It’s US Open week and that means we’re having a bit more fun and spending a little extra with our betting card.
Approach play, scrambling and ability to navigate high gusty winds will be crucial this week.
The Card
Outright Wins:
Rory McIIlroy +1400 (1.5u)
Matt Fitzpatrick +2200 (1u)
Chris Gotterup +5000 (0.6u)
Viktor Hovland +5500 (0.6u)
Harris English +9500 (0.3u)
Cameron Smith +13000 (0.2u)
Top Finishes + ties:
Cameron Smith: Top 5 | +1600 (0.1U) Top 10 | +750 (0.2U)
Harris English: Top 5 | +1400 (0.2U)
Parlays:
Top 10 finishes + ties:
Hideki Matsuyama + Xander Schauffele + David Puig | +15000 (0.1u)
Si Woo Kim + Kurt Kitayama + Joaquin Niemann | +15000 (0.1u)
Patrick Reed + Wyndham Clark + Sam Stevens | +30000 (0.1u)
5U total.
Reasoning
McIlroy: No need to dive into his play, but he’s motivated to win more majors, and he’s motivated to win a US Open at a traditional, firm, iconic venue like Shinnecock. If you recall, when he won the 2011 US Open, it was at a rain-soaked, soft Congressional. Outside of last year, he’s had many close calls at the US Open since 2021. He’s bound to pick up another one.
Fitzpatrick: After a few starts where we saw his results dip, I was starting to shy away from him this week, but his solo 2nd in Canada has pulled me all the way back in. With the form he’s showcased this year, he’ll be disappointed with his results in the two major championships so far (top finish: T14), but the new version of approach play we’ve seen in 2026 from Matt (4th on Tour) and his Around the Green play (6th on Tour) should set him up perfectly for Shinnecock.
Gotterup: The winds will be up and will play a MAJOR factor this week. Knowing that, it was hard to leave Gotterup off the card with how he’s played in high winds and at more linksy-style courses over the past year: winning the Scottish Open, finishing 3rd at The Open, and winning at Sony. Plus, he seems like a guy who’s going to win a US Open, and recently, US Opens have favored first-time major winners.
Hovland: I wouldn’t have had much faith in Viktor this week before Canada, but he played some excellent golf over the weekend, finishing solo 3rd. He was #1 in the field in approach play too, which definitely caught my attention for this week.
Also, since 2022, Hovland has been in the mix on the back nine Sunday at a major. At the 2022 Open, he was in the final pairing with Rory; at the 2023 PGA, he was in the final pairing with Koepka; at the 2024 PGA, he led on the back nine; and last year in 2025, he was in the mix all weekend at the US Open. He’s yet to be a factor at a major in 2026, and again, the US Open has favored first-time major winners recently.
English: First longer-odds shot, and I’m going with Harris. His play this year has been what you would perfectly describe English as: consistently average. So far, he has a handful of T17–25 finishes. He’s shown he can win in windy, grindy conditions, recall the 2025 Farmers Insurance Open, where it blew like crazy on a couple of days. He also has three top-10 finishes at the US Open since 2020 and had two runner-up finishes at majors last year. Underrated player at the majors in my eyes.
Smith: Smith’s play at the PGA has drawn me back in a tad but I’m still very skeptical. At these odds though, I’m all the way in. The OTT play is obviously very concerning, but Shinnecock is one of the US Open venues where he can probably get away with it a bit more, especially since the fairways will be playing wider than in 2018. He has two good finishes at the US Open, both top 4s, and they came in 2015 at Chambers Bay and 2023 at LACC. You know what those venues had in common? Some of the most forgiving fairways off the tee we’ve ever seen at the US Open. Now, Shinnecock won’t be as easy as those places, as angles matter a ton, but I think he’s worth the risk this week.
