Scheffler & Tiger Woods Headline Player Roster

For the fourth time in its storied history, Pinehurst No. 2 – a grueling 7,500-plus-yard, par-70 test of golf nestled in a village town in Moore County, N.C. – will this week host the U.S. Open.

With its turtle-shell, lightning-quick greens and its make-you-lose-your-religion sandy, wiregrass areas just off the fairways, this Donald Ross-designed (and Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw restored) gem of a golf course has tested the best golfers in the world for more than a century. Never more so since it first hosted the U.S. Open in 1999.

And what a memorable first major that was 25 years ago, with Payne Stewart draining an 18-foot putt on the 72nd hole to beat Phil Mickelson by one shot and Tiger Woods by two. Stewart’s never-forget, one-legged fist-pump celebration has been immortalized in a statue just yards behind the 18th green. It’s a must-visit for any golf fan during a trip to Pinehurst. (Steward died in a plane crash just months after that U.S. Open win.)

Since Pinehurst No. 2 last hosted a U.S. Open in 2014, Coore and Crenshaw’s restoration has added new calamities to an already seemly impenetrable layout, which has only seen four golfers finish under par in three previous U.S. Opens.

The first – and really only – thing that comes to mind when it comes to Pinehurst No. 2 is its greens. Shaped like turtle backs – or upside soup bowls – and usually just as slippery, trying to keep the ball on these greens with an approach shot is like trying to land (and stop) a golf ball on the top of a VW Bug.

And then there’s the traditional U.S. Open length and insane rough and waste areas.

Oh, and this year, No. 2 will boast three 500-plus-yard par 4s and one 600-plus-yard par 5.

So who will win the toughest test in golf on one of the sport’s crown-jewel courses?

FrontPageBets makes its picks and predictions for the 124th U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2.

(All odds courtesy of BetMGM and are subject to change)

Scottie Scheffler is the best golfer on the planet. No question.

He’s won five times … this season. Read that again.

It’s the first time since Tom Watson did it in 1980 that a golfer comes into the U.S. Open with five victories in a single season leading up to the major.

So far this year, Scheffler won the Arnold Palmer Invitational, The Players Championship, the Masters (for his second green jacket), the RBC Heritage and then The Memorial just this past weekend.

And if it wasn’t for the debacle outside of Valhalla on the Friday morning of the PGA Championship, Scheffler might be heading into the U.S. Open with the season’s first two majors under his belt.

This will be Scheffler’s seventh U.S. Open appearance, with his best finish coming in 2022 with a runner-up finish at Brookline. Last year, he finished third at Los Angeles Country Club.

Since 2022, other than missing the cut at that year’s PGA Championship, Scheffler’s worst finish in a major was T23 at the 2023 British Open.

And at a course where it’s all about getting it to – and keeping it on – the greens, there’s no one better than Scheffler. He’s No. 1 on the PGA Tour in Strokes Gained: Approach to the Green and No. 1 in greens in regulation, hitting more than 73%. Oh, he’s also No. 1 in proximity to the hole at 34 feet, 2 inches on approach.

Now, the new father has a chance to win his first U.S. Open on Father’s Day.

In 2020, Bryson DeChambeau won the U.S. Open at Winged Foot, as the only player to finish under par. He was 6-under for the championship. Matthew Wolff was second at even par that week.

Now, DeChambeau, a LIV Tour player, comes to Pinehurst No. 2 riding a serious major championship heater.

He recorded a second-place finish at last month’s PGA Championship at Valhalla, where he finished one shot behind champion Xander Schauffele at 20-under par. (DeChambeau fired a 7-under 64 in the final round.) In April, he finished T6 at the Masters.

On the LIV Tour this season, DeChambeau has four top-10 finishes and hasn’t finished outside the top 27 in any LIV event in 2024.

Tiger Woods will be playing in his first U.S. Open in four years. His last time teeing it up at this particular major was in 2020 at Winged Foot.

Woods didn’t play the last time Pinehurst hosted the U.S. Open in 2014, but in 1999 he finished T3 and then second in 2005.

Tiger’s odds to win the U.S. Open are +25000. But consider this: they’re still better than Phil Mickelson’s odds, which sit at +30000. (Remember, Mickelson is a U.S. Open victory away from a career Grand Slam.)

Let’s take a look at Tiger’s odds this week at Pinehurst No. 2:

• Odds to make the cut: +220
• First-round leader odds: +12500
• First-round Top-5 odds: +2200
• First-round Top-10 odds: +1100
• Top 20 (finish) odds: +600
• Top 10 (finish) odds: +1400
• Top 5 (finish) odds: +2800
• Odds to win: +25000

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