With Tiger Woods’ days as the automatic favourite to win major tournaments on the PGA Tour now over, it’s Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth who lead the way on the betting lines heading into the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay in Washington this week.
At sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com it’s McIlroy who heads into the major event as the 7/1 favourite on the betting odds, with Spieth just behind him at 8/1 to win the tournament.
Spieth, of course, paid off for golf bettors in a big way at the Masters in the spring, finishing at 18-under to grab the Green Jacket and leave the rest of the field in the dust. Phil Mickelson and Justin Rose were both four strokes back of Spieth at Augusta, while McIlroy was six strokes behind on the final leaderboard.
Spieth was 17th at the U.S. Open last year after missing the cut in 2013 and tying for 21st place in 2012. So far in his short career he’s played in nine major tournaments, making the cut six times while finishing in the top-10 twice – at the Masters both this year and last year (when he tied for second place).
McIlroy, meanwhile, has four major tournament titles on his resume, including the U.S. Open in 2011 and both the British Open and the PGA Championship last year. McIlroy has played in 26 major tournaments over the course of his career, making the cut 22 times and finishing in the top-10 11 times – most recently with his fourth-place result at Augusta.
As for Woods, he’s played in 73 major tournaments, making the cut 67 times and ending up in the top-10 38 times. However, Woods hasn’t won a major since 2008, when he picked up his third U.S. Open title. Woods finished in a tie for 17th place at the Masters this past spring, and he last ended up in the top-10 at a major at the British Open in 2013.
And of course Woods stumbled badly in recent action at the Memorial Tournament, making the cut but then putting up a score of 85 in the third round en route to going 14-over for the event. That has Woods sitting well back at 50/1 odds to win the U.S. Open at the sportsbooks, and he’s also been set at EVEN odds to make the cut and -130 odds to miss the cut.
Elsewhere on the U.S. Open betting lines for this week, Mickelson is third behind leaders McIlroy and Spieth at 16/1 odds, with each of Rose, Dustin Johnson, and Rickie Fowler at 18/1 odds, and Henrik Stenson at 25/1 odds. Adam Scott, Bubba Watson, and Hideki Matsuyama round out the second tier of contenders to win the tournament at 28/1 odds.
