It is rare for a PGA tournament to be held in a major American city. Rather, most events are just outside of cities in a suburb or outlying area. This especially is true for golf’s majors.
Not this week. From Thursday through Sunday, golf’s third of four majors will be held right in the middle of the second-largest city in the United States, as the 123rd US Open will be played at Los Angeles Country Club for the first time.
This course should play like many other majors – most likely with one of the big names holding the trophy at the end after rigorously being tested with them needing precision at its finest to escape brutal rough and impossible-shot situations. The golfer who can do this best will 18-inch sterling-silver trophy sometime around 8 p.m. on Sunday evening.
Let’s dive into it all with a full breakdown of the 2023 US Open, including course information, more notes on the weather, TV information and our top plays:
THE COURSE
Los Angeles Country Club
Note: Course information, in part, aggregated from Andy Lack, who writes a weekly tournament preview for RickRunGood.com.
2022 winner: Matthew Fitzpatrick (-6) defeated Will Zalatoris and Scottie Scheffler by one stroke at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass.
LA Country Club’s design: In 1920 by Herbert Fowler with multiple redesigns, including a complete overhaul in 1928 by George Thomas and William Bell, and then Gil Hanse and Geoff Shackelford in 2006.
Length: Par 70, 7,423 yards
COURSE NOTES
- Wide fairways with punishing rough with potential for several lost balls throughout the weekend. Andy Lack says: “We are going to see more birdies and double (bogeys) at Los Angeles Country Club (than a similar course, Oak Hill) because of the width and severity of the hazards.”
- Bent-grass, firm and fast greens.
- The last three winning scores at Gil Hanse-restored courses at majors have been -6.
WEATHER FORECAST
(according to The Weather Channel)
The weather all four days is forecasted to be almost exactly the same: partly cloudy, almost no chance for rain, little wind and temperatures hovering around 70 nearly all day – possibly in the mid-to upper-60s in the mornings.
TV INFORMATION
Thursday and Friday: USA Network from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. and NBC from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday: NBC from 1 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday and until 10 p.m. on Sunday.
PLAYER NOTES
- The past 10 US Open winners were all in the top 30 of the world’s golf rankings, and the past six were inside of the top 10. The current top 10 is: 1, Scottie Scheffler; 2, Jon Rahm; 3, Rory McIlroy; 4, Patrick Cantlay; 5, Viktor Hovland; 6, Xander Schauffele; 7, Max Homa; 8, Matt Fitzpatrick; 9, Cameron Smith; 10, Jordan Spieth.
- The last five champs have played in at least five US Opens and no more than eight. Of the aforementioned world’s top 10, six qualify under that statement: Scheffler (5), Rahm (7), Cantlay (7), Schauffele (6), Fitzpatrick (8) and Smith (7).
- Each of the last 10 winners had already posted a top 25 in the US Open. All of the previous six golfers mentioned also have accomplished this feat.
- The average age for the past 10 US Open winners is 28.3. Of the previous six golfers mentioned, Scheffler will turn 27 next Wednesday (June 21), Rahm is 28, Cantlay is 31, Schauffele is 29, Fitzpatrick is 28 and Smith is 2 months shy of 30.
THE FAVORITES
NOTE: Below odds are from FanDuel Sportsbook as of late Tuesday night.
Scottie Scheffler, +600; Jon Rahm, +1100; Brooks Koepka, +1200; Rory McIlroy, +1500; Patrick Cantlay, +1700; Viktor Hovland, +1700; Xander Schauffele, +1900; Jordan Spieth, +2400.
BEST BETS
Scottie Scheffler to win (+950 to win at DraftKings with an opt-in bonus of +300 for any golfer)
Our take: It is extremely rare we go with the overall favorite in any golf event, but going through the numbers – including in some of the player notes we talked about earlier – this just seems like our best play (especially value-wise with the opt-in at DK).
Scottie has been anything but spectacular the past couple of months, but that’s only because we are comparing him to the Scottie Scheffler we have come to expect to be in the top five every week. And really, that’s only because his putter has been a major letdown for him.
One reasonably has to expect he has spent the past 10 days on a putting green getting ready for this. And coming off a seventh-place finish two years ago and a second last year, there’s no question he’ll be as hungry for this one as any other tournament he has ever played in.
There’s very little value at +600 or +650 at most books, but with the opt-in bonus, we’ll easily use it on Scheffler.
Parlay: Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay all to finish in the top 20 (+316 at FanDuel)
Our take: As we said, the cream rises to the top most often in the majors, and maybe even more so at the US Open.
We almost took McIlroy to win at +1200 to +1400, depending on where you look, but his awful play on Sundays the past month or so scared us away. Still, it wouldn’t be a surprise in the least if he won, but it WOULD be a surprise if he isn’t in the running to win Sunday evening.
For Cantlay, there have been few who have been as steady as he has been, making the top 25 in 11 of the 14 tournaments he has played in and top 10 in seven. He has only missed three cuts in two seasons and has finished 15th or better in back-to-back US Opens.
Other players to watch: Tony Finau, Xander Schauffele and Tyrell Hatton (best bargain at +2800).
Longshots for at least top 20: Rickie Fowler (+5500 to win; +140 to finish top 20); Mito Pereira (+9000 to win; +250 to finish top 20)
