US Open Golf
US Open Round 2 Best Bets: 4/1 and 5/1 Selections Can Thrive On Friday
William Hill News look ahead to the second round of the 2026 US Open, with our tipster providing his best bets and predictions after a thrilling first day at Shinnecock Hills.
Wyndham Clark holds a four-shot lead at -6 after a challenging first round of the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. Fog caused the morning wave of players to be temporarily halted, and the weather made a difficult course even more daunting.
Seven players, including Matt Fitzpatrick and Jon Rahm, are on -2. Rory McIlroy, who threatened to surge on Thursday, is in a sizeable group on -1 along with Bryson DeChambeau and Ludvig Åberg.
Clark is the 10/3 favourite after dominating the first round. Sitting at +2 and chasing the Career Grand Slam, Scottie Scheffler has faded to 12/1 to win the event, with Rahm, Fitzpatrick, and McIlroy at shorter prices.
The Underperformers
J.J. Spaun (+7), Viktor Hovland (+6), Tyrell Hatton (+4), and Chris Gotterup (+5) are the big names that struggled the most on Thursday. The low-scoring nature of the U.S. Open means there’s still a half-decent chance Hatton and/or Gotterup make the cut, with Hatton sitting at 4/1 in the golf in-play betting markets to finish in the top 20.
Erratic off the tee and ice-cold with his putter, defending champion Spaun needs to get scorching-hot on Friday to avoid an early departure. Hovland’s issues almost exclusively came on the greens – he gained 1.24 strokes on approach and was fine off the tee, which could suggest a fight back in Round 2.
For Gotterup, it was shoddy play around the greens. Hatton didn’t do too much wrong on a difficult day – there’s every chance he plays his way back into the mix over the next couple of rounds.
Riding Hot Putting
Corey Conners and Dustin Johnson were the only under par players that didn’t ride red-hot putting. The mediocre play of DeChambeau and Rahm on approach is a slightly concerning sign, as it’s highly unlikely they will putt at such a high level throughout the event.
Clark, Johnson, Conners, and Fitzpatrick were the most impressive players on approach. As covered in our outright preview, this is often the biggest indicator of success at Shinnecock.
A high greens in regulation percentage has correlated with low 72-hole scores in previous events at this course. Sahith Theegala – currently 5/1 for a top 20 finish – is worth keeping an eye on and represents serious value at that price.
Accuracy of the tee is also paramount. Ryder Cowan and J.T. Poston were 100% in that category on Thursday and there were encouraging signs for Keegan Bradley and Sam Burns.
Best Bets Ahead Of Round 2
Hatton for the top 20 at 4/1 and Theegala in the same market at 5/1 are two of the standout prices. Given he’s in a tie for second and was faultless off the tee on Thursday, Cowan is surely worth an each-way punt at 150s.
Conners’ 11/2 for a top 10 finish, seeing as he achieved that feat at the 2024 U.S. Open, has value. Fitzpatrick is the pick of the big names – the 7/5 on a top five finish is one of the best bets on the board.
*Odds subject to change – prices accurate at the time of writing*
