Do you believe that Scottie Scheffler is almost twice as likely to win the US Open than the Dallas Mavericks are to come back and win the NBA Finals?
At BetMGM, Scheffler’s odds of winning the third major of the season are just +333. The Mavericks, meanwhile, are +650 to win the NBA Finals after dropping the first two games of the series to the Boston Celtics.
Dallas was +225 to win the series before it started, but couldn’t get a road split in Boston. Now the Mavericks must win four of their next six games – including at least one in Boston – to earn a Finals victory.
Scheffler, meanwhile, makes golf look easier than anyone has in years. Scheffler shot a 2-over 74 in the final round of the Memorial on Sunday, but still won by a shot over Collin Morikawa. The win was his third in his last five starts and he finished outside the top 10 in just one of his 13 events this season.
The No. 1 player in the world is averaging a whopping $1.8 million per start thanks to his Masters victory and his four signature event wins. Scheffler has won at least $3.6 million in each of his five wins this season.
Scheffler is by far the best player from tee to green according to Data Golf’s rankings and that will be crucial this weekend at Pinehurst No. 2. Players need to land their approach shots in the right spots on the Pinehurst contours, as well as out the waste areas along the fairways will remain. Accuracy off the tee is also essential to avoid a large number.
The US Open is also the third major in a row where Scheffler has entered as the favorite. He won easily as the pre-tournament favorite at the Masters and still finished eighth at the PGA Championship in Valhalla despite his arrest Friday morning by a member of the Louisville Police Department. Scheffler still fired an under-par round that day, despite being booked and having his mugshot taken. (The charges against him have since been dropped.)
The man who won that PGA Championship, Xander Schauffele, is the No. 2 favorite at +1100. Schauffele has played consistent golf so far this season, advancing to the final round in Valhalla after some frustrating Sundays earlier this year while at the top of the leaderboard.
Schauffele’s odds are slightly better than those of Rory McIlroy at +1200 and Morikawa at +1400. Together with Scheffler, they are the only four players who are better than 20-1 and win the tournament.
Bryson DeChambeau is LIV Golf’s top favorite at +2000, ahead of Brooks Koepka at +2200 and Jon Rahm at +3300 before announcing Tuesday afternoon that he would have to withdraw from the tournament due to a foot problem.
