The first two golf majors of 2021 produced surprise champions with Hideki Matsuyama winning the Masters and Phil Mickelson claiming the PGA Championship. There could be another one when the dust settles Sunday at the 2021 U.S. Open. Mackenzie Hughes, Louis Oosthuizen and Russell Henley are tied for the lead at 5-under par through three rounds at Torrey Pines. But some of the PGA Tour's most proven stars are lurking close behind. Other 2021 U.S. Open contenders entering Sunday include defending champion Bryson DeChambeau (-3) and Rory McIlroy (-3). Jon Rahm (-2) and Dustin Johnson (-1) are also within four shots of the lead.
The latest 2021 U.S. Open odds for Sunday from William Hill Sportsbook list Oosthuizen, who had an eagle at hole No. 18 on Saturday, as the favorite at 15-4. McIlroy and DeChambeau are both listed at 5-1. With such an intriguing mix of players near the top of the leaderboard, you'll want to check out the U.S. Open Sunday predictions from the proven computer model at SportsLine before locking in your 2021 U.S. Open picks.
SportsLine's prediction model, built by DFS pro Mike McClure, has been on fire since the return of the PGA Tour last June. In fact, it's up well over $9,000 on its best bets since the restart, nailing tournament after tournament.
At the Masters in April, McClure nailed Jon Rahm's (+250) top-five finish, as well as Corey Conners' (+550) top-10 showing. McClure's best bets netted over $450 at the Masters.
In addition, McClure was all over Daniel Berger's win at +1400 in his best bets at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February. McClure also nailed Viktor Hovland's (+2500) victory in the Mayakoba Golf Classic in December. That was one of many huge calls he's made in the past few months. He also finished profitable at the 2020 U.S. Open, nailing two of his best bets, including a +1100 top-five bet on Matthew Wolff.
This same model has also nailed a whopping six majors entering the weekend. Anyone who has followed its golf picks has seen massive returns.
Now that the U.S. Open 2021 is heading for Round 4, SportsLine simulated the final round 10,000 times, and the results were surprising. Head to SportsLine now to see the projected 2021 U.S. Open leaderboard.
One huge shocker the model is calling for: Oosthuizen, a major champion and the top Vegas favorite entering Sunday, stumbles and fails all the way outside the top five. Oostuizen opened with a 67 on Thursday, but then fell back a bit with a 71 on Friday. He had a respectable first 17 holes on Saturday, but it was the eagle at No. 18 that propelled him to this spot.
And while that should give him some momentum for Sunday, the model ultimately doesn't see him being in the mix at the end. The 38-year old hasn't won a major championship since the Open Championship in 2010. That also serves as his only win on the PGA Tour. And while he spends a lot of time on the European Tour, he hasn't won there since 2018. With many of the PGA Tour's top players in the hunt, the model isn't recommending Oosthuizen for 2021 U.S. Open bets on Sunday.
Another surprise: Jon Rahm, a 12-1 long shot, makes a strong run at the title. He finishes higher than his odds imply, making him a strong value pick for Sunday. His 72 on Saturday put him 2-under par for the tournament and three shots off the lead. He shot a 69 on Thursday, however, and another round like that would put him squarely in contention.
He's been playing some of the best golf on tour recently and likely would've won the Memorial two weeks ago had he not tested positive for COVID-19 with a six-shot lead following the third round. Now at 12-1, odds that are higher than what he entered with on Thursday (10-1), the model has identified him as a value pick to come from behind and win the U.S. Open 2021.
The model is also targeting four golfers with U.S. Open 2021 odds of 25-1 or higher who will make a surprising run, including one massive long shot higher than 50-1 who cracks the top 10. Anyone who backs these underdogs could hit it big. You can only see them here.
So who will win the U.S. Open 2021? And which long shots stun the golfing world? Check out the odds below and then visit SportsLine to see the projected 2021 U.S. Open leaderboard, all from the model that's nailed six golf majors and is up well over $9,000 since the restart.
Louis Oosthuizen 15-4Rory McIlroy 5-1Bryson DeChambeau 5-1Russell Henley 15-2Mackenzie Hughes 9-1Jon Rahm 12-1Scottie Scheffler 22-1Dustin Johnson 25-1Matthew Wolff 25-1Xander Schauffele 25-1Collin Morikawa 28-1Brooks Koepka 40-1Justin Thomas 60-1Christiaan Bezuidenhout 60-1Kevin Streelman 80-1Paul Casey 100-1Sung-Jae Im 125-1Jordan Spieth 150-1Ian Poulter 175-1Francesco Molinari 200-1Richard Bland 200-1Brian Harman 250-1Lee Westwood 300-1