Appropriately enough, Hollywood will serve as the backdrop for big-name stars to be featured as the 2023 U.S. Open makes its way to Los Angeles Country Club for the first time in 75 years. Major names in golf will relish the opportunity to play in the spotlight with A-list celebrities watching from beyond the ropes and championship aspirations waiting for them beyond the finish line.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler has entered the week of the 123rd U.S. Open as the betting favorite, just like he did at the 2023 Masters and 2023 PGA Championship. The 2022 green jacket winner has a pair of runners-up finishes in major championships since his last victory, including at this event a season ago at The Country Club at Brookline.
Scheffler appears keen on adding major No. 2 to his collection sooner than later, but he will need to upend a Hollywood Walk of Fame cast of characters, including reigning major champions Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka. Rory McIlroy continues to seek an end to his near nine-year major drought, and Viktor Hovland hopes to keep his momentum rolling following his near miss at Oak Hill and dramatic victory at the Memorial.
California kids Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele and Rickie Fowler are rounding into form as the precise right time, while Los Angeles native Max Homa and Collin Morikawa look to return home in a major way.
Let's take a look at the odds as provided by Caesars Sportsbook along with a full set of U.S. Open expert picks and predictions, plus a look at the nine golfers who should be favorites at the U.S. Open.
2023 U.S. Open odds
Favorites
- Scottie Scheffler: 6-1
- Jon Rahm: 9-1
- Brooks Koepka: 9-1
- Viktor Hovland: 12-1
- Rory McIlroy: 12-1
Hovland has jumped from 18-1 to 12-1 in a matter of weeks due to his victory at the Memorial. The young Norwegian is the only player to finish inside the top 10 at each of the last three major championships. While momentum is on his side, it is the big Spaniard at 8-1 on whom you should keep an eye. Across 25 career starts in the state of California, Rahm has five victories, including triumphs at the 2021 U.S. Open and down the street earlier this season at Riviera.
Almost-favorites
- Patrick Cantlay: 16-1
- Xander Schauffele: 18-1
- Max Homa: 22-1
- Jordan Spieth: 22-1
I am almost certain Homa is this high up due to liability -- ask anyone, and they have a ticket on the six-time winner. Homa holds the course record at LACC with a 61 during the 2013 Pac-12 Championships, but that's where the positive vibes end. He is the only player inside the top 10 of the Official World Golf Rankings without a major top-10 finish. In order to bust the door down on his first major, Homa would need to snap a 43-major streak of champions having at least one top-10 finish prior to their victory. Webb Simpson was the last to win without one at the 2012 U.S. Open at the Olympic Club.
In the running
- Cameron Smith: 25-1
- Tyrrell Hatton: 28-1
- Tony Finau: 30-1
- Dustin Johnson: 35-1
- Matt Fitzpatrick: 35-1
- Collin Morikawa: 35-1
These six players have combined for five major championships, and it is a two-time major winner who may ultimately emerge. No, not Johnson but rather Morikawa as he appears to be over the back spasms that caused him to withdraw before the final round of the Memorial. The 26-year-old's game is tailor made for the U.S. Open as he is one of the most accurate drivers of the golf ball and the best iron player in the world. He held the 36-hole lead in this tournament last year and contended the year prior. It's only a matter of time.
Could be frisky
- Jason Day: 45-1
- Justin Thomas: 45-1
- Bryson DeChambeau: 45-1
- Rickie Fowler: 50-1
- Cameron Young: 50-1
- Justin Rose: 50-1
- Hideki Matsuyama: 50-1
- Tommy Fleetwood: 50-1
Seven of the past eight U.S. Open champions entered the week with odds of 30-1 or shorter with the exception being Gary Woodland in 2019 at 60-1. That does not bode well for this crew, but there are some strong candidates to buck this trend. DeChambeau comes off a T4 finish at the PGA Championship where he led after the first round. A winner in 2020 and a leader in the final round in 2021, DeChambeau may be one to look out for despite the funkiness of this year's setup.
Fowler's most recent stint came at the Memorial where he found contention on the back nine on Sunday. A few late bogeys threw him off the scent, but the Californian is surging and major championships have been his calling card before.
Sleepers
- Sungjae Im: 65-1
- Sam Burns: 70-1
- Shane Lowry: 75-1
- Sahith Theegala: 75-1
- Adam Scott: 75-1
- Wyndham Clark: 80-1
- Si Woo Kim: 80-1
- Corey Conners: 90-1
- Mito Pereira: 90-1
- Patrick Reed: 90-1
- Min Woo Lee: 100-1
- Russell Henley: 100-1
- Joaquin Niemann: 100-1
- Keegan Bradley: 125-1
- Denny McCarthy: 150-1
- Tom Kim: 150-1
- Gary Woodland: 150-1
LACC measures roughly 7,500 yards on the scorecard, but the golf course's true yardage should not play to this length. It will be firm, and it will be fast. This should favor a player like McCarthy who came agonizingly close to his first PGA Tour win at the Memorial. The Virginia product finished T7 at The Country Club courtesy of back-to-back 68s over the weekend and tends to perform his best when conditions are the most difficult.
Who will win the U.S. Open, and which longshots will stun the golfing world? Visit SportsLine to see the projected U.S. Open leaderboard, all from the model that's nailed nine golf majors, including this year's Masters.
