2026 U.S. Open: Experts' picks and betting tips

playIs Shinnecock Hills a favorable a golf course for Scottie Scheffler? (0:50) The season's third major -- the U.S. Open -- is at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, New York. J.J. Spaun is the defending champion, and Rory McIlroy (Masters) and Aaron Rai (PGA Championship) won the first two majors of the season. Scottie Scheffler heads to Shinnecock needing the U.S. Open to complete the career Grand Slam. Who do our golf experts think will win? What kind of betting advice does Pamela Maldonado have? Jump ahead to: Pamela Maldonado's betting and fantasy advice for the week Scottie Scheffler plays in a practice round ahead of the U.S. Open. Mike Mulholland/Getty ImagesExperts' picksTory Cabrera: Scottie Scheffler Here comes Scottie. The world No. 1 golfer hasn't won in his past 11 starts, which, by his standards, is an eternity. Inconsistent iron play be damned; Scottie harnesses all of his dad energy to complete the career Grand Slam on Father's Day. Michael Collins: Shane Lowry Europe continues its dominance in major championships this year. Shane's short game is a perfect fit for Shinnecock's diabolical green complexes. Shane Lowry enters the U.S. Open ranked No. 44 in the world. Warren Little/Getty ImagesJeff Darlington: Scheffler Shinnecock Hills rewards patience, precision and avoiding big mistakes, which are exactly the traits that have made Scheffler the world's most dominant player. Michael Eaves: Scheffler The conditions should be rather challenging, and when courses play hard, Scottie often plays at his best. Plus, he's tired of not winning. It's his time to lift another trophy. Peter Lawrence-Riddell: Rory McIlroy His last missed cut at a U.S. Open came at Shinnecock in 2018 when he shot 80-70 to miss the weekend. Since then he's finished inside the top 10 in seven of eight U.S. Opens, including second in 2023 and 2024. He has struggled a bit with accuracy off the tee this year and that won't work at Shinnecock, but the fairways have some width and if the driver can get going, McIlroy will be in contention on Sunday. Andy North: Scheffler Needs to be a good iron player who can make a bunch of 3- to 8-foot putts. Can get off to a good start if the conditions are calmer Thursday morning. Mark Schlabach: Scheffler It's not going to be original, but I picked Scheffler to complete the career Grand Slam before the season. There's no reason to change my mind now. His iron play has been a little bit off this season, but he has still played consistently well. His creativity and fearlessness around the greens will pay off in a big way at Shinnecock, and he'll make enough putts to win on his 30th birthday Curtis Strange: Scheffler One of world's best and toughest tests will demand patience and talent. Scottie has both. Paolo Uggetti: McIlroy In recent years, the U.S. Open has become the venue that has showcased how much McIlroy's game has evolved. Shinnecock is going to require the kind of shotmaking and experience that he has thrived on in this part of his career. If he can drive the ball well, McIlroy should be right in the mix. Shinnecock Hills is expected to be demanding, fast and punishing, with steady winds adding another layer of difficulty throughout the week. Unlike a birdie-fest where putting can mask mistakes, this course rewards complete ball strikers who can manage ball flight, handle long-iron approach shots and avoid blowups. With roughs that punish misses and greens that place importance on distance control, I'm prioritizing players who gain strokes from tee-to-green, hit it high enough to hold dried-out surfaces and have shown they can survive championship tests where par is a perfectly acceptable score. The winning score in 2018 was +1. This year is unlikely to be as brutal, but if par is the mark, here's who I'm looking at. Odds by DraftKings Sportsbook and subject to change. Shinnecock forces players into long-iron approach shots, often from 175 yards out. The course has long par 3s, long par 4s, elevated greens, preferred angles and recovery areas everywhere. Rahm is still one of the longest players in the field, which means he's often hitting one less club than the rest. His swing is compact, repeatable and built around controlling his shots. I'm not worried about his T38 at the Masters because when the course becomes difficult, Rahm still looks like Rahm: execution over creativity. He's one of the few who can win a tournament with mediocre putting, because his tee-to-green game is that overwhelming. My favorite bet to make the Top 10: Jon Rahm +106 (with ties) For a top 10, you need four rounds of surviving. Rahm's recent major profile is exactly that: T2 and T8 in the PGA Championship and T7 in last year's U.S. Open. His current game is being driven by the parts that travel well to difficult U.S. Open setups: ballstriking, position and decision making. If you're looking for "value," this ain't it ... but it is a fair price that's hard to argue against. I'd

2026 U.S. Open: Experts' picks and betting tips

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2026 U.S. Open: Experts' picks and betting tips

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