The 2020 U.S. Open field took advantage of the unexpected favorable scoring conditions in Thursday’s opening round at Winged Foot Golf Club.
Justin Thomas, ranked eighth in the Golfweek/Sagarin world rankings, leads at minus-5. Scoring will almost surely rise Friday through the weekend, so big changes are expected to the star-studded leaderboard.
With this in mind, we look at the updated US Open betting odds, and make our PGA Tour picks and best bets to win heading into Round 2.
2020 US Open Round 2 Betting Picks – Favorite
Odds provided by BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday at 7:20 p.m. ET.
Tony Finau (+3500)
Finau ranks sixth in the field in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, seventh in SG: Off-the-Tee and 12th in SG: Around-the-Green through Round 1, according to Data Golf. He’s one of eight tied for 14th at four shots off the lead.
Among those tied with Finau are Jon Rahm (No. 1 in the Golfweek rankings) and Bryson DeChambeau. Higher-profile names, they’re +900 and +2200, respectively, to win the tournament after 18 holes. None of the three have won a major, and while Rahm and DeChambeau have both won in 2020, Finau has the best record in the big four championships. He has six top-10 finishes in his last nine major tournaments, including a fifth-place finish at the 2018 US Open.
He needs just to tighten up with the putter after losing 0.93 strokes with the flat stick in Round 1.
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2020 US Open Round 2 Betting Picks – Contender
Webb Simpson (+5500)
Simpson was my pre-tournament favorite to win his second career major. The juicy odds offered after 18 holes have me doubling down.
Finishing at plus-1, Simpson is six shots off the lead. He’ll tee off for Round 2 Friday at 1:16 p.m. ET, and he ranked first on the PGA Tour in the 2019-20 season with a late scoring average of 67.81.
He leaned on a strong putting stroke in Round 1, but he’ll be able to climb the leaderboard as the conditions toughen, as he did in his come-from-behind 2012 US Open win.
2020 US Open Round 2 Betting Picks – Long shot
Viktor Hovland (+10000)
Hovland is tied for 32nd with Simpson and 23 others, despite losing a woeful 2.32 strokes putting Thursday. He’s 11th in SG: Tee-to-Green and fifth in SG: Approach.
Last year’s low amateur in both the Masters and US Open, Hovland tied for 33rd in the 2020 PGA Championship in his first major as a pro. He’ll improve on that finish this week. As the greens become more and more difficult for the entire field, his ball-striking can be the difference.
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