET </time> 41 COMMENTS
The transformation of Oakmont Country Club began in the cloak of darkness. During the mid-1990s, a dozen groundskeepers would set out at 4 a.m. most days and take aim at a tree.
Guided only by the headlights of a cart, they would cut the tree down, grind the stump, conceal the area with sod and remove all evidence of what they had just done.
This was how touchy the issue of tree removal was: It began in near-secrecy and continued even as members of the venerable Pittsburgh-area club threatened lawsuits to stop it. But when the U.S. Open returns to Oakmont for a record ninth time this week, it will represent a closing bookend in the case of chainsaw v. trees.
The wooded areas that lined the storied course for decades are virtually all gone, casualties of an effort to restore the course to its original, links-style design. And the only squirrel left is the one that adorns the club’s logo. Roughly 7,500 trees have been cleared since the U.S. Open was last held there in 2007, bringing the total victim count to nearly 15,000, by some estimates.
And it’s not just the vistas around Oakmont that have changed as a result. The club itself has gone from something of a heretic in the industry to a trendsetter, leading what turned into a wave of tree-chopping initiatives at courses around the country.
“There has been a sea change,” said veteran golf course architect Jeff Brauer. “Years ago, and even now, you go to some clubs and every tree, it almost requires an act of Congress to remove it. But Oakmont certainly opened up the avenues for the wider discussion.”
In the larger world, trees are nice, leafy things that grow from the ground, usually not worth an extensive discussion unless one is about to fall on your house. In the country club world, trees are treated with only slightly less reverence than wealthy humans.
Smylie Kaufman plays a shot during a practice round on Monday. Photo: Andrew Redington/Getty Images
Around the middle of the 20th century, they became viewed as the ultimate symbol of golf course beautification. Clubs that were built on more of an open terrain—as Oakmont was in 1903—started planting trees. Clubs that already had trees added more of them. Many were planted as memorials to one person or another.
But a funny thing happens to trees over time: They grow. And grow, and grow, eventually to the point where they can deprive the grass of the sunlight it needs to remain in suitable playing condition.
This is the point Oakmont had reached in the early 1990s. Mark Kuhns, Oakmont’s superintendent at the time and now the director of grounds at New Jersey’s Baltusrol, said trees were overcrowding the course to the point where the turf quality was deteriorating.
“The question was, do you want an arboretum, like a walk in the park? Or do you want to play golf?” Kuhns said. “If you want to play golf, I need 8-10 hours a day of direct sunlight on tees, greens and fairways.”
As has often been the case at other clubs, nobody wanted to hear this. The tree removal at Oakmont eventually became impossible to hide, which led to the most contentious period in its genteel history. Bob Ford, Oakmont’s longtime head pro, said there were even threats of fistfights between members on different sides of the issue, though as with the lawsuits, they never happened. A nearby church was rumored to have offered prayers for the trees’ survival.
But the chainsaw crowd prevailed, and for them, the 2007 Open was something of a vindication. Not only did Oakmont’s new look receive rave reviews, but the course itself proved to be as tough as it was before. The winning score, by Angel Cabrera of Argentina, was 5 over par.
Oakmont’s signature greens are as fast and vexing as ever. And what the course lacks in hardwood obstacles, it makes up for with stronger winds as a result, along with more than 200 bunkers. The absence of trees also reduces players’ depth perception as they eye a shot over Oakmont’s rolling hills.
“In some ways, the course is tougher,” said USGA executive director Mike Davis. “I suppose if you’re missing the fairway all the time, now you’re not dealing with trees. But in terms of testing the world’s best players, it has become a stronger test. It really has, since the trees came down.”
The U.S. Open has traditionally been held on tree-lined courses, but the tournament’s return to Oakmont comes during a three-year stretch that is expanding the notion of what an Open course looks like. Last year, it was held at Washington’s Chambers Bay, which has not a single tree in play. Next year, it will be held at Wisconsin’s Erin Hills, which the USGA selected shortly after it began a tree removal program in 2010.
Zach Reineking, the superintendent at Erin Hills, said more than 400 trees have been cleared, leaving just five on the course. “The USGA did not demand or require it. But are they in favor of it? Yes,” he said.
There are still some overwrought discussions about trees. More than a year after an ice storm felled Augusta National’s famed Eisenhower Tree, club chairman Billy Payne spoke emotionally about it at the 2015 Masters. After describing the challenge of creating “an appropriate lasting memory of this tree,” he announced that two grafts and a seedling had been preserved from it. “Priceless specimens,” he called them.
And not all clubs view Oakmont as a model to follow. Keith Foster, a longtime course architect who has led tree removal programs, said clubs often tell him they don’t want to go to Oakmont’s extreme. “What people perceive of Oakmont is a total nuke of all trees,” he said.
But many famous clubs, such as Baltusrol and New York’s Winged Foot, have already removed trees on a much smaller scale. And Brauer, the architect, said Oakmont continues to come up in talks with clubs that are considering doing the same, making a once-radical idea seem rational.
“My gut is, this will take hold as a movement in golf, sort of like minimalism,” he said. “I think it will finally take off after Oakmont.”
Bonus Article:
Biggest reason Oakmont is crazy hard? Fast greens built to quickly kill scores
Architect Clay Fownes wanted them steep, high pace and severely penalizing
Throw in surrounding deep rough, and many golfers think they are the most difficult in world
Hitting approach shots on right levels arguably biggest key for US Open field this week
By Todd Milles
tmilles@thenewstribune.com OAKMONT, Pa.
By all accounts, Henry Clay Fownes was a shrewd, demanding iron-manufacturing businessman who instilled those traits into the only golf course he ever designed.
Welcome to Oakmont Country Club — site of its record ninth U.S. Open this week just outside Pittsburgh.
It might also be fright week at the 116th U.S. Open, where even-par scoring could feel like a birdie-making contest.
Old Mar Par frequently gets booted off these premises. He isn’t welcome here.
“I don’t think anyone’s going to be in the red (under par) come 72 holes,” reigning U.S. Open champion Jordan Spieth said. “And if it plays like (Sunday’s practice round) with the 15-mile-an-hour wind, it’s going to be significantly over par.”
Pick all the reasons why Oakmont is so severe: thick rough, narrow fairways, endless sand bunkers, even unrelenting history.
One runs faster through the minds of golfers: The green complexes are the most challenging in the world to navigate.
They are so fast, you can blow on a golf ball, and it travels 50 feet. They are so undulating, you can line up a 5-foot putt with 10 feet of break in it. And they have thick grass everywhere surrounding them.
“They are probably the toughest greens in golf, based upon the fact that just off the green you have very, very thick rough,” 2013 U.S. Open champion Justin Rose said.
“Augusta National, I would say the greens are just as severe. But you have a little bit more control of the ball at all times. You’re playing out of the short grass, and it’s more predictable.”
After Fownes made his millions with the Carrie Furnace Company, he turned much of his attention to golf in his 40s and 50s — playing it and ultimately forming a golf club in western Pennsylvania.
Discovering hilly farmland alongside the Allegheny River, he turned it into a ruthless, Scottish-links style masterpiece that measured 6,400 yards — very long back in 1904.
Fownes took special pride in designing the greens. They have the traditional back-to-front tilt in many of them. But some, like the greens at No. 1 and No. 10, dip the opposite way.
“A few of them were like that, which is very uncommon,” said University Place’s Michael Putnam, who played in the 2007 U.S. Open at Oakmont. “And because of that, you have to plan your approach shots more carefully accounting for the extra skip or extra hop.”
It was widely known that Fownes would stand in the front or back of his greens during early play and throw down golf balls to see how they moved.
If they retreated off the greens, he smiled. If they stayed on the greens, he growled at his maintenance staff.
Yet if a golfer can keep an approach shot on the greens — no easy task — because the surfaces putt so true, even at lightning-fast speeds, it can be kind of fun to find a groove on them.
“You’ve got to hit it, and you’ve got to putt it — and I had the ball on the greens (in 1994),” said Ernie Els, who won his first major at Oakmont that year. “I just loved the greens. I had a big putter, and I just went on feel.”
was there for monday practice round and attended the tourney in 2007. fairways seem wider than 9 years ago and the 2000 trees cleared make a big difference for spectators but doubt it will make it easier on players
greens were nutty...barely tap a ball and it goes 10 feet by the pin. supposed to rain tonight and tomorrow which will make scoring possible for rounds 1-2 but then hot and dry for weekend will speed things up. rough was stupid long....4-5 inches minimum.
watched stenson quite a bit and he couldn't get a putt within 2 feet of any hole. i cannot see him doing well here
greens were nutty...barely tap a ball and it goes 10 feet by the pin. supposed to rain tonight and tomorrow which will make scoring possible for rounds 1-2 but then hot and dry for weekend will speed things up. rough was stupid long....4-5 inches minimum.
watched stenson quite a bit and he couldn't get a putt within 2 feet of any hole. i cannot see him doing well here
that's nuts...and these are some of the hilliest (least flat) greens in the world so if you are 10 feet above a hole it is impossible to stop it near the cup unless you drop it.
for betting purposes look for those GIR guys who can get themselves below the holes like Scott, Matsuyama, and Fowler..... http://www.pgatour.com/stats/stat.103.html
(btw the stimpmeter was invented at Oakmont because of these greens)
On the Matchup front I'm considering 2 Strategies here on Matchups (Both Tourney and a few Round Plays) and also on guys to miss the cut.
Beyond GIR that rolltide mentioned and Putting I don't know that the other Stats, considerations that I normally use to 'cap matchups would be applicable here.
1.) FADE guys that are not going to be able handle the rigors, the intensity of this course well. Either due to suspected lack of mental toughness, lack of seasoning (younger guys not in Good Form of late) or because they enter here in very bad Form of late.
2.) FADE Fat Guys.
Justin Rose has had back Problems within the very recent past,
https://www.google.com/search?q=jus...-8&oe=utf-8#q=justin+rose+back+injury&tbm=nws
of course Furyk with his wrist having presented him challenges. Maybe I am overestimating this? IIRC he has not played especially poorly since his return.
https://www.google.com/search?q=jason+dufner&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8#q=jim+furyk+injury&tbm=nws
Bubba I always expect to meltdown.
I feel like Ricky Fowler was still not back from his Spring Break with his performances since his actual Spring Break.
Maybe his Focus will be improved here.
Russell Knox +9500
1st Round matchups I am looking at now are
7003 Jason Day (1st Rnd) -125 vs Jordan Spieth (1st Rnd)
7146 Phil Mickelson (1st Rnd) +110 vs Justin Rose (1st Rnd)
7096 Kevin Streelman (1st Rnd) -105 <small>vs</small> Patton Kizzire (1st Rnd)
7107 Matt Kuchar (1st Rnd) -130 <small>vs</small> Bubba Watson (1st Rnd)
Would appreciate any thoughts guys have on Golfers that, in their experience, do not have the Mental Toughness to even really be expected to make the cut here as most of what I like to play is Tourney Matchups but the unique and brutal rigors of this course could see us isolate some good opportunities on the To Miss The Cut props.
Also would appreciate input if anyone happens to know who are the Fattest Guys in this U.S. Open and on tour in general as Fading Fat Golfers is a strategy I use throughout the Season, when the right matchup is available.
Of course any Health Concerns of entrants anyone has heard of would be appreciated.
Lets all CaSh again, last year's Chamber's Bay Thread was +EV IIRC as have been all Major Tourney Threads here on RX for awhile :toast:
<header style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; width: 770px; float: left; margin-left: 200px; margin-right: -1170px; color: rgb(40, 40, 40); font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><section class="desktop-section" style="box-sizing: border-box;">GOLF PICKS: BEST AND WORST VALUES FOR THE 2016 U.S. OPEN
With the US Open less than two weeks away, our Robby Kalland looks at the best and worst values on the board for the second golf major of the year.
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Robby Kalland
@RKalland Jun 06, 6:00PM CDT</section>
</section></header><section class="body-card" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 25px; clear: both; width: 770px; float: left; margin-left: 200px; margin-right: -1170px; color: rgb(40, 40, 40); font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><section class="body" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative; padding-bottom: 45px;"><figure style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1em 40px;"></figure>In two weeks the world's best golfers and qualifiers will head to Oakmont Country Club, widely regarded as the toughest course in the country, for the 2016 US Open.
Oakmont takes a long, tough course and dials it up to 11 with greens that will roll off the charts on the stimpmeter along with 6-8 inch deep rough. The last time the USGA got a hold of Oakmont for the US Open, back in 2007, the winning score was a 5-over 285 by Angel Cabrera.
<tbody>
</tbody>The winning score this year could very well be over par again, and while the U.S. Open is always a difficult scoring test, Oakmont presents a unique challenge.
So in looking at the board for value -- these aren't necessarily my official picks -- I want players that play well on difficult courses, avoid the big number that Oakmont is waiting to deal to you, have a good history in Opens and are coming in playing quality golf.
Best values
Justin Rose (20/1): The 2013 U.S. Open champion has always fared well at very difficult courses. He won the Open at Merion and has PGA Tour wins at Congressional, Muirfield Village and Doral. Those are beastly courses. He hasn't played since The Players, but in 11 events this season he has eight top 25s and five top 10s. Rose finished T10 at Oakmont in 2007 and has four top 10 finishes in the last five majors. I like Rose's value best among the top 10 guys on the board here.
Brandt Snedeker (50/1): Snedeker was as hot as anyone on Tour to start 2016, but cooled off in the early spring. A T17 last week may indicate his game is rounding into form and he's already got a T10 in the first major of the year at the Masters. The Open has always fit Snedeker's game as he has four top 10 finishes and three other top 25s (including the '07 US Open at Oakmont) since 2007.
Charl Schwartzel (60/1): Schwartzel is in solid form of late, with a T25 and T11 finish in his last two starts, and he's been a steady U.S. Open performer since 2010. Even though he's a Masters champion, the Open has consistently been the major where he performs the best. He's got four top 25s (2 top 10s) in the last six Opens, including a seventh place finish last year.
Jason Dufner (100/1): In the last four U.S. Opens, Dufner has gone T4, T4, MC and T18. That's quite the record on USGA-prepped courses in that time. Dufner is come on pretty well of late, with a T24 at the Byron Nelson and a T6 at Colonial in the last month. He's got the steady game and temperment to handle the rigors of Oakmont, and it wouldn't surprise me to see him in the mix on Sunday.
Worst values
Rory McIlroy (7/1): This may come as a surprise. Rory won the Irish Open recently and has been a top 10 machine this season -- five top 10s in his last seven PGA Tour starts -- but I still have some concerns about him being the co-favorite with Jason Day from a value perspective.
Yes, he's been getting top 10s, but many of those have been backdoor top 10s, where he's not in contention on Sunday and posts a low number to move up the leaderboard into a quality finish. He's also scrambling desperately to figure out his putting. Even in his win in Ireland, he had 127 putts over four days, and quickly ditched the cross-handed grip he'd been trying out to go back to the conventional style.
Rory is a contender for sure, but I'm not sure his putting is in good enough form for the speedy greens at Oakmont. When he won in 2011 at Congressional -- in one of the most impressive displays ever at a U.S. Open -- he was doing everything well. We haven't seen that same Rory this year, and I don't expect that Rory to show up at Oakmont. I think 7/1 and co-favorite with Day and Jordan Spieth is just too high to feel like you're getting good value for your money.
Henrik Stenson (25/1): I understand that his world ranking dictates that he's among the favorites, but Stenson's form right now and performance in recent majors has me wary of him in this spot. He hasn't finished in the top 10 at a major since the 2014 PGA and has missed the cut in his last two PGA Tour starts. He made a charge for a T4 at his home event in Sweden on the European Tour last week, but his putting this year has not been good.
He's 151st on the PGA Tour in strokes gained putting and with the green speeds they'll be facing at Oakmont, that's just not going to cut it. I think 25/1 is too high for him the way he's been playing recently.
Bubba Watson (30/1): I'm not sure what's going on with Bubba right now, but he's in a funk. Watson was as hot as can be in late February and early March, winning at the Northern Trust and then finishing second at Doral, but since then he's yet to record a top 25 finish in four events.
Watson has never fared well at the U.S. Open, missing the cut three of the last four years. The punishing rough of the Open isn't something Watson deals with well, and, even though his lone top 10 of his career at a U.S. Open was in 2007 at Oakmont, I don't expect him to be in contention this year with the way he's playing.
Justin Thomas (80/1): Thomas is one of my favorite golfers on the Tour, but I just think Oakmont is a bad setup for his game the way he's playing this year. Thomas can bomb it (26th in driving distance) but he's really struggled with his accuracy off the tee (163rd on Tour at 55.9 percent). At Oakmont, missing nearly 50 percent of the fairways is a recipe for disaster. Thomas is a rising star and wil contend for a major at some point soon, just not this US Open.
Tiger Woods (100/1): No. Stop. Even if Tiger shows up to play (let's hope he doesn't) I don't want to imagine what he'd shoot at Oakmont having not played tournament golf this year.
</section></section>
With the US Open less than two weeks away, our Robby Kalland looks at the best and worst values on the board for the second golf major of the year.
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Robby Kalland
@RKalland Jun 06, 6:00PM CDT</section>
Oakmont takes a long, tough course and dials it up to 11 with greens that will roll off the charts on the stimpmeter along with 6-8 inch deep rough. The last time the USGA got a hold of Oakmont for the US Open, back in 2007, the winning score was a 5-over 285 by Angel Cabrera.
| <center style="box-sizing: border-box;">LATEST U.S. OPEN ODDS</center> | ||
| CURRENT | OPEN | |
| Jordan Spieth | 7/1 | 7/1 |
| Rory McIlroy | 7/1 | 8/1 |
| Jason Day | 7/1 | 8/1 |
| Dustin Johnson | 15/1 | 15/1 |
| Rickie Fowler | 20/1 | 20/1 |
| Justin Rose | 20/1 | 20/1 |
| Adam Scott | 25/1 | 20/1 |
| Bubba Watson | 30/1 | 30/1 |
| Hideki Matsuyama | 30/1 | 30/1 |
| Henrik Stenson | 30/1 | 30/1 |
| Danny Willett | 30/1 | 30/1 |
| Phil Mickelson | 25/1 | 30/1 |
| Louis Oosthuizen | 40/1 | 40/1 |
| Brandt Snedeker | 50/1 | 40/1 |
| Patrick Reed | 40/1 | 40/1 |
| Brooks Koepka | 40/1 | 40/1 |
| Sergio Garcia | 40/1 | 50/1 |
| Matt Kuchar | 40/1 | 50/1 |
| Zach Johnson | 50/1 | 50/1 |
| Paul Casey | 50/1 | 50/1 |
| Branden Grace | 40/1 | 50/1 |
| Charl Schwartzel | 25/1 | 60/1 |
| Jim Furyk | 60/1 | 60/1 |
| * Odds courtesy of Westgate LV Superbook |
<tbody>
</tbody>
So in looking at the board for value -- these aren't necessarily my official picks -- I want players that play well on difficult courses, avoid the big number that Oakmont is waiting to deal to you, have a good history in Opens and are coming in playing quality golf.
Best values
Justin Rose (20/1): The 2013 U.S. Open champion has always fared well at very difficult courses. He won the Open at Merion and has PGA Tour wins at Congressional, Muirfield Village and Doral. Those are beastly courses. He hasn't played since The Players, but in 11 events this season he has eight top 25s and five top 10s. Rose finished T10 at Oakmont in 2007 and has four top 10 finishes in the last five majors. I like Rose's value best among the top 10 guys on the board here.
Brandt Snedeker (50/1): Snedeker was as hot as anyone on Tour to start 2016, but cooled off in the early spring. A T17 last week may indicate his game is rounding into form and he's already got a T10 in the first major of the year at the Masters. The Open has always fit Snedeker's game as he has four top 10 finishes and three other top 25s (including the '07 US Open at Oakmont) since 2007.
Charl Schwartzel (60/1): Schwartzel is in solid form of late, with a T25 and T11 finish in his last two starts, and he's been a steady U.S. Open performer since 2010. Even though he's a Masters champion, the Open has consistently been the major where he performs the best. He's got four top 25s (2 top 10s) in the last six Opens, including a seventh place finish last year.
Jason Dufner (100/1): In the last four U.S. Opens, Dufner has gone T4, T4, MC and T18. That's quite the record on USGA-prepped courses in that time. Dufner is come on pretty well of late, with a T24 at the Byron Nelson and a T6 at Colonial in the last month. He's got the steady game and temperment to handle the rigors of Oakmont, and it wouldn't surprise me to see him in the mix on Sunday.
Worst values
Rory McIlroy (7/1): This may come as a surprise. Rory won the Irish Open recently and has been a top 10 machine this season -- five top 10s in his last seven PGA Tour starts -- but I still have some concerns about him being the co-favorite with Jason Day from a value perspective.
Yes, he's been getting top 10s, but many of those have been backdoor top 10s, where he's not in contention on Sunday and posts a low number to move up the leaderboard into a quality finish. He's also scrambling desperately to figure out his putting. Even in his win in Ireland, he had 127 putts over four days, and quickly ditched the cross-handed grip he'd been trying out to go back to the conventional style.
Rory is a contender for sure, but I'm not sure his putting is in good enough form for the speedy greens at Oakmont. When he won in 2011 at Congressional -- in one of the most impressive displays ever at a U.S. Open -- he was doing everything well. We haven't seen that same Rory this year, and I don't expect that Rory to show up at Oakmont. I think 7/1 and co-favorite with Day and Jordan Spieth is just too high to feel like you're getting good value for your money.
Henrik Stenson (25/1): I understand that his world ranking dictates that he's among the favorites, but Stenson's form right now and performance in recent majors has me wary of him in this spot. He hasn't finished in the top 10 at a major since the 2014 PGA and has missed the cut in his last two PGA Tour starts. He made a charge for a T4 at his home event in Sweden on the European Tour last week, but his putting this year has not been good.
He's 151st on the PGA Tour in strokes gained putting and with the green speeds they'll be facing at Oakmont, that's just not going to cut it. I think 25/1 is too high for him the way he's been playing recently.
Bubba Watson (30/1): I'm not sure what's going on with Bubba right now, but he's in a funk. Watson was as hot as can be in late February and early March, winning at the Northern Trust and then finishing second at Doral, but since then he's yet to record a top 25 finish in four events.
Watson has never fared well at the U.S. Open, missing the cut three of the last four years. The punishing rough of the Open isn't something Watson deals with well, and, even though his lone top 10 of his career at a U.S. Open was in 2007 at Oakmont, I don't expect him to be in contention this year with the way he's playing.
Justin Thomas (80/1): Thomas is one of my favorite golfers on the Tour, but I just think Oakmont is a bad setup for his game the way he's playing this year. Thomas can bomb it (26th in driving distance) but he's really struggled with his accuracy off the tee (163rd on Tour at 55.9 percent). At Oakmont, missing nearly 50 percent of the fairways is a recipe for disaster. Thomas is a rising star and wil contend for a major at some point soon, just not this US Open.
Tiger Woods (100/1): No. Stop. Even if Tiger shows up to play (let's hope he doesn't) I don't want to imagine what he'd shoot at Oakmont having not played tournament golf this year.
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Posted <time class="entry-date published pf-date" datetime="2016-06-15T00:13:05-07:00" style="text-rendering: geometricPrecision; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(148, 0, 42);">June 15, 2016 - 12:13am</time>Updated <time class="updated" datetime="2016-06-15T01:10:06-07:00" style="text-rendering: geometricPrecision; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">June 15, 2016 - 1:10am</time>Dustin Johnson, Matt Kuchar worth wagers in US Open
<figure class="image media-5450646 mlink even" style="text-rendering: geometricPrecision; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: top; display: inline-block; position: relative; text-align: center; width: 640px; min-height: 430px;">
<figcaption class="caption" style="text-rendering: geometricPrecision; margin: 0px; padding: 10px 10px 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15.36px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; position: absolute; width: 640px; bottom: 4px; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); max-height: 26%; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; cursor: pointer; box-sizing: border-box; text-overflow: ellipsis; background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961);">In this June 21, 2015, file photo, Dustin Johnson three-putts on the 18th hole during the final round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash. Johnson lost to Jordan Spieth by one shot. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi, File)
Dustin Johnson finishes his a practice round for the 2016 US Open golf championship at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pa., Monday, June 13, 2016. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
FILE - In this June 21, 2015, file photo, Dustin Johnson three-putts on the 18th hole during the final round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash. Johnson lost to Jordan Spieth by one shot. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi, File)</figcaption></figure>
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<aside class="ds-coll" style="text-rendering: geometricPrecision; margin: 0px; padding: 5px 28px 5px 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; float: left; width: 160px; position: relative; z-index: 10; word-break: break-word; word-wrap: break-word; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">RELATED
Jason Day favored to survive nightmare US Open setup
US Open odds, matchups and propositions
</aside>By WES REYNOLDS
SPECIAL TO THE LAS VEGAS ***************
Professional handicapper Wes Reynolds (@WesReynolds1 on Twitter) is using a mythical bankroll of $250 to bet the U.S Open futures board at the Westgate:
The U.S. Open returns this week to Oakmont Country Club, just northeast of Pittsburgh. This year will be the eighth time that Oakmont has hosted the national championship, which is more than any other course. While it is a medium-length course (7,219 yards) by tour standards, Oakmont is widely considered to be one of the toughest courses in America. The last time the U.S. Open was there (2007), Golf Digest ranked it as the fifth-toughest course in America. Last week, Phil Mickelson called it “the toughest course I’ve ever played.” In 2007, the winning score was 285 (5 over par), shot by Angel Cabrera.
After two years of not having high and thick rough at Pinehurst No. 2 and Chambers Bay, the U.S. Open rough is back in full force. When you combine the rough with greens that could roll as fast as 14 on the stimpmeter, this tournament probably will present the year’s biggest challenge for the game’s best.
$75 on Dustin Johnson (12-1): Going only one below the “Big Three” (Jason Day, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy) with D.J. here. Certainly all three short favorites are capable of winning and are in good form with each winning an event within the last calendar month, but I go with the man who is arguably the most naturally talented player in the game.
The athletic and long-hitting (third on PGA Tour in driving distance) Johnson obviously has the game and the physical tools to win majors, but his mental approach and lacking a more experienced caddie long have been considered his weaknesses. Nonetheless, his form is difficult to ignore. Coming off a third-place finish at the Memorial and a fifth-place finish last week in Memphis gives him momentum. He also has finished no worse than seventh in four of his past five major championships. I backed him last year when a three-putt from 12 feet on the 72nd hole cost him at Chambers Bay. At some point, his talent should overcome his mental block, and this looks like as good a spot as any.
$40 on Phil Mickelson (25-1): At 45, “Lefty” is running out of chances to win his final leg of the career Grand Slam. This might be his best chance to do so. Mickelson has six second-place finishes at the national championship. Here are his bridesmaid close calls: 1999 Pinehurst No 2; 2002 Bethpage Black; 2004 Shinnecock Hills; 2006 Winged Foot; 2009 Bethpage Black; 2013 Merion.
If you notice a pattern, you’ll see Mickelson’s past five runner-up finishes were on difficult courses based in the northeast portion of the country. This week we have another tough course based in the northeast. He’s in a little better form here than in previous years, including a tie for second last week in Memphis. Another motivation for Mickelson will be the Ryder Cup. Major championships give out more Ryder Cup points than any other events. After yet another Ryder Cup loss in 2014, he said he planned on making the team as a player and not as a captain’s pick.
$35 on Matt Kuchar (30-1): This is my top selection to win the U.S. Open. Kuchar has six top-10 finishes in his past eight events, and his game has finally come back around to his form of being a consistent top 15-20 world-ranked player. While not having a major championship trophy in his case, Kuchar has made 12 straight cuts in the majors and six straight cuts at the U.S. Open. His accuracy and short game are his trademarks.
$25 on Patrick Reed (40-1): The fiery and sometimes churlish Reed is 0-for-9 in terms of top-10 finishes at majors, but I believe that’s only a sign of lacking experience. Reed has proven he can win on a course with tough conditions when he won a World Golf Championship event at Doral two years ago. At the U.S. Open, a player is not going to hit every fairway or every green, so he has to be able to get out of trouble. This is where Reed excels and ranks second on the PGA Tour in scrambling. Reed was the 36-hole co-leader last year at the U.S. Open, with eventual winner Jordan Spieth, before a tough weekend ended his chances. I think he learns from that experience and contends here.
$15 on Brandt Snedeker (60-1): Snedeker has four career top-10 finishes in 10 tries at the U.S. Open, including the past two years. Like Kuchar, Snedeker is a solid all-around player without many obvious weaknesses. He is consistently one of the better putters on the tour. Oakmont features bentgrass poa annua greens, on which Snedeker excels. Along with Bubba Watson, Snedeker has four victories on these type of greens since 2008, including this year at Torrey Pines.
With the remaining funds, here are three longer shots:
$15 on Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer (60-1)
$10 on Marc Leishman and Billy Horschel (80-1)
$5 on Tony Finau (125-1) and Chris Wood (150-1)
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Jason Day favored to survive nightmare US Open setup
US Open odds, matchups and propositions
</aside>By WES REYNOLDS
SPECIAL TO THE LAS VEGAS ***************
Professional handicapper Wes Reynolds (@WesReynolds1 on Twitter) is using a mythical bankroll of $250 to bet the U.S Open futures board at the Westgate:
The U.S. Open returns this week to Oakmont Country Club, just northeast of Pittsburgh. This year will be the eighth time that Oakmont has hosted the national championship, which is more than any other course. While it is a medium-length course (7,219 yards) by tour standards, Oakmont is widely considered to be one of the toughest courses in America. The last time the U.S. Open was there (2007), Golf Digest ranked it as the fifth-toughest course in America. Last week, Phil Mickelson called it “the toughest course I’ve ever played.” In 2007, the winning score was 285 (5 over par), shot by Angel Cabrera.
After two years of not having high and thick rough at Pinehurst No. 2 and Chambers Bay, the U.S. Open rough is back in full force. When you combine the rough with greens that could roll as fast as 14 on the stimpmeter, this tournament probably will present the year’s biggest challenge for the game’s best.
$75 on Dustin Johnson (12-1): Going only one below the “Big Three” (Jason Day, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy) with D.J. here. Certainly all three short favorites are capable of winning and are in good form with each winning an event within the last calendar month, but I go with the man who is arguably the most naturally talented player in the game.
The athletic and long-hitting (third on PGA Tour in driving distance) Johnson obviously has the game and the physical tools to win majors, but his mental approach and lacking a more experienced caddie long have been considered his weaknesses. Nonetheless, his form is difficult to ignore. Coming off a third-place finish at the Memorial and a fifth-place finish last week in Memphis gives him momentum. He also has finished no worse than seventh in four of his past five major championships. I backed him last year when a three-putt from 12 feet on the 72nd hole cost him at Chambers Bay. At some point, his talent should overcome his mental block, and this looks like as good a spot as any.
$40 on Phil Mickelson (25-1): At 45, “Lefty” is running out of chances to win his final leg of the career Grand Slam. This might be his best chance to do so. Mickelson has six second-place finishes at the national championship. Here are his bridesmaid close calls: 1999 Pinehurst No 2; 2002 Bethpage Black; 2004 Shinnecock Hills; 2006 Winged Foot; 2009 Bethpage Black; 2013 Merion.
If you notice a pattern, you’ll see Mickelson’s past five runner-up finishes were on difficult courses based in the northeast portion of the country. This week we have another tough course based in the northeast. He’s in a little better form here than in previous years, including a tie for second last week in Memphis. Another motivation for Mickelson will be the Ryder Cup. Major championships give out more Ryder Cup points than any other events. After yet another Ryder Cup loss in 2014, he said he planned on making the team as a player and not as a captain’s pick.
$35 on Matt Kuchar (30-1): This is my top selection to win the U.S. Open. Kuchar has six top-10 finishes in his past eight events, and his game has finally come back around to his form of being a consistent top 15-20 world-ranked player. While not having a major championship trophy in his case, Kuchar has made 12 straight cuts in the majors and six straight cuts at the U.S. Open. His accuracy and short game are his trademarks.
$25 on Patrick Reed (40-1): The fiery and sometimes churlish Reed is 0-for-9 in terms of top-10 finishes at majors, but I believe that’s only a sign of lacking experience. Reed has proven he can win on a course with tough conditions when he won a World Golf Championship event at Doral two years ago. At the U.S. Open, a player is not going to hit every fairway or every green, so he has to be able to get out of trouble. This is where Reed excels and ranks second on the PGA Tour in scrambling. Reed was the 36-hole co-leader last year at the U.S. Open, with eventual winner Jordan Spieth, before a tough weekend ended his chances. I think he learns from that experience and contends here.
$15 on Brandt Snedeker (60-1): Snedeker has four career top-10 finishes in 10 tries at the U.S. Open, including the past two years. Like Kuchar, Snedeker is a solid all-around player without many obvious weaknesses. He is consistently one of the better putters on the tour. Oakmont features bentgrass poa annua greens, on which Snedeker excels. Along with Bubba Watson, Snedeker has four victories on these type of greens since 2008, including this year at Torrey Pines.
With the remaining funds, here are three longer shots:
$15 on Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer (60-1)
$10 on Marc Leishman and Billy Horschel (80-1)
$5 on Tony Finau (125-1) and Chris Wood (150-1)
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