Three of the leading sports betting contenders to win the U.S. Open will be playing the first two rounds together.Tiger Woods, Ernie Els and Lee Westwood will be in the same group for the first two days of the U.S. Open which begins on Thursday at Pebble Beach. Woods is still highly respected in online sports betting golf odds but he is not an overwhelming favorite to win this week.
Sports betting odds list Woods and Mickelson as the two favorites while Els and Westwood are not far behind. 10 years ago it was Woods defeating Els by 15 shots at Pebble Beach. Woods is not playing anywhere near as well as he was 10 years ago and he is only the favorite this time because of his reputation. His latest play doesn’t make him a contender this week. Els may not be much of a contender this week either based on his recent play but at least he has won this year. Westwood is playing the best of the three players and actually should have the lowest sports betting odds. Westwood has been in the top three in the last three majors.
Woods is likely to be right with Phil Mickelson as the co-favorite in the U.S. Open. Woods has not played well this year but he loves Pebble Beach and people still remember what he did there ten years ago. Mickelson has played well for the most part and is definitely capable of winning. Westwood is always in the mix so if he finally gets the monkey off his back at the U.S. Open it would not be a surprise. Els has won twice this season on the PGA Tour and he usually does very well in the U.S. Open.
In addition to Woods, Mickelson, Westwood and Els, other sports betting contenders this week include Jim Furyk who won in 2003 and has been runner-up twice. Luke Donald is playing well as he won in Madrid and was third at Wales a couple of weeks ago. Another likely challenger is Steve Stricker who always seems to be in the hunt. Youngster Rory McIlroy is also capable of winning this week. Refief Goosen is a two-time U.S. Open winner so he should not be counted out and Geoff Ogilvy is another perennial contender in major golf tournaments.