Golf betting tips: Preview and tips for the 2023 US Open Championship

The US Open is organised by the United States Golf Association (USGA). Traditionally it is played in mid-June and scheduled so that the final round is played on the third Sunday, which is Father’s Day.

The US Open is an official tournament of both the PGA and European Tours. From a course difficulty perspective, the US Open Championship is traditionally the hardest of the four Majors to win.

The tournament is staged at a variety of courses and set up in such a way that scoring is difficult. US Open courses are typically characterized by low scoring, are long, have a high cut of primary rough, undulating greens and tight fairways.

US Open Past Champions (2000 – 2022)

Year	Champion	Venue	Score	To par
2022	Matt Fitzpatrick	The Country Club	274	-6
2021	Jon Rahm	Torrey Pines South Course	278	-6
2020	Bryson DeChambeau	Winged Foot Golf Club, West Course	274	-6
2019	Gary Woodland	Pebble Beach Golf Links	271	-13
2018	Brooks Koepka	Shinnecock Hills Golf Club	281	1
2017	Brooks Koepka	Erin Hills GC	272	-16
2016	Dustin Johnson	Oakmont Country Club	276	-4
2015	Jordan Spieth	Chambers Bay	275	-5
2014	Martin Kaymer	Pinehurst Resort, Course No. 2	271	-9
2013	Justin Rose	Merrion Golf Club, East Course	281	1
2012	Webb Simpson	Olympic Club, Lake Course	281	1
2011	Rory McIlroy	Congressional CC, Blue Course	268	-16
2010	Graeme McDowell	Pebble Beach Golf Links	284	E
2009	Lucas Glover	Bethpage State Park, Black Course	276	-4
2008	Tiger Woods	Torrey Pines, South Course	283	-1
2007	Angel Cabrera	Oakmont Country Club	285	5
2006	Geoff Ogilvy	Winged Foot GC, West Course	285	5
2005	Michael Campbell	Pinehurst Resort, Course No. 2	280	E
2004	Retief Goosen	Shinnecock Hills Golf Club	276	-4
2003	Jim Furyk	Olympia Fields CC, North Course	272	-8
2002	Tiger Woods	Bethpage State Park, Black Course	277	-3
2001	Retief Goosen	Southern Hills Country Club	276	-4
2000	Tiger Woods	Pebble Beach Golf Links	272	-12

Course Overview

The club was founded in 1897 as the Los Angeles Golf Club. It moved location three times before settling on its current site adjacent to Beverly Hills in 1911. The original club founders, Joe Sartori and Ed Tufts, along with Norman Macbeth and Charles Orr, laid out the inaugural course.

The course (now known as the North) at the renamed Los Angeles Country Club was redesigned by Herbert Fowler and George C. Thomas, Jr., and again by Thomas with William P. Bell in 1927–28.

In 1996 and 1997 an extensive renovation of the North and South courses was completed. Then in 2010 there was an extensive restoration of the North Course by Gil Hanse and Thomas biographer Geoff Shackelford took place to return the course to George C. Thomas, Jr.’s original design from 1921. The course reopened in October 2010.

Los Angeles Country Club will host the US Women’s Open in 2032 and the US Open again in 2039.

Los Angeles Country Club will play as a 7423 yard Par 70 for this week’s 123^rd US Open. The breakdown of holes will include for five Par 3’s and three Par 5’s.

The course features a variety of challenges from short Par 4s such as the drivable 6^th that measures just 330 yards to Par 5’s that range from 537 to 623 yards. The Par 3’s also offer a number of different looks, from the short 124 yard 15^th which plays to a long, angled green to the 11^th which can stretch to a mouth-watering 290 yards.

For those who do find the short grass with regularity, they will face difficult second shots to elevated greens that vary in size. The fairways twist and turn at odd distances and angles, so long hitters could risk driving through fairways on several holes. Placement, rather than distance, will be key.

“When I think of the North Course and how we might set it up, the player that does his homework and really studies the architecture will benefit … there are strategic nuances there that, if you understand them, you have an advantage”

John M Boden Hamer | USGA Chief Championships Officer

Los Angeles Country Club Scorecard

The Los Angeles Country Club will play as a 7,423 yard Par 70 for this week’s US Open.

Hole	Par	Yards	Hole	Par	Yards
1	5	590	10	4	409
2	4	497	11	3	290
3	4	419	12	4	380
4	3	228	13	4	507
5	4	480	14	5	623
6	4	330	15	3	124
7	3	284	16	4	542
8	5	537	17	4	520
9	3	171	18	4	492
Out	35	3536	In	35	3887
			Total		7423

Par	#	Shortest	Longest	Average
3’s	5	124	290	219
4’s	10	330	542	458
5’s	3	537	623	583

The course will be setup in many ways like traditional US Opens which means a stern test of golf awaits. Course management will be key with scoring opportunities hard to come by.

One of the key components for success this week is for players to put themselves into position from the tee. Many fairways are contoured which can result in tricky lies. This will amplify the challenge of finding the right portion of the tricky, sloped greens with approach shots.

On many holes this week, players will have to consider challenging forward pin placements or risk being above the hole. This will leave treacherous downhill putts. To be above the hole on any of the greens on the North Course is to be out of position and being over the greens is no bargain either.

US Open Championship Winning Formula

The following table shows a breakdown of the Strokes Gained for the last six champions of the US Open.

Year	Champion	SGOTT	SGAPR	SGARG	SGT2G	SGP
2022	Matt Fitzpatrick	2.868	6.348	7.888	17.104	-0.716
2021	Jon Rahm	2.836	6.460	1.940	11.252	3.832
2020	Bryson DeChambeau	5.331	7.608	4.978	17.918	4.356
2019	Gary Woodland	1.357	8.358	0.999	10.715	7.163
2018	Brooks Koepka	1.536	8.877	-1.937	8.476	8.102
2017	Brooks Koepka	5.379	8.466	-0.404	13.442	7.110
	Average	3.218	7.686	2.244	13.151	4.975
		17.75%	42.40%	12.38%	72.56%	27.44%

Graphing the above Average Strokes Gained gives a visual check on the likely key areas required for success at this week’s US Open.

US Open Tips & Picks 2023

Patrick Cantlay 14/1 (E/W) – followed up a T14 in 2021 US Open at Torrey Pines with a T14 last year at Brookline. His game is in a very good place with 7-Top 10’s among 11-Top 25’s from 14 starts this season. No surprise to see the California native feature 2^nd in this week’s Stats Analysis – no mean feat considering the field strength. He is also 1^st on Tour for Total Driving and 7^th for GIR. Should be well familiar with the North Course (and it’s nuances) from his days at UCLA just a short distance away. This week sets up perfectly for the 31-year-old to bag his first major. Always worth a look each time he tees-it-up.

Tony Finau 33/1 (E/W) – has 2-Top 10’s in the US Open in the recent past – a solo 5^th in 2018 at Shinnecock and a T8 in 2020 at Winged Foot. Easy to forget that he is a multiple winner on Tour this season, bagging victories in both the Houston Open and Mexico Open. Places 6^th in this week’s Stats Analysis, he is also 4^th on Tour for Strokes Gained Tee-To-Green and 3^rd for Birdie Average. This week’s ‘wider‘ than usual US Open fairways will be a plus for the Utah native and it would be no surprise to see him hanging around the top of the leaderboard. All things considered, good each way value.