Golf's version of the National Championship gets started Thursday morning at The Olympic Club in San Francisco. This will be the 5th time that this beautiful Northern California course will host the US Open. Lee Janzen was the winner back in 1998, the last time the US Open was at Olympic. He won't be playing this time around. The oddsmakers have labeled Tiger Woods the favorite at 5 to 1. This seems awfully familiar. Tiger was one of the favorites heading into The Masters after winning the tournament he played in before. He did not deliver in Augusta. Now after winning The Memorial he has been dubbed the favorite for the Open. Can he deliver this time? We will find out this weekend. Other than Tiger, Luke Donald and Lee Westwood are amongst the favorites. These two Englishmen have been ranked in the Top 5 in the world but have never won a major. Last year's champ, Rory McIlroy, and the US Open's favorite runner-up, Phil Mickleson, round out the top 5 favorites. Here are my top 10 bets to take home the 2012 US Open.
1. Rickie Fowler - USA (25 to 1)
World Golf Ranking: 20th
Best US Open Finish: T60 (2008)
Average 2012 Score: 70.75
2. Rory McIlroy - Northern Ireland (15 to 1)
World Golf Ranking: 2nd
Best US Open Finish: 1st (2011)
Average 2012 Score: 70.04
3. Phil Mickleson - USA (15 to 1)
World Golf Ranking: 13th
Best US Open Finish: 2nd (1999, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2009)
Average 2012 Score: 70.11
4. Lee Westwood - England (12 to 1)
World Golf Ranking: 3rd
Best US Open Finish: 3rd (2008, 2011)
Average 2012 Score: 70.21
5. Matt Kuchar - USA (25 to 1)
World Golf Ranking: 6th
Best US Open Finish: T6 (2010)
Average 2012 Score: 69.80
6. Dustin Johnson - USA (25 to 1)
World Golf Ranking: 10th
Best US Open Finish: T8 (2010)
Average 2012 Score: 70.28
7. Tiger Woods - USA (5 to 1)
World Golf Ranking: 4th
Best US Open Finish: 1st (2000, 2002, 2008)
Average 2012 Score: 70.10
8. David Toms - USA (100 to 1)
World Golf Ranking: 42nd
Best US Open Finish: T5 (2003, 2007)
Average 2012 Score: 71.13
9. Justin Rose - England (25 to 1)
World Golf Ranking: 7th
Best US Open Finish: T5 (2003)
Average 2012 Score: 70.15
10. Jason Dufner - USA (25 to 1)
World Golf Ranking: 9th
Best US Open Finish: T40 (2006)
Average 2012 Score: 69.86
Prediction - From the looks of my top 10 picks, the US Open winner will have been an English speaking man for their entire life. There are many different choices here. Matt Kuchar and Jason Dufner have been playing the best golf of anyone right now. Lee Westwood and Justin Rose are way too good to never win a major. David Toms is a darkhorse who almost always plays well in majors. Dustin Johnson is finally getting healthy and just won last week. Phil has got to win a US Open at some point. Tiger and Rory have proven they can win an Open. But with all of that, my pick is Rickie Fowler. The numbers don;t back it up, but I like the way he is playing. He has 5 top 5 finishes this year. He has performed well on the big stage before. I just have a hunch that he is the next to become America's bright young star. At 25 to 1 odds I think he is a very good bet to become a national champion.
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