Golf fans rejoice because the US Open is on this weekend.
The start of the year was everything you wanted it to be with Dustin Johnson being the man to beat after winning three events in a row but it hasn’t been as exciting of late.
Johnson’s form has levelled out, Rory McIlroy hasn’t been around because of honeymooning (how dare he?) and also a back injury and the only player in the top ten in the world rankings to win since the Masters is Alex Noren who was actually 13th at the time.
But we’re not here to talk about which of the players at the top of the rankings can take home the U.S. Open Championship because any of them can on any given day but what outsiders could cause a stir at Erin Hills?
Justin Thomas – 33/1
Not really an outsider but more so a bargain bet, Justin Thomas is priced at a very generous 33/1.
The American played his first tournament since The Players Championship at the Memorial Tournament in Muirfield Village a fortnight ago and finished in fourth place.
That meant that Thomas has had seven top ten finishes this year, the best of any player on the PGA Tour alongside Jon Rahm.
The 24-year-old has yet to win a major and with two wins under his belt in 2017 maybe now is his time.
Strokes gained approaching the green and tee to green he is among the best on tour and is the fourth best scorer on tour this year.
Kevin Kisner – 50/1
Now, this is a man in form, competing at the Memorial Tournament alongside Thomas he finished a very respectable 6th place, the week prior he secured his first win of the season.
Aside from that, Kisner has six top ten finishes this year. That means he is tied with Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth, not bad company.
Kisner has one of the most consistent sets of statistics on tour and importantly he has very accurate off the tee which will prove vital given the length of the rough at Erin Hills.
(Via PGA Tour)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVNSL7OBWMu/?taken-by=kevinna915
There is hope that the grass might not be that long come the weekend though…
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVSQC15lpgV/?taken-by=shaneodonoghuegolf
Charl Schwartzel – 50/1
This South African has gone under the radar this year.
Edging his way up to 16th in the world rankings, it has been a turbulent year for Schwartzel having missed three cuts.
Saying that Schwartzel has finished in the top ten three times this year including last weekend at the FedEx St. Jude Classic and stellar performance that landed him in third at the Masters.
Very much a form player, Schwartzel has never been consistent and could well prove to be one to watch this weekend.
Billy Horschel – 80/1
The world number 47 missed three cuts in a row before reigning victorious at the AT&T Byron Nelson, he also missed the cut a week before a fourth place finished last week.
There is no doubting that Horschel can do it on the big stage, he may not have a major but he does have a FedEx Cup and only nine people can say that they’ve done that before.
There seems to be a lot of good things going on in Horschel’s life after his wife revealed on Twitter the battle she faced with alcoholism and how they are in a great point of their lives at the moment.
Sometimes golf can be poetic and maybe the best year of Horschel’s life could be made even better with a major win.
Oh, and he also never misses the green so there’s that too.
Tyrrell Hatton
Ok, last time round doing this Tyrrell Hatton let us down.
It looked like the world number 18 could cause a stir when he played at The Masters but he simply didn’t perform and missed the cut.
But we’re not giving up on him, despite a trio of lacklustre performances since then he still has plenty to offer.
Three top ten finishes this year, the best putter on tour, one of the best off the tee and overall is the fourth in strokes gained in 2017.
With Erin Hills effectively playing as a links course, Hatton may also have that in his favour after growing up in England where links courses are plentiful and a fifth place finish at the British Open last year suggests that he may be a contender this weekend in Wisconsin.
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