How low can Scottie Scheffler go?
That’s not in reference to what he could shoot in the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 beginning Thursday. It’s a question of his odds.
Scheffler is on an unprecedented run in golf and at sportsbooks.
The favorite to capture golf’s third major of 2024 opened at +750 at BetMGM but is down to +300. He was around +400 at the Masters and PGA Championship.
At 24.2% of the tickets and 44.7% of the money, Scheffler is still the online sportsbook’s biggest liability for the U.S. Open.
The five-time tournament winner in 2024 alone is +280 at FanDuel to capture his second major this year and is getting 26% of the handle.
It’s even higher at ESPN BET, where 34.2% of the money backs Scheffler to win the U.S. Open, although the ticket count is 14.2%.
He’s also the most popular bet to be the first-round leader. ESPN Bet has 16.2% of bets and 22.5% of the handle to be atop the leaderboard after Thursday while Scheffler is getting 17.5% of the tickets and 20.6% of the money at BetMGM.
Anybody else?
As dominant as Scheffler’s been and as much as bettors back him, winning this week wouldn’t crush sportsbooks because of the short odds.
Even though DraftKings has Scheffler getting 35% of the money and 25% of the bets in the outright winner market, he’s not the biggest liability.
That honor belongs to Bryson DeChambeau, who at +2000 is getting 11% of the handle and 9% of the bets at DraftKings.
The LIV golfer was runner-up at the PGA Championship last month and finished tied for sixth at the Masters in April, so it’s no surprise he’s getting action at Pinehurst.
At FanDuel, DeChambeau is behind only Scheffler in handle at 12%. At ESPN BET, he’s third behind Collin Morikawa, whose recent solid form has lowered his odds from +2500 at open to +1400. That’s tied with DeChambeau, who opened at +5000, and behind only Scheffler, Xander Schauffele (+1000), and Rory McIlroy (+1200) in the outright winner market.
Morikawa and DeChambeau are getting 6.8% of the handle each.
DeChambeau is the favorite at +275 to finish the highest among LIV golfers at BetMGM.
Where’s Big Cat?
Tiger Woods will always move the needle for some bettors, but there isn’t a ton of optimism to contend at Pinehurst this week.
The 15-time major winner and three-time U.S. Open champion has only played in three events in 2024. He didn’t make it to the second round at The Genesis Open in February before withdrawing, but Woods made his 25th consecutive cut at the Masters before missing the weekend at the PGA Championship.
Woods hasn’t had much success at the U.S. Open in recent years. He hasn’t made the cut since 2019 and has only been around for the weekend once since 2013.
DraftKings reported that just 2% of all bets and money are on Woods this week. FanDuel says Woods is still getting 3% of the handle, good enough for eighth among golfers in the field.
At +220, Big Cat is the most popular pick in the “make the cut” market at both ESPN BET and BetMGM. ESPN BET says 80% of those bets are on Tiger to stick around for the weekend.
