U.S. Open money on Dustin Johnson, high scores at Winged Foot

Dustin Johnson and Winged Foot are the two most popular bets leading up to Thursday’s start of the 120th U.S. Open.

Johnson remains the unanimous betting favorite, including being offered at +850 at DraftKings, where he was leading the wagering action with nine percent of the handle and six percent of the total bets on Wednesday. The moneyline on Johnson at PointsBet was +900, while Bet365 was offering 17/2 odds. Johnson is the first player since Tiger Woods in 1999 to hold the 54-hole lead/co-lead in four consecutive starts. He went on to win two of those and finished runner-up in the other two – losing one on a 66-foot putt in a playoff.

The 36-year-old has only one major title on his resume, the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont, which is considered one of the most difficult courses in the world with a style of play similar to that of Winged Foot.

No. 2 Jon Rahm of Spain was right behind Johnson at +900 by DraftKings, although he was bringing in six percent of the handle and four percent of the total winning bets.

In a best finishing position bet between the two, DraftKings was offering -108 on Johnson vs. -115 for Rahm.

The second most popular outright winner bet was Justin Thomas at +1400, bringing in eight percent and six percent, respectively.

Phil Mickelson famously double-bogeyed the 72nd hole to lose by a shot at Winged Foot in 2006. A sentimental favorite, he was third with seven percent of the handle while four percent of the bets were on the 50-year-old to win his first U.S. Open at +10000 odds.

Mickelson finished that U.S. Open 14 years ago at 6-over par. Of the five previous U.S. Opens held on the West Course at Winged Four, four champions have finished over par.

With the course lengthened in a 2017 re-design and the rough grown to five-plus inches, sportsbooks are expecting another potential Massacre at Winged Foot – the moniker given to Hale Irwin’s 7 over winning score in 1974.

Bet365 is offering 4/6 odds on the winning score being even par or higher and 2-1 odds on the winner carding between 1 and 3 under for the week. The book is offering 4/1 odds on the champion being 4 under or better.

PointsBet is offering a -167 moneyline bet on an over-par champion, +200 on 1 to 3 under and +425 on 4 under or better.

The book is also projecting the cut line to fall at 7 over or higher (-143), with +175 odds that it falls at 6 over and +400 for anything 5 over or lower.

Player, Odds, % Handle, % Bets

Dustin Johnson, +850, 9%, 6% Justin Thomas, +1400, 8%, 6% Phil Mickelson, +10000, 7%, 4% Xander Schauffele, +1500, 6%, 5% Jon Rahm, +900, 6%, 4% Collin Morikawa, +1700, 5%, 5% Rory McIlroy, +1800, 4%, 3% Tiger Woods, +4500, 4%, 4% Bryson Dechambeau, +2800, 4%, 3% Tony Finau, +4000, 4%, 3% Daniel Berger, +3300, 3%, 3% Matthew Wolff, +8000, 3%, 3% Webb Simpson, +2500, 3%, 3%

–Field Level Media ()