The 2023 U.S. Open heads to the Los Angeles Country Club, where the rough is long and the course is longer. Videos of fast greens and fairways are all over, as are golf balls getting lost in the thick stuff. It will be a challenge for whoever comes out on top, but that’s the stuff you already know. OddsShopper’s experts are here to tell you what you want to know, not what you already know. Yes, that means we’re skipping the part about Max Homa and his course record. Instead, we’re bringing in four experts to give their best 2023 U.S. Open picks and predictions.
From outrights to top-20 finishes, we’ve scoured the board for our favorite plays of the week. And if you’re looking for more options in the betting market, OddsShopper Premium is full of matchups and other U.S. Open picks with value.
2023 US Open Picks, Best Bets & Predictions
Eric Lindquist: Sepp Straka to Top 20 (+600 at FanDuel, 280-1 to win)
I’m not one for citing the Official World Golf Ranking system all that often, as there are times it recognizes who’s good and who isn’t as well as Skip Bayless. LIV players also haven’t accrued points under the OWGR for exactly one year, creating even more inaccuracies than normal. All of that being said, can I interest you in backing the 33rd-ranked golfer in the world coming off a seventh at the PGA Championship and a 16th at the Memorial sitting at 6-to-1 to top-20 and an astounding 280-to-1 in the outright market?
Enter Sepp Straka.
The big Austrian is far from a household name, but make no mistake about it: He’s got game. He’s 32nd among this field in total ball striking over his last 50 tournament rounds, has been positive off the tee in four consecutive events and has the propensity to gain a copious number of shots when his irons are hot. He’s made the cut in 6 of 8 major championship appearances, and with his current form, +600 is a disingenuous reflection of his actual odds to accomplish the feat, making it my favorite play of the U.S. Open.
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Ben Rasa: Hideki Matsuyama (48-1 at FanDuel)
It’s a major-level field, so we are going to find quality golfers even as we work into the middle of the betting board. Hideki Matsuyama is getting it back in form after a neck injury caused some issues earlier in 2023. He has made six straight cuts, including a fifth at THE PLAYERs and a 16th at the Masters, mostly due to iron and approach play. Coming to a course with some unique hole layouts, his ability will really go a long way to getting in contention.
Matsuyama has drifted to nearly 50-1 across some books, which makes me even more interested than I was earlier in the week. This is a guy with an impressive U.S. Open resume, and given his skillset, I see no reason he can’t enter Sunday with a chance to add another major to his resume.
Bryan Berryman: Xander Schauffele (18-1, or 21-1 With Boost at DraftKings)
Xander Schauffele’s recent form has been great. Couple that with his U.S. Open track record, and Schauffele is pretty hard to pass up at his price. He’s gained over 30 strokes tee to green in his last four starts and also has six straight top-25 finishes, including three top-10s. Schauffele’s history at the U.S. Open is even more impressive. He has never finished worse than 14th, securing five top-10 finishes in his six career starts at the event. Schauffele’s skillset is tailor made to compete on difficult courses like the one he’ll see this week, making him stand out as my favorite play.
Eytan Shander: Rickie Fowler (48-1, FanDuel)
At the risk of being excommunicated from the OddsShopper Golf community, let me be the first to tell you: Rickie Fowler is for real. Outside of the PGA Championship, he has seven top-20s in his last seven events, including back-to-back top-10s. Fowler is no stranger to a major field, although he’s playing some of his best golf heading into the U.S. Open. Beyond gaining strokes both around the green and on approach shots, Fowler has put together a stretch of exceptional putting, as we saw at the Wells Fargo and RBC Heritage. He’s even been able to survive by marginally gaining – or simply not losing – strokes on the green, as he cruised in both of his last two events. The wider fairways at the Los Angeles Country Club should allow him to not stress distance as much, where he can continue to gain strokes off the tee. At nearly 50-1, Fowler is worth a strong look.
