What a week for the game of golf.
During the last week the controversial LIV Tour started up, multiple big names have been banned from the PGA Tour, the RBC Canadian Open had an incredible finish with a stellar leaderboard, and players have begun to arrive at The Country Club for the US Open.
I’ll start off with my take on the LIV Tour. I, as a golf fan, don’t see why we can’t all enjoy the entertainment that this tour provides. Yes, the money funding this tour is coming from a horrible source, but if everybody really looked into how most of the things that they support/enjoy are funded, I think they’d be sick to their stomachs. I see the LIV Tour as an alternative way to view the sport, and I think it is very good for golf. I tuned in to two of the three days of the tournament and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
What makes it different?
-Teams as well as Individual Competition
-The night before the tournament, teams of four were drafted by the 12 captains
-Shotgun starts
-Having a shotgun start made the viewing very interesting as the broadcast only needed
to last the length of a round of golf, whereas tee times stretch things out
-54 holes
-The 54 hole format is only interesting because it makes the event shorter, seemingly
appeasing the fans that may not have the attention spans to tune in to a typical 72 hole
event
-Having only 8 events
-This makes the events seem more important as there are fewer than the PGA Tour
The winning team this weekend in London was Stinger GC, headlined by captain Louis Oosthuizen – but the star was Charl Schwartzl, who won the individual prize of 4 million dollars, along with bonuses for the team win.
The last thing I have on the LIV Tour is the new faces – guys I started to enjoy watching throughout the event that I had never heard of before, such as Scott Vincent and Hennie Du Plessis. I highly recommend tuning in to the next event in two weeks in Portland, I have been infatuated with this tour so far.
At the Canadian Open, Rory Mcilroy won in dramatic fashion amongst a stellar final group of himself, Tony Finau, and Justin Thomas. The back to back champion then used his time to take some shots at the LIV Tour after his victory. St. George’s played fairly easy for the field and provided a really pleasant viewing experience.
Now the main event – it is US Open week. The Country Club at Brookline is FULL of history, this is the 4th time it is hosting the US Open. This is the sight of the first ever amateur victory at the tournament in 1913 when Francis Ouimet won in improbable fashion (one year after the tournament was hosted at the Country Club of Buffalo, which was actually present-day Grover Cleveland Golf Course). The long and tight par 70 (this week) golf course in the Boston area has also hosted 6 US Amateurs, 3 US Women’s Amateurs, and a Ryder Cup. Established in 1882, this venue is sure to provide a great viewing experience for us this weekend.
As far as how the field will fare scoring during this tournament, I really don’t know. The last time The Country Club hosted the US Open was 1988, but knowing what we know about the US Open, it is safe to say the course will be playing really tough.
I love the US Open because often the scores are very high and it is not uncommon for the top ten to be made up of players that are single digits under par. In fact, sometimes the course is so difficult that some of the players become unhinged and start to publicly bash the USGA. My favorite quote in golf history is from Zach Johnson in 2018 when he said “They have lost the golf course” referring to how difficult Shinnecock Hills was playing. Other hilarious moments include when Phil Mickelson pretty much rage-quit the golf hole by putting his ball as it was moving down a hill towards being off of the green, which he was assessed a penalty for.
Speaking of Phil Mickelson, the US Open did not ban players that have committed to the LIV Tour, which will make for a VERY interesting tournament in my opinion. I am very excited to see if the Boston fans let the LIV players know how they feel about the whole situation.
As far as picks go, I haven’t exactly been hot lately but I will still give my opinions here. I am ABSOLUTELY IN LOVE with +4000 Dustin Johnson to win. I think he is on a mission this week because of the LIV stuff going on, and I think he is going to remind everybody how good he is at golf. The storylines would be unbelievable if he pulled this off. My other inkling is that the tournament will be favorable to the long ball – enter Bryson Dechambeau.
I feel pretty good this week, and there are a lot of things I love in this tournament from a betting perspective. The list is long so bear with me, but here are my picks for the 2022 US Open:
-0.25 unit on Bryson Dechambeu to win +8000
-0.5 unit on Dustin Johnson to win +4000
-0.5 unit on Scottie Scheffler to finish top 10 +150
-0.5 unit on Justin Rose to finish top 10 +450
-0.5 unit on Max Homa to finish top 20 +175
-0.5 unit on Kevin Kisner to finish top 20 +600
-0.5 unit on Bryson Dechambeu to finish top 20 +350
-1 unit on Justin Rose to finish top 20 +185
-1 unit on Dustin Johnson to finish top 10 +350
-1 unit on Scottie Scheffler to finish top 20 -150
-2.5 units on Dustin Johnson to finish top 20 +165
-2.5 units on Justin Rose to make the cut -200
-5 (five) units on Dustin Johnson to make the cut -250
-If you can find odds for Bryson Dechambeu and Kevin Kisner to make the cut, I would bet that responsibly
Long list, but I think it is a good one. I am all in on DJ. My obsession with Justin Rose this week has to do with him being 11 under through 15 holes on Sunday in Canada. He ended up shooting -10 but he must be feeling good after that performance. He also seems to rise to the occasion for big events. I know this because frankly I can’t stand him, but he always ends up on my TV during majors. That is all I have this week, good luck everyone.