The 2016 U.S. Open is finally upon us. The season’s second major is frequently the toughest tournament in the world. This year, it’s at Oakmont, which is generally thought of as one of the world’s most difficult courses.
As the 2015 version showed us, the U.S. Open is also one of the more dramatic and unpredictable tournaments on the PGA Tour calendar every year.
With that in mind, you’ll want to be as informed as is humanly possible. Fortunately, we’ve got you covered with everything you need to know about the 2016 U.S. Open.
TV Times (All times listed are EDT)
- Thursday: 10:00 am-5:00 pm, FS1; 5:00 pm-8:00 pm, FOX
- Friday: 10:00 am-5:00 pm, FS1; 5:00 pm-8:00 pm, FOX
- Saturday:Â 11:00 am-7:00 pm FS1; 4:00 pm- 7:00 pm, FOX
- Sunday:Â 11:00 am-7:30 pm FS1; 4:30 pm- 7:30 pm, FOX
Featured Pairings
The USGA generally does not disappoint for the first two rounds of the Open, often pairing the best golfers in the world with each other for the Thursday and Friday rounds. The 2016 tournament is no different.
8:24 am Thursday/2:09 pm Friday: Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler, Danny Willett
8:35 am Thursday/2:20 pm Friday: Jordan Spieth, Zach Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau
1:36 pm Thursday/7:51 pm Friday: Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, Hideki Matsuyama
2:09 pm Thursday/8:24 am Friday: Phil Mickelson, Justin Rose, Henrik Stenson
2:20 pm Thursday/8:35 am Friday: Jason Day, Louis Oosthuizen, Adam Scott
A full list of pairings can be found at USOpen.com.
Favorites
Odds courtesy of Bovada.lv.
- Jason Day (+600)
- Rory McIlroy (+650)
- Jordan Spieth (+800)
- Dustin Johnson (+1400)
- Justin Rose (+2000)
- Rickie Fowler (+2200)
- Adam Scott (+2500)
- Phil Mickelson (+2800)
- Hideki Matsuyama (+3300)
- Brooks Koepka (+3300)
Best Bets
Jason Day (+600):Â The odds aren’t particularly inviting, but this tournament has Day’s name written all over it. Thus far, 2016 has been the year of Day, as the World No. 1 has already won three big events, including like the PLAYERS Championship. Day also has five top-10 finishes in six career U.S. Opens.
Lastly, if Day’s driver is on, he’s the only golfer in the world with the game to run away from the field at Oakmont.
Sergio Garcia (+4000): Majors haven’t exactly been Sergio’s forte, but he’s coming in playing good golf this year. Oakmont will favor guys who strike the ball well and stay out of trouble. Despite his major history, that’s an area where Sergio has generally excelled.
Additionally, six of the previous eight U.S. Open’s at Oakmont have been won by first time major champions.
Zach Johnson (+7500):Â The U.S. Open is the ultimate grind. It’s as much about playing smart and limiting the bad scores as it is about playing great and making a barrage of birdies. That plays into Johnson’s hands, as he can grind about as well as anyone in the world. Johnson will keep himself in play and with his short game and putter, will have a better than average chance at making par on every hole. Yes, some bogeys will be made, but a few birdie putts will drop, as well.
If this U.S. Open becomes a birdie-fest, Johnson will have a hard time keeping up. But nothing about the U.S. Open or Oakmont suggests that we will see anything like that.
Angel Cabrera (+17500)/Ernie Els (+25000):Â Realistically, there’s not much to indicate that either man will win this U.S. Open. But if you’re looking for someone down the board to supply a big time payoff, you can do a lot worse than the men who have won the last two U.S. Opens contested at Oakmont.
Prediction: Jason Day
He’s the world’s best golfer and has been playing tremendous golf all year. We’d love to offer some contrarian pick here, but being contrarian just to be contrarian is ill advised.
Day is the best pick this week.