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Horse Racing Early U.S. Open 2024 Tip
The U.S. Open Tip: Thursday, 13th June
The U.S. Open will return to Pinehurst Resort and Country Club for the 124th U.S. Open in 2024. We have analysed the early betting markets to bring you our best U.S. Open tip.
Odds via bet365 as at 21.45 23rd October 2023. Odds may now differ.
In this article:
2024 U.S. Open Preview
The U.S. Open returns to Pinehurst No.2 in 2024, having last hosted the Championship in 2014.
World number one, Scottie Scheffler, heads up the betting at the time of writing. Recent U.S. Open finishes of seventh, second and third indicate just why he’s a best price of 9.0 Scheffler’s steady form in this event is an overall indicator to the type of player we are looking for when assessing the market. The U.S. Open is a test of mental strength just as much as it is a test of technical capabilities. Courses are traditionally set up with thick rough and fast greens, making for entertaining viewing for those watching at home.
Wyndham Clark may have hoisted the trophy this year but the event at LA Country Club was about as far removed from a US Open test as you can get. Several players shot rounds of 62 in the opening round at LACC, the likes of which has been unheard of in U.S. Opens of yesteryear. The course did firm up towards the end of the week and some tricky pin placements kept a lid on scoring but the overall takeaway was that this year’s event was a U.S. Open in name only.
Take Clark’s win out of the equation and all but one of the past ten U.S. Open winners had at least one top 20 finish in the U.S. Open prior to winning. The one exception? Gary Woodland, winner of the 2015 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. Given the fact Pebble Beach is another quirky course which doesn’t sit alongside the other courses in the U.S. Open rota, the case could well be made that having a previous top 20 finish at the U.S. Open is a key factor when making a selection at a course like Pinehurst No.2.
The Donald Ross designed Pinehurst No.2 will play as a 7,543 yard par 70 when players tee off next June. Martin Kaymer lifted the trophy in 2014 with a score of nine under par but he was eight shots clear of second place. Michael Campbell and Payne Stewart triumphed with scores of level par and one under par in 2005 and 1999 respectively. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the winning score somewhere around one or two under par this time around.
Brooks Koepka is a two time winner of this event and just as I did with the US PGA Championship Early Look, his price with bet365 simply has to be flagged. A former world number one, he won this event in 2017 and 2018 and has shown himself to be somewhat of a U.S. Open specialist. Koepka has finished inside the top 20 in eight of his last nine starts at the U.S. Open.
Koepka simply cannot be dismissed having finished outside the top 15 in this event only twice since 2015. His game is built for the tests presented by the U.S. Open and I certainly wouldn’t put anyone off bet365’s industry best odds of 17.0 on Koepka lifting the trophy for a third time.
Patrick Reed is a tempting option for those inclined to back a longer odds selection at odds of 81.0 with bet365. Reed reached the semi-finals of the U.S. Amateur Championship at Pinehurst in 2008 and made his U.S. Open debut at the same venue in 2014. He finished 35th that year but he has gone on to record five top 20 finishes in this event and his tidy short game is often an asset.
Reed will need to qualify for this year’s event though, his world ranking having slid to 65th since joining LIV Golf and his exemptions into the Majors having run out this year. That uncertainty is enough to put me off tying up my money for eight months but he’ll certainly be one to watch if he posts a few good finishes in the Middle East at the start of next year.
2024 U.S. Open Tip
Reed and Koepka are both viable options but I can’t ignore the odds on offer for world number nine, Brian Harman. Priced as low as 67.0 with some bookmakers, the diminutive American can be backed at 111.0 with bet365 to add to his Open Championship win this year.
Harman has U.S. Open pedigree, having made his last six cuts at the U.S. Open and finishing runner up to Brooks Koepka in 2017. The nature of his win at Hoylake and a respectable Ryder Cup debut suggest that he’s capable of future major wins.
What I particularly like about Harman though is his record at the Players Championship. The 2014 U.S. Open at Pinehurst was dominated by those who had excelled or have gone on to excel at Sawgrass and that’s an angle that I like ahead of the 2024 renewal. Eight of the top sixteen in 2014 have either won or finished runner up at the Players Championship and only three of those sixteen haven’t recorded a top 20 finish at the so-called Fifth Major. Harman has three top eight finishes at the Players to his name, including a third place finish in 2021.
A strong start to 2024 could see Harman’s odds tumble. Take Harman to win the 2024 U.S. Open at 111.0 with bet365.
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