Betting on the U.S. Open - Odds on the Favorites

The greatest golfers in the world have descended upon Bethpage, New York this week to partake in 2009’s second Major of the year, the U.S. Open.

Tiger Woods, ranked #1 in the Golf Power Rankings is a huge favorite to repeat his 2002 U.S. Open victory at Bethpage Black after his terrific showing in The Memorial two weeks ago. Standing in his way will be rival Phil “Lefty” Mickelson who wasn’t spectacular in his prep for the Open at this past week’s St. Jude Classic, but might have done enough to get Tiger thinking.

Then there are a couple of international players ready to take it to the top two Americans, Geoff Ogilvy and Paul Casey.

Let’s take a look at some of the golfers who have a shot to win the 2009 U.S. Open.

Golf: U.S. Open To Win

1. Phil Mickelson +1200 - - Lefty is a bigger underdog this week then he was two weeks ago because he finished 59th at the St. Jude Classic. He ended up shooting a 75 in the final round, erasing some solid play in the first three rounds where he shot 70, 68 and 70. Its well known that he loves Bethpage and got some good work in on the course last Tuesday. Lefty’s a flyer to win, but he’s a flyer worth taking. He brings it home this year.

2. Tiger Woods +175 - - It has to be hard for gamblers to pass on Tiger who was just sensational in the final round of The Memorial two weeks ago. Woods shot a terrific 65 in that final round. Will he be able to carry that over to a fantastic win in the U.S. Open this year? Tiger wants this one bad after hobbling to a victory in the 2008 U.S. Open, but putting together back to back Open victories doesn’t happen often and the odds are low.

3. Paul Casey +2500 - - Casey is ranked 25th in driving distance, a key stat on Bethpage Black, and 19th in putts on greens in regulation. He’s also finished in the top 10 in three out of eight tournaments this year with a victory in the Shell Houston Open and a second place finish in the WGC-Accenture. He was awful in The Memorial, but Bethpage could be a course more to his liking. He’s got a shot.

4. Geoff Ogilvy +1600 - - Ogilvy finished a very good 10th in The Memorial and regained the top spot on the money list. He won the U.S. Open in 2006 and is ranked 36th in driving distance, 2nd in putting per hole and 1st in birdies per round.

5. Vijay Singh +4000 - - Bethpage is a very long course, so golfers who can drive the ball far but maintain control could have an edge. Is Singh that guy? He’s ranked in the top 40 in both driving distance and greens hit in regulation. He missed the cut in The Memorial but before that had a 6th place finish in the Crowne Plaza Invitational, a 16th place finish in the Byron Nelson and a 9th place finish at TPC Sawgrass.

6. Kenny Perry +5000 - - Perry has been awful since the Masters but his stats are still good enough for bettors to consider wagering on him to win the U.S. Open. Perry is ranked 41st in driving distance, 8th in total driving, 14th in greens hit in regulation and 22nd in birdies per round. Those are all important stats going into Bethpage this week.