Exchange Corner: Gurus eye underrated US Open entrants

Chambers Bay, 45 miles south of Seattle, is set to give the best in the world a wild and treacherous ride in hosting the 115th US Open Championship.

Here at the Exchange we’ve done our homework on the largely unknown course and taken a look through some of the markets we see real value in.

WIN MARKET –

Henrik Stenson (31.0) – Stenson is long, he’s got an underrated short game, and he’s proven repeatedly over the last couple of years that he’s not afraid to rise to the occasion in the bigger events.

He’s played well lately, finishing 13th in the Nordea Masters two weeks ago and 17th at The Players last month, and he’s spent the last two weeks at Chambers Bay, so he should have a good feel for the course by now. Great value at the current price.

Ryan Moore (82.0) – Moore was born right up the road in Tacoma, and by his own estimation he’s played Chambers Bay over 50 times.

That alone should give him a slight leg up on the field, especially if course knowledge is as critical this week as USGA head Mike Davis believes it is.

Moore has made 9 of his past 10 cuts on Tour and he showed flashes of greatness in his last event, finishing 18th at The Memorial despite shooting 147 over the weekend.

And though he’s never won a Major, he did win nearly every significant amateur tournament there is, so he’s shown the ability to play his best golf when it matters most. We think Moore’s got a better shot this week than his odds would indicate.

Ian Poulter (102.0) – While he may not be everyone’s favorite player, Ian Poulter always seems to play well in the Majors and he’s been playing some great golf over the past several weeks, finishing in the top-30 in 6 of his last 7 PGA Tour events.

With plenty of experience on links courses and an undying belief in himself, we think Poulter is a great under-the-radar, longshot bet this week. Throw a couple of bucks at him and see what happens.

TOURNAMENT MATCH BETS

Phil Mickelson (1.91) vs. Justin Rose (1.91)

Mickelson hasn’t had a great year, that’s no secret but he’s shown signs of life lately and he’s one of the only players in the field who has unabashedly praised Chambers Bay this week.

Does that mean you should bet on him to beat Justin Rose, a man who is playing the best golf of his career and has had great success on links-style courses in the past? I don’t think so. Back the better player, not the bigger name.

Recommendation: Rose at 1.91

Rory McIlroy (1.8) vs. Jordan Spieth (2.0)

While McIlroy would seem to have the advantage at Chambers Bay because of his prodigious length, Spieth actually has competitive experience on the course and his caddy is quite familiar with the place, having worked there periodically before joining up with Spieth.

It seems like most of the media has glazed over McIlroy’s recent struggles, treating him as the favorite and acting as if he hadn’t played since his win at the Wells Fargo.

We’re not easily convinced, especially when we’re talking about him beating Spieth, a guy who just seems to always play well (one missed cut, eight top-5 finishes in his last 13 events).

Recommendation: Spieth at 2.0

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We also have our fantastic US Open offer currently available.

Chambers Bay course needs a big hitter which suits McIlroy and with so many options to place a Lay bet in the Outright Market we think this offer is a hole in one!

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.