Rory McIlroy enters the U.S. Open as one of the favorites. (Getty)
It’s U.S. Open week, which means that it’s time to take a deep dive into the odds and fantasy stock of a few of the game’s top players. This year’s event will be played at Erin Hills, which features some of the toughest and most interesting holes imaginable.
The U.S. Open features the best of the best in the golf world, but Rory McIlroy will enter this event as a favorite to take home the trophy. This isn’t all that surprising based on his 2011 victory in the event, but his statistics both at the U.S. Open and also this year alone do make him a bit of a tough player to figure.
While McIlroy is one of the favorites, he’s not the biggest favorite, as that title goes to none other than defending champion Dustin Johnson. Johnson took home the trophy at this event last year, winning by three strokes.
Now, let’s take a deeper dive into the betting odds on the 2017 U.S. Open from Odds Shark. We’ll also break down McIlroy’s chances of winning the event are, as well as how he should be approached in fantasy golf.
Rory McIlroy U.S. Open 2017 Odds
Rory McIlroy has had mixed results at the Open. (Getty)
Johnson may have the early edge in the odds, but McIlroy is a close second, which is interesting based on his history at the U.S. Open as a whole.
Dustin Johnson: +600
Rory McIlroy: +900
Jordan Spieth: +1000
Jason Day: +1100
Jon Rahm: +1600
Hideki Matsuyama: +2000
Justin Rose: +2000
Sergio Garcia: +2200
Rickie Fowler: +2200
Henrik Stenson: +2500
Adam Scott: +2800
Brooks Koepka: +3300
Justin Thomas: +3300
Thomas Pieters: +3300
Branden Grace: +4500
Alexander Noren: +5000
Paul Casey: +5000
Louis Oosthuizen: +5500
Matt Kuchar: +5500
Patrick Reed: +5500
McIlroy’s odds aren’t great here if you’re looking for a strong bet, and based on his play at the U.S. Open in recent years, he seems like a player to avoid. Since first playing the event in 2009, McIlroy has been a mixed bag of results, posting the following finishes:
2009: 10th place
2010: Missed cut
2011: 1st place
2012: Missed cut
2013: 41st place
2014: 23rd place
2015: 9th place
2016: Missed cut
While the victory back in 2011 is nice, McIlroy has struggled mightily at this event since that point. Two missed cuts and only one top-10 finish isn’t much to get you excited from a betting perspective. Then again, the odds featuring McIlroy as a favorite are surprising, but oddsmakers are using the same info that’s available to the public in order to make these decisions, so something has to give.
Rory McIlroy’s Fantasy Stock
Rory McIlroy could be a solid boom-or-bust play this week. (Getty)
It may be McIlroy’s production on this year’s PGA Tour alone that impacts his fantasy stock the most. He’s only played in six events this season and started off well with a T4, T7 and T4 results. He also finished T7 at The Masters but has finished 30th or lower in two of the last three events he played, one of which was the Wolf Gold Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play, though.
As if that doesn’t make it tough enough to figure out what to do with McIlroy in your fantasy lineups this week, he’s also the third-most expensive player on DraftKings for the U.S. Open. With a price tag of $11,200, he’s one of only three players in the $11,000-plus club, along with Spieth ($11,500) and Johnson ($12,000).
The consensus on McIlroy is a tough one, but he does look like a great GPP play for your DraftKings lineup. He’s gone 5/5 on making cuts and has an average fantasy points per game of 92.4. Plus, with Spieth and Johnson around him in price, it may make his ownership go down just a bit. His previous results at the U.S. Open do make this play a bit riskier, but if his game is on, there’s no question that he could find himself in the mix at the end of the event.
Then again, McIlroy could miss the cut altogether, and having your most expensive golfer miss the cut can completely destroy a lineup. He’s probably not recommended as a cash play, but looks to be in play for the previously-mentioned GPPs.
