The most anticipated golf major of the season for New York sports betting fans begins Thursday in a neighboring state with first-round play at the 122nd U.S. Open Championship at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass.
This will be like no other major as it will be the first major in which players who defected from the PGA Tour to join the newly-formed and controversial LIV Championship Series can participate.
The LIV Championship Series kicked off with its inaugural tournament in London last week. Charl Schwartzel won by one stroke at Centurion Club to take home a $4.5 million winner’s check.
All LIV Championship Series players who qualified and met the criteria for playing in the U.S. Open can play this week as the nation’s championship is run by the United States Golf Association (USGA), not the PGA Tour.
Taking a Look at U.S. Open Odds
BetMGM Sportsbook New York released its early betting insights Monday. The odds are constantly being updated. Here are the favorites as of early Monday afternoon:
- Rory McIlory, winner of Sunday’s RBC Canadian Open, is the favorite (+1100)
- Justin Thomas, this year’s PGA champion (+1200)
- Scottie Scheffler, this year’s Masters champion (+1400)
- Jon Rahm defending champion (+1400)
- Xander Schauffele (+2200)
- Patrick Cantlay (+2200)
- Cameron Smith, this year’s Players Champion (+2200)
- Jordan Spieth (+2500)
- Will Zalatoris (+2500)
Dustin Johnson, the former U.S. Open champ, is the highest LIV Championship Series player at +4000.
Twelve notable LIV Golf players are in this week’s tournament.
Other familiar LIV players include: Louis Oosthuizen (+6600), Patrick Reed (+8000), 2020 champion Bryson DeChambeau (+8000), Sergio Garcia (+12500) and Phil Mickelson (+20000), who is searching for his first U.S. Open victory to complete the career Grand Slam.
Boston-based DraftKings NY released its top five favorites as well:
- McIlroy (+1000, 4% of the handle)
- Thomas (+1100)
- Rahm (+1200)
- Scheffler (+1400)
- Schauffle (+1600)
You always can count on NewYorkBets.com as a good source for updates throughout the Open and also for the best New York sports betting promo codes.
Mobile sports betting has been live more for more than six months, after launching Jan. 8.
USGA Statement on LIV Players
Last Tuesday, the USGA issued a statement that all players who qualified for the U.S. Open will be eligible to play this week even if they joined LIV Golf.
Here is the full statement:
“We pride ourselves in being the most open championship in the world and the players who have earned the right to compete in this year’s championship, both via exemption and qualifying, will have the opportunity to do so. Our field criteria were set prior to entries opening earlier this year and it’s not appropriate, nor fair to competitors, to change criteria once established.
“Regarding players who may choose to play in London this week, we simply asked ourselves this question — should a player who had earned his way into the 2022 U.S. Open, via our published field criteria, be pulled out of the field as a result of his decision to play in another event? And we ultimately decided that they should not.
“Our decision regarding our field for the 2022 U.S. Open should not be construed as the USGA supporting an alternative organizing entity, nor supportive of any individual player actions or comments. Rather, it is simply a response to whether or not the USGA views playing in an alternative event, without the consent of their home tour, an offense that should disqualify them for the U.S. Open.”
Pairings and tee times for the first two rounds of the tournament will be announced by Tuesday.
