Iain McLaughlin has been on a good run of form of late, and here he takes us through his big-price picks for the US Open 2020, his two punts to be First Round Leader and his four-player multiple to make the cut.
Collin Morikawa
Collin Morikawa became a major champion last month at the PGA Championship, and if you had looked through from the start of the season Winged Foot would have been the course mapped out for him to perform best at.
He’s a fairways and greens machine, which is generally what is required to win a US Open. His recent form is nice, and suggests he is ready to make a tilt at back-to-back majors.
Two weeks ago he finished 20th at the BMW Championship at Olympia Fields, and that is a similar setup to what we will see at Winged Foot this week. Very tough, you’ve got to keep your ball in play and the fairways and greens are key to that.
He finished with 68 and 68 over the weekend when the course is becoming its firmest and fastest, which indicates to me that he will be really suited to that US Open-style test.
He was sixth last time out at the Tour Championship, and his driving accuracy and Greens In Regulation figures were really good there. His game is looking in top order and I feel the course will really suit his characteristics. I think he will go close for his second major victory of the season.
Webb Simpson
So far the only major win for Webb Simpson came in 2012 at the US Open. He is an exponentially better player now – a top 10 player in the world, and Winged Foot should really suit his characteristics and the strengths of his game. Fairways and greens are really the go-to parts of his game.
His recent form has been very good, with third at the Wyndham Championship followed by sixth at the Northern Trust. He had a slow start at the Tour Championship but finished with 68 and 68 showing he’s in good form.
With his style of play really suiting the course, added to his recent form, I think he’s a really solid bet this week.
Matthew Fitzpatrick
Looking at some of the players at longer prices, Matthew Fitzpatrick is a player I really like around tough golf courses. He’s a straight driver of the golf ball, a really precise iron player and an excellent putter.
Looking a little deeper into his Major record and his past performances, he really seems to like USPGA-Style setups. He was US Amateur Champion in 2013 and his last two US Open appearances resulted in 12th-place finishes.
That’s really solid form, and this is a really good course for him. Olympia Fields played really firm and really fast with high rough and quick greens. He finished sixth there and 68, 67 over the weekend was really eye-catching.
Statistic-wise, it was perfect prep for this week. He was ninth in driving accuracy, second in Greens In Regulation, and looking through the market at the generous place terms on offer, I think he’s one of the best each way bets of the week.
Paul Casey
Paul Casey went close to becoming major champion last month when he was second in the PGA Championship, and I think he can go close again. He’s an elite-level ball-striker and there’s no-one better at hitting fairways and greens than Casey at the moment.
He’s one of the small amount of players who played the Open when it was last here in 2006. He finished 15th so that is some nice form, and a bit of suitability round the course. He’s a really solid each way pick.
Sebastian Munoz
Last up is a flier in Sebastian Munoz. He’s been in excellent recent form. He was eighth at the BMW Championship with a really solid weekend of 67 and 69.
Long game figures at the Tour Championship also caught the eye. He was second on driving accuracy and fifth on Greens In Regulation. He’s a really, really big price but with generous place terms again he could really go well.
Recommended Reading:
- US Open golf tips: Take Jon Rahm to tame tough Winged Foot test
- Shane Lowry: I’ve made one key change ahead of US Open, and playing with Tiger Woods doesn’t bother me
- US Open betting: 5 factors in finding a winner at Winged Foot
First Round Leader Market
I don’t tend to get involved in this market week-to-week but there is always offers on, so two of the prices I would flag up are Matthew Fitzpatrick and Sebastian Munoz.
Make The Cut Market
You’re just looking for guys who are going to hang around, hit their fairways and greens and not make too many mistakes. The cut is probably going to be somewhere around +7 or +8 so there’s a window to make mistakes – you just don’t want to make a lot of them.
The four I would say for a Make The Cut multiple would be Morikawa, Simpson, Fitzpatrick and Casey. They’re the four most solid in that sort of market.
READ MORE:
- Golf tips: Our awesome foursome of US Open best bets for this week’s Major at Winger Foot
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