Los Angeles Country Club readies to host the 123rd U.S. Open.
It will be the first time this premier club will be hosting a major.
From what we can gather from the layout, it will feature wide landing areas but heavily sloped landing areas with firm conditions. The bunkers are rugged and true hazards. The greens are heavily contoured and prepped to run at 13 feet on the stimp. The bermudagrass rough has been grown out to provide a tough test, as well. Overall, this is going to test all aspects of the game which is not all that different from the typical U.S. Open venue.
With that in mind, let’s take a glance at the betting board to see what matchups stand out.
Sahith Theegala over Russell Henley - Tournament Matchup (+105)
These two have played 12 crossover events this season and Theegala has bettered Henley in seven of those.
On top of that, Theegala will be playing on home turf while Henley gets more comfortable down in the Southeast.
So, we have two leans to Theegala but on top of that we can look at their resumes in major championships. Theegala posted a top 10 at the Masters this year, giving him a 1-for-5 strike rate in terms of finding top 10s in majors. For Henley, he also finished top 10 that week but it was his first career top 10 in a major (in 34 total tries).
I’ll gladly take the plus-money side of this matchup.
Patrick Cantlay over Brooks Koepka - Tournament Matchup (-110)
Similar to Theegala, this is a home game for Cantlay. Earlier in the year, Cantlay said he’s played the course at least 20 times in his life. He will be very comfortable this week.
On the flip side, Koepka ranks outside of the top 40 in low-round rate out West, over the last two years. He’s played a light West Coast schedule over the course of his career for a reason.
Koepka is also arriving without any lead-in play. Historically, all of his major wins have come with him playing the week leading up to the win.
It’s hard to bet against Koepka with his track record in major championships but Cantlay has the big edge in terms of baseline performance and regional comfort.
