Well, my friends.. Here we are. I want to get into everything,and I mean everything – but first let me set the scene. Let’s all rewind to a simpler time.. a time just a mere nine months agowhere we were complaining about watching a shitty form of “The Match” between Bryson, Phil, Brady and Rodgers. The only drama was whether Rodgers would drop the news that he was leaving the Packers behind, and we were all trying to give Bryson a chance to be likeable. The Match was incredibly average, the banter was eh.. but hey, Phil was our PGA Champion so at the time it was must-watch TV. All was well with the golf world and the future was bright.
Fast forward to today and everything has completely changed.We’re four days from the US Open, but the biggest news isn’t the US Open or the historic course; it’s the LIV Invitational andno one can have a conversation about golf without debating the morality behind all this Saudi Arabian cash being thrown around. Phil Mickelson looks like he just got out of a two-yearquarantine and can barely answer questions at a press conference. DJ is suddenly a villain after being Captain America in September.. and for fucks sake, even Rory is winning tournaments again. You would think hell froze over, but realistically all that happened was that Charl Schwartzel got weirdly rich for a player of his caliber. Now that the weirdest week in golf history is over, let’s forget LIV for a minute and talk about the fucking US Open.
Recap of Last Year
Last year at Torrey Pines was everything we could have asked for. Jon Rahm got booted from the Memorial and said we would see him at the US Open — and that we did. Rahm was fighting around the leaderboard all tournament, and in the end went on an insane streak with some historic putts to take the lead on the 72nd hole. Oosthhuizen did his favorite thing and choked everychance he had at the end, sending a drive into the shit on 17 and missing a 10 footer for par. Rahm took home the win and marked his name in the history of Torrey Pines. All the round 4 highlights are below if you want a good recap of the drama.
The Official Breakdown of the 2022 US Open
The Course
The Country Club is one of the most historic courses in the world, established in 1882. The course hosted the 1913 US Open which is remembered as one of the most famous events of all time, and inspired the movie ‘The Greatest Game Ever Played.’ The club is one of the five charter clubs of the USGA and hosted both the 50th and 75th US Opens, the centennial US Amateur Open and one of the most historic Ryder Cups in history in 1999. It is now a 7,264 yard course that is set to force players to earn each and every stroke in order to score well. The rough will be in a gradual format where every couple yards it gets deeper and deeper until it becomes nearly impossible to hit out of. The fairways will be thin, the greens will be small spotted with bunkers everywhere protecting the cup. Below is a video with a hole by hole breakdown that really showcases the course’s beauty.
The Weather
The weather will be pretty average all weekend as it seems there won’t be too much sun. Rain on Friday night could open up opportunity for an electrifying moving day as the greens could end up playing softer and slower. Winds will be consistently scattered each day adding to the typical US Open difficulties as well. Overall, weather shouldn’t be too much of a factor this year.
The Purse
It’s not Saudi money, but it’s still a pretty good chunk of change if you take home this trophy. Along with the money, whoever comes out on top will cement their name on one of the most respected and memorable courses in the world.
Featured Groups
Not perfect, but definitely some solid groups throughout. Always good to see some young guys get in the mix that are typically left out – such as Homa and Fitz – so that should be cool. Phil will be featured as he fights yet again to complete his career grand slam.
Now, finally, let’s get to what we REALLY care about
Odds for the Weekend
What I’m looking at:
- Rory is our outright favorite as we all expected after his performance over the weekend.
- Didn’t talk about that much but goddam that was sick, Rory proved he can win any tourney but +1k isn’t enough to get the blood flowing for me
- JT, Rahm and Scottie follow up as the next top odds which were all expected
- Scottie sticks out to me a bit, as he has a little less pressure than the PGA and +1500 is beginning to feel like a good deal for him considering his past odds
- Morikawa and Hovland both seem to be a bit disrespected considering their stature but both have not been in form at all
- Hard to count out Morikawa who seems to win majors when nobody talks about him, he has discussed committing to his current draw and letting the ball fly without thinking to force a cut
- Brooks is sitting at +5500 and has been in prime form as far as press conferences go
- Everyone, including him, love to mention that he’s only lost to four golfers in the last four US Open’s. Hard not to throw a couple dollars on this…
- Bryson is +12k and Phil is +22k
- I get they both haven’t played much or well at all but those odds especially Bryson’s feel a little aggressive. I was bored yesterday and threw a few dollars at +13.5k for Bryson just in case
THE PICKS
Winner – Sam Burns +2800
So — I have been eyeing this up for the last couple weeks now. Once I saw Burns start streaking over the weekend again I locked it up at +3300 (not to brag, pretty sharp of me). I just don’t understand why not a single soul is talking about Burns heading into the weekend. Nobody gives a shit that the guy has won three tournaments this year. Nobody gives a shit that he dunked on the young stallion Scottie Scheffler in a playoff. The man is on absolute fire and he couldn’t even get a featured group this weekend. I can’t wait to watch Burns show out and take this one home.
Longshot – Justin Rose +7000
Look, I’m not gonna lie, Justin Rose is actually one of my least favorite golfers on tour. I don’t really know why but he just seems to irk me. That being said, the guy knows how to golf and could have shot a 57 on Sunday if a few things went his way. He won the US Open at the most comparable course to The Country Club and I think he could get hot after last weekend. +7k feels pretty aggressive after that performance last week so it’s definitely worth a chance.
Fuck This Guy – Taylor Gooch +144
Some of you might be thinking “is this just a spite pick because you bet Gooch to win the LIV event last week?” The answer to that question is yes.. yes this is. I watched what I could of this gooch (lmao) and what I saw was a kid that is wayyy in over his head. Nothing looked appealing about his game and I think he is extremely distracted. After the roller coaster that was LIV he’s now thrown into the fire of press conferences in Boston. I can’t imagine he has fully gotten his bearings. I think Gooch will quickly disappear this week and we can cash an easy one here.
Prop of the Week – Harold Varner III to hit a Hole in One +11,000
We have been thinking about signing HV3 as an official athlete of Three Putt Bogeys and I can definitely say if this goes down he has the sponsorship. I think HV3 has some potential at this tournament and maybe what’s calling out to me most is getting this guy his 15 seconds of fame with a hole in one. Sometimes you just gotta believe….
Parlay of the Week – Homa, Morikawa, Brooks Top 20 +1385
For these three stars, the odds of this parlay are insane. These guys all have the potential to win this tournament and I don’t see a reason that they don’t all finish at least in the top 10. The only question that you will have after winning this will be “why didn’t I bet more?”
MORTAL LOCK – Jordan Spieth Top 20 +120
I am just not understanding how this line is set where it is. Jordan Spieth has been playing as well as ever and his swing change, as annoying as it is to watch, has proved to be extremely successful. He already has a win this year and is in contention every tournament week after week. His putting has been holding him back a bit, but when the putts start to fall we all know what happens – and that is Jordan Spieth holding the trophy above his head on Sunday. I almost gave out top 10 here for the extra juice but let’s just cash this easy ticket and make it FIVE mortal lock wins in a row!
Three Putt Bogeys 