US Open Golf
US Open preview: Resurgent Hovland to emerge Viktorious at Pinehurst
This year, the US Open returns to Pinehurst No.2 for the fourth time, as we pass the halfway mark in the Major calendar.
Another week gone by on the PGA Tour, another win for Scottie Scheffler, with the American bagging his fifth victory of the year at the Memorial tournament, in preparation to chase a second Major win in 2024.
Pinehurst No.2 presents a unique challenge with its more links-like setup, and we’ve picked four players whom we think could stop Scheffler in his tracks and make a good go of it in North Carolina this week.
Find our selection for the 2024 US Open below.
Viktor Hovland 16/1
The first of our four selections and the only European on the list, Viktor Hovland, is who we’re taking to top the leaderboard at this year’s US Open. A frequent Major contender since he rose to stardom in 2022, he certainly knows he to compete on the biggest stage.
This season has not been Hovland’s finest, with a seemingly unnecessary change of swing coach following the best year of his career causing a severe drop off. The Norwegian got off to a slow start but a missed cut at the Masters and a return to swing coach Joe Mayo has seen him back to his best, recording a third-place finish at the PGA Championship last month.
With Hovland’s early season troubles now behind him, he heads to Pinehurst fifth in the betting at 16/1, shorter than he has been for most tournaments this season. That said, he could still provide great value as a three-time T20 or better finsher, with more still to offer.
The links-like nature of Pinehurst could also suit the Norwegian, with T13, T4 and T12 Open Championship finishes to his name. Long and accurate off-the-tee, it is around the greens where Hovland may struggle. However, he deployed the putter from almost anywhere around St Andrews in 2022, as did former US Open champion Martin Kaymer when he won at this course back in 2014 – don’t be surprised if we see a fair few Texas wedges in North Carolina this week.
Bryson DeChambeau 18/1
The first of two LIV players among our selections is Bryson DeChambeau. Many write off the breakaways at almost every Major, but Bryson has proven that you simply can’t afford to do that if he brings his A-game.
In his last nine Major outings he has finished in the 8 places available with William Hill on four separate occasions. With two of those coming this year, his T6 finish at the Masters and outright second at the PGA Championship suggest he’ll likely be back for more here.
The 2020 champion knows all too well how to win this tournament and on a seriously long course (7,550 yards) with birdie opportunities hard to come by, his unmatched distance could set him apart from the field.
That proved to be the case at Winged Foot in 2020 when he took the tournament by storm, landing a six-stroke victory as the only player to finish under par. There is no doubt that if Bryson brings his best, then he could well be the great value at 18/1 to land his second US Open title.
Cameron Smith 35/1
The second of our LIV selections comes in the form of Major champion and former PGA Tour Player of the Year, Cameron Smith.
The Aussie defected shortly after landing The Open back in 2022 but, similar to Bryson, he has kept himself in the frame at the Majors and finshed T6 at Augusta just five starts ago. He has finished in the 8 places available with William Hill on five Major occasions, inluding a fourth-placed finish in this tournament last year.
Hailing from Australia, the dry, fast and sandy conditions will suit Smith down to a tee, not to mention he has one of the best short games the sport has ever seen, whilst his putting can be a match for anyone.
With many commenting on how tough the conditions are going to be at Pinehurst, Smith may just be able to make good on his 35/1 odds by taking advantge of his ability to handle the elements better than most.
Brian Harman 100/1
Brian Harman brings up the rear of our four US Open selections and is the biggest price of the lot at 100/1.
It hasn’t even been a full year since he ran away with the Open Championship at Royal Liverpool and, with a T26 finish at this year’s Open, it is hard to see how he can be such a big price here.
Open form will go some way in determining who thrives at the vast Pinehurst No.2 course, which is why Harman catches the eye at such a big price, given that finishing in the 8 places available with William Hill would still return a healthy sum.
He has been less consistent than usual this year, missing two cuts, but the 37-year-old has certainly not been completely out of form. A T5 at the Sentry and T2 at The Players have been the highlights among his seven top-25 finishes so far in 2024.
His elite short game thrives on the trickiest of greens which is exactly what he’ll find here, whilst his iron game is getting back close to what it was when he dominated at Royal Liverpool.
This course looks to suit him really well, and with T2 finish at the 2017 US Open under his belt, he looks great value to go one better this year.
