The third major of the year will begin at the 2025 US Open at Oakmont from Thursday through Sunday.
Which golf experts do you think will win? Where do we believe our betting experts are worth it? We’re breaking down favorites that are far ahead of the 2025 US Open.
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Winning Expert Choice | Betting Round Table
Expert Picks
Matt Barry
John Larm. Reason: Choosing Schaeffler is too easy, so Rahm is back in his major championship form. He finished 14th in the Masters and 8th in the PGA Championship. He is beginning to remind us that he was the best player on the planet before his liv exile.
Tory Baron
Scotty Scheffler. In all accounts, Orcmont is a monster prepared to bite golfers that way. So it would be to reason that the ultimate champion must be an equally formidable enemy. I start with a combination of 17 strokes with the guy who won three of his past four. Because no one in the heater is as scary as Schaeffler.
Michael Collins
Schaeffler. Putting this into Marvel terminology, Schaeffler has an Infinity Gauntlet (glove) and all Infinity Stones. Scotty is inevitable. When USGA set it up, there are probably only about eight people who can win on this golf course. Scotty is inevitable.
Jeff Darlington
Schaeffler. We reached the point with Schaeffler, which is reminiscent of Tiger Woods. There, he outweighs his desire to choose him and think outside the box. Bryson Dedanbaugh has a good match with Oakmont, but Schaeffler is just too good and consistent now.
Michael Eeves
Cep Straka. The current Oakmont setup seems like a throwback when they played forever and hard when the US opened, with a huge emphasis on fairways and greens. So far, Straka has been one of the best players on the tour, in terms of the game. The man is accurate and confident, and has already won twice this year. Additionally, five of the last six US Open winners were the first major winners. Look for a straca to add to that trend.
Peter Lawrence Riddell
Schaeffler. If it were Scotty vs Field, I would choose the field, but that’s not how this exercise works. My part where I don’t think about anything this What obviously happens is that you want to choose someone else – my part of watching golf pick Scotty.
Andy North
Schaeffler. I’ve won three out of the last four. At Oakmont, you have to hit irons well. Better than Scotty.
Mark Schrabach
Schaeffler. Yes, I know, it doesn’t exactly go out to the limbs, but if it’s the task of picking golfers lifting the US open trophy on Sunday, how can you go with others? Scheffler once again proved he is the beat man, choosing Rory McIlroy to win the PGA Championship and succeeding in Quail Hollow. World No. 1 Golfer is again playing incredibly well, leading the PGA Tour in almost every stroke stat, from the tee to the green. He also ranks 25th in strokes. If he’s near the top of the leaderboard on Sunday, no one will step into the gas like Scotty.
Marty Smith
Schaeffler. Oakmont is undoubtedly the most challenging golf course in the world. You need creepy accuracy and precision. Scotty plays very freely and accurately, but I think that will continue with Oakmont.
Curtis Strange
Schaeffler. Oakmont is the number one in the world, winner of three of the past four events, and one of the toughest courses in the world!
Pair Uggs
John Larm. I really liked what Rahm saw at the PGA Championship. It wasn’t just that he returned to major contest for the first time since Master in 2023, but that his game and competitive juices were once again working together to create a truly attractive golf. His game should be set up well for Oakmont and I love his chances as he could be one of the few players who can challenge Schaeffler this week.
Scott has pelt
Larm. Because someone has to choose a different player than Scotty.
Bet on the round table
Odds with ESPN bets 
Who is your choice to win?
David Gordon, ESPN Research
Rory McIlroy (+1200). McIlroy was a +450 co-star at last month’s PGA Championship. Now he’s almost tripling the price thanks to some equipment issues. I believe that Rory will be back to the tournament where he solved the problem and finished runner-up in the last two years.
Pamela Maldonado, betting analyst
Morikawa Colin (+2200). Morikawa has emotional control and analytical thinking that suits Oakmont. He started the hot for two years with two runner-ups in his first four stats, Sentry and Arnold Palmer, before being cooled down with one top-10 finish since March. He has a build to tackle this course – the fourth is precision and the fifth is approach. If he settles and plays the game, Morikawa will be quiet in the mix on Sunday and no one will be surprised.
Anitamarks, betting analyst
John Rahm (+1200). Rahm has a long game that is perfect for success at Orcmont. He came in the week in great form and the talented Mojo is back! His T-14th at the Masters and T-8th at the PGA Championship say he can pull this off. Rahm leads Liv on the green in the proportion of regulations. This is a very important metric on this track.
Who is your favorite bet to make the top 10?
Gordon: XanderSchauffele (+210).
I lean towards epic tournament history in the form of a mediocre season with Schauffele and don’t think I’ll see it too often for him in the future. He has seven top-10 finishes in eight career appearances at the US Open, with T-14th being his worst career finish (2022).
Maldonado: Keegan Bradley (+475)
The game of golf is to trust your swing. With his back-to-back top-10 finish and positive putting, Bradley has confidence. Bradley is an all-out high-quality ball striker and is surprisingly strong around green. The putter is the most unstable aspect of his game, but Bradley has a ball strike ceiling high enough to win.
What is your favorite Scotty Schaeffler bet?
Gordon: To finish round 1 in the top 10 (+150)).
Schaeffler was in the top 10 after 10 of the last 11 major rounds (91%) dating back to last year. Each of the past four US Open winners, and nine of the past 11, were among the top 10 after 18 holes.
Maldonado: Finish round 1 with top 10 (+150))
With third place on the tour on average in round one score, Schaeffler surpasses the elite from the jump. Scotty, who separated strokes to score the numbers in the round, scored the best from tee to tee in the opening round of the tournament, earning an average of 3.98 strokes in total. He starts to get hot and keeps the rest of his path hard.
Who is your favorite long shot/value bet?
Gordon: Cameron Young: (+10,000)
After a brutal start to the season, missing four cuts in five starting spans, Young scored a T-4th finish at the RBC Canada Open, starting three times in Pennsylvania and finishing seventh in Pennsylvania. He has many major championship experiences and successes, winning five top 10 between the 2022 PGA and 2024 Masters.
Maldonado: Win from Keegan Bradley (+7500)
Putting and scrambling are red flags, but his approach and the floor of ball strikes are huge. He has two top ten in his past two starts, and his form is at a peak. He is now a full tee-to-green monster and second on the field in the final 32 rounds. If you want a guy with long odds on winning ball strikes, he belongs to your card.
Do other bets stand out for you?
Gordon: Make a Cut-Perlay: Tommy Fleetwood and Harris English (-104)
English is midway through his career year and has never missed a cut at the US Open in nine career appearances. Fleetwood has not missed a cut this season, and has not even been outside the top 40 to 36 holes in his last 11 starts. It’s pretty comfortable to put two together for this one!
Maldonado: Scotty Schaeffler Top 5 (-140)
The juice is steep, but it may still be underrated. With 31 starts in January 2024, Schaeffler won the top five of 19, including 10 wins. Unlike most juice-heavy markets, this has the data to back it up. Schaeffler is not unstable, rarely posting bad rounds, and even with a cold putter, he can get him closer to the top with just his ball strike
Tyler Fulgham: Missing a cut from Dustin Johnson (-120)
The DJ won the US Open at Oakmont in 2016, which feels like a lifetime. Since he moved to LIV in 2022, Johnson has not come close to competition in major competition. His best finish in 10 major starts since 2023 was the T-31st at last year’s Open Championship. He missed five cuts, including both this year’s Master and PGA Championship.
Mark: McIlroy to miss cut (+290)
McIlroy hasn’t been the same golfer since he won the Master. He shot 78 in the second round of the Canadian Open, but didn’t play well in Quail Hollow. His driver problems are real and his iron play is not great. Has he lost his hunger after winning a Grand Slam? probably.
Marks: Ludvig Aberg Top 20 (+155) and Top Nordic Golfer (+190)
Aberg is closer to winning Canadian Open, but I think he gets good value here to finish in Plus Money’s top 20. He drove the ball just like anyone on tour, and his last five rounds were in the 60s.
Mark: Cepstraca Top 20 (+170)
Straka has been through a career year – he finished third in the Memorial Tournament and won the Tour twice this season. He could dominate this course with his strengths in ball strikes. Straka ranked the first green in regulation, earning the fourth tee, green, and second stroke: top 10 in approach, driving accuracy
