Locks for The Country Club
Brookline Massachusetts: a town full of history, one of the most prestigious golf courses, and the occasional Masshole. Not many things get to be known as “The” anything. It offers up a sense of rich history, and somehow reminds you of NFL Player intros when they exaggerate “THE” Ohio State University. The Country Club has earned the right to be called just that. It could be called “Brookline Country Club” but it surpassed that title back in 1960 when it had already been around for 78 years. The course was founded by some Boston men that sought out to create a place to drink beer and ride horses. That small dream (a respectable one by the way) paved the way for a golf course in 1893 and a cobblestone path of an amazing golf course featuring blind shots, groomed fairways, and extremely hard to hit greens. The Country Club is the site of the 2022 U.S. Open and based on pictures I’ve seen so far, it may be damn near impossible for it to disappoint.
The Country Club is a 7,033 yard Par 71 located in Brookline Massachusetts. It is tree lined, along with thick rough, tight fairways, and greens that will have your ball rolling all over the place. It is going to be a test for golfers and though it may not lead to massive carnage and guys will likely shoot under par, it will still be a hell of a test. The golf course forces players to put a premium on hitting fairways so that they have a chance at hitting greens. Hitting greens out of the rough will be quite the challenge even for great ball strikers which is why driving accuracy is a good stat to look at when deciding what players to bet on. Look for guys that are known for their ball striking, their strokes gained off the tee, and that have the ability to have a good short game. Yes, this sounds pretty typical of a top golfer but with the added stress of the major championship as well as all the drama surrounding the PGA Tour right now, these skills will only be emphasized.
This is setting up to be an incredible week full of great golf, competition between players and tours, and battling against the course. Make sure to take time to experience the golf and to make educated decisions on bets as well as a few uneducated ones. On to the picks.
Before we get to Beast’s picks I will give you my picks. With the major championship we are going no blog picks, just myself, Beast, and the glory of who can pick more winners for you guys. Last week we both hit Rory McIlroy to win at +1600 and I ended the week up 9 units. But last week is old news (I did win 9 units), this is a major week not just for the players but also for us golf degenerates. It’s time to show up.
Magz (Golf): Up 29.2 Units on the season.
Top 20 – Sungjae Im +170. Love Sungjae here, the course places an emphasis on driving the ball and ball striking. Sungjae ranks 9th in strokes gained tee to green and is strong around the greens if he does happen to miss them in regulation. Lots of value after a T10 at The Memorial.
Top 20 – Cameron Young +170. Cam Young showed up huge at the PGA and if it weren’t for a couple bad holes could have come home with his first major. The kid hits it far and has some serious balls, not afraid to back down. Expecting a big charge from him and the top 20 feels very safe.
Top 10 – Xander Schauffele +190. There’s been a lot of talk about Xander going 5 for 5 in top 10s at his last five U.S. Opens and the line is still +190. Schauffele thrives at these hard courses where he will keep the ball in play and ranking 12th in strokes gained approaching the green will make some birdies.
Winner – Rory McIlroy +1000. The favorite. The odds of winning again after winning last week are not high. Don’t care. Rory makes it happen this week because he simply is better than everyone else in the field when he plays his best. I will also be placing 2 units on him to Top 10 and that is an official pick.
Matchup – Matthew Fitzpatrick over Colin Morikawa -130. Absolutely love this play. Fitzpatrick has been dialed lately and ranks 10th on tour in strokes gained off the tee. Colin will have to fire with his irons as he ranks 182nd in strokes gained around the green. He is embarrassing with a wedge in his hand. Ride Fitzy here.
Beast’s Picks:
I want to preface my picks by mentioning that last week at the RBC, I hit Rory McIlroy for +1600. That marks my 5th outright winner of the year (granted I choose a couple guys to win outright each week), I’ve been hot all season long. My bookie must hate logging on to his account on Sunday night and seeing all the money he suddenly has to pay me. Nevertheless, the major championships have kept me humble this season, reminding me that golf is still golf and it’s never as easy as it looks, even for the best in the world. The courses play incredibly tough, the pressure is much greater and the fields are as good as they get. I’m not only cheering for my guys this week, but I’m cheering for the course. Every year the US Open eats the pro’s alive and they actually look human for a week. This will be a great week, now to my picks.
Top 20:
Davis Riley +190
I’m all over Davis Riley this week. I don’t care that he hasn’t made a cut at the US Open before. He has been playing fantastic golf as of late, finishing 13th or better in his last 6 events. I almost want to take him as a Top 10 pick, however I’ll play it safe and take his odds at Top 20. Great value play, don’t be surprised when you see Riley towards the top of the leaderboard this weekend. I am also playing Riley to beat Gooch at +110.
Corey Conners +185
The boys at Loon HQ have a love-hate relationship with Corey Conners. This week, we love Corey. The Canadian is coming into the US Open with a 6th place finish at the RBC Canadian Open. Conners is another guy who has yet to make the cut in a US Open, however I believe that will change this week. He has 7 top 25’s in his last 10 starts, including a T-6 at Augusta National earlier this year. The Country Club fits his game and I am looking forward to seeing Corey stripe his iron’s per usual.
Top 10:
Will Zalatoris +230
For those who pay close attention to the Loon golf blogs, or my picks in general, this pick should come as no surprise. Will Zalatoris is one of my favorite players to bet, he’s an outstanding ball striker and consistently finishes towards the top in major championships, including a T-6 finish at the US Open in 2020. I truly think Willy Z is due to win here soon, however I’m not sure if it’s on this stage with this field. His driving accuracy isn’t great and his putting is always questionable. Still, Zalatoris should find a way to get himself into the top 10 on Sunday and will add another solid finish to that already impressive list of major finishes in his young career.
Cam Young +375
I love the value here. Cam Young is another young player who has been playing incredibly good golf this season. He is yet to break into the winners circle in 2022, but that doesn’t mean we should count him out. Young is coming off of 3 top 3 finishes in his last 4 events, one of which was at the PGA Championship. It seems as if people are sleeping on Cam Young this week, not me though. The course is going to play extremely difficult this week, but Cam makes more birdies than most and I think that will give him a shot at being in contention for the tournament.
Matchup:
Finau to beat Burns -115
Tony is back (I think). After a near win last week, Tony is coming into the US Open in great form. He actually has a putter and the birdies are falling. The noise surrounding this tournament should be no problem for Tony as he has experience on his side with two top 10 finishes coming in 2018 & 2020. No knock on Burnsy, but I don’t expect him to play that great this week. He has been fantastic this season, however with very limited success in major championships, I’ll take big Tony.
Outright:
Xander Schauffele +2500
I’ll start with this, Xander Schauffele has played in 5 US Opens and has never finished worse than 7th. That is incredible considering the conditions of those events. Schauffele has all the stats you’re looking for this week, strokes gained, fairways, experience, you name it. He’s almost always competitive in majors and I think he’ll one day be a multiple major championship winner, so why not start with the US Open in Brookline. Xander is my horse this week, I will likely play his top 10 odds as well.
-Beast
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