'It's Scheffler by a mile in terms of liability': U.S. Open oddsmaker insights and best bets

Input from several oddsmakers and 25 U.S. Open bets from respected handicappers

The U.S. Open, the third major of the 2024 PGA Tour season, gets underway on Thursday from Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina, and it’s no surprise that 2024 Masters champ Scottie Scheffler is the favorite.

What may be a tad surprising is just how big a favorite he is, and that the public is still betting him hand over fist even at such a low number. Scheffler is around +300 to win this week’s major, which represents the lowest odds for any golfer to win a major since Tiger Woods had +180 odds all the way back at the 2009 PGA Championship. Woods ended up finishing as the runner-up in that tournament.

Despite those odds, at every sportsbook I checked in with this week, Scheffler had the most bets to win the tournament AND the most dollars wagered. He was the biggest liability at several sportsbooks as well.

“It’s Scheffler by a mile in terms of money bet and liability at the moment,” Seamus Magee, trader at BetMGM, told me on Wednesday afternoon. “He’s followed by Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka. Colin Morikawa has seen some action come his way, but he’d be a welcome result as it stands.”

At ESPN BET, Scheffler (+290) had the most bets (14.2%) and total dollars wagered on him (34.2%) of any golfer. Scheffler also had the most bets and dollars wagered at DraftKings Sportsbook, FanDuel, BetMGM and BetRivers.

“It’s almost insane to be talking about his price at essentially 3-1,” Thomas Gable, sportsbook director at The Borgata in New Jersey told me this week. “I saw some spots lower than +300. In a major to have that price, we haven’t seen that since Tiger was in his prime and speaks to how dominant [Scheffler’s] been. From a betting perspective, despite his price people didn’t stop betting him at The Memorial. Last week, he had the highest handle and ticket count. Same thing for the U.S. Open this week. People have taken other golfers at higher numbers, but they always want to seem take a piece of Scheffler as well.”

Here are 25 U.S. Open bets from some great golf bettors:

Best bets

Wes Reynolds, VSiN

Collin Morikawa (14-1)

Viktor Hovland (18-1)