Ian JohnComing after The Masters in April and the USPGA Championship in May, June is the time for the US Open Golf Championship.
The third Major of the year will see 156 of the world’s top players competing once again this year.
Matt Fitzpatrick of England will defend the trophy he won last year at Brookline, at Los Angeles Country Club in California.
So far this year, Jon Rahm (Spain) and Brooks Koepka (USA) have won the two previous Majors (Masters & USPGA Championship respectively).
Who will be the golfers set to challenge for the famous trophy, and the gold medal the winning golfer keeps?
Before we answer those questions, if you fancy a bet on the outcome of the third golf major of the year, check out bet365 Sport and its extensive golf betting options.
Remember too, that you can bet In Play when the tournament is in progress, as well as enjoying a wealth of pre-tournament or pre-round betting too.
But before we take a look at the 2023 US Open in more detail, let’s learn about the tournament’s history.
The US Open – A History In Bullet Points
- While the USGA report Horace Rawlings of England as the first US Open Champion in 1895, the Society of Golf Historians revealed that there was a tournament the year before, which was won by Shinnecock Hills golf member Willie Dunn.
- Excluding Dunn, it took until 1911 for the first US-born player to win the tournament. That was John McDermott, who remains the youngest winner of the tournament aged 19.
- That started a period of almost total US dominance of the competition over the next 60 years. American golfers have won the tournament a total of 82 times in its history.
- After the United States, Scotland has been home to the next greatest number of winners with 10 victories, England has eight and South Africa comes next with five.
- It took until 1965 for the first non-American or non-UK player to win the tournament, that being South African Gary Player.
- In more modern times, the USGA has been criticised for ‘tricking up’ the courses it selects to play the US Open. They achieve this by decreasing the width of fairways, moving the position of tee-boxes back, allowing the first and second cut, as well as the deep rough, to grow much longer at standard tournaments and by increasing the speed of the greens.
- As a result, the US Open is often the Major trophy that is won each year by the highest score compared to the other three Majors (though not always).
- The tournament has been played over all of the United States but has only been held six times in the south and six times out west. The majority of tournaments have been held in the North east and central parts of the US.
- Los Angeles Country Club will host the tournament for the very first time in 2023.
- Matt Fitzpatrick of England is the defending champion, beating Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris by one shot at Brookline last year to win with a score of 6 under par.
The US Open – Records And Notable Achievements
- There are four players that have won the US Open four times; Willie Anderson (Scotland) and Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus (all USA). No player has won more than four tournaments in their career.
- Next on the list comes Tiger Woods and Hale Irwin (both USA) who have won the event three times.
- Sixteen players have won the US Open twice including Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen, Lee Trevino, Curtis Strange, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen and Brooks Koepka.
- In terms of hosting the tournament, Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania has hosted the most US Open tournaments with nine.
- Baltusrol in New Jersey has hosted the tournament seven times, while Pebble Beach, Oakland Hills and Winged Foot have all hosted six US Open tournaments each.
- A total of 52 different courses have been used for the tournament across the United States of which Los Angeles Country Club is the latest.
- The lowest 18-hole score in US Open history is 63 and this has been achieved by a number of players.
- The lowest winning score to par in the event’s history was 16-under-par achieved by both Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka.
- The highest winning score in US Open history was achieved by Walter Hagen who won the 1919 US Open at Brae Burn Country Club in Massachusetts with a score of 17-over par.
US Open 2023 – Tournament Preview And Tips
- Venue – Los Angeles Country Club, Los Angeles, California
- Dates – 15th June to 18th June 2023
- Competitors – 156 players
- 2022 Defending Champion – Matthew Fitzpatrick (England)
The last qualifiers from the 13 Final Qualifiers that took place across the weekend and into Monday this past week have now been confirmed, so the 156-strong field (barring late withdrawals and replacements) is known.
They will compete at the unique Los Angeles Country Club, which is a combination of very short holes but some monster par 4s and a 623-yard par five.
Los Angeles Country Club – Hole Guide
- 1st – 590 yards (par 5)
- 2nd – 497 yards (par 4)
- 3rd – 419 yards (par 4)
- 4th – 228 yards (par 3)
- 5th – 480 yards (par 4)
- 6th – 330 yards (par 4)
- 7th – 284 yards (par 3)
- 8th – 537 yards (par 5)
- 9th – 171 yards (par 3) – Out – 3536 yards (par 35)
- 10th – 409 yards (par 4)
- 11th – 290 yards (par 3)
- 12th – 380 yards (par 4)
- 13th – 507 yards (par 4)
- 14th – 623 yards (par 5)
- 15th – 124 yards (par 3)
- 16th – 542 yards (par 4)
- 17th – 520 yards (par 4)
- 18th – 492 yards (par 4) In – 3887 yards (par 35)
The course opens with a mix of tough longer par fours, mixed in with some great birdie opportunities at the 1st, 3rd, 6th, 8th and 9th.
The 10th, 11th and 12th also offer birdie opportunities before we hit a very tough run of holes which includes three par four holes of over 500 yards (plus another just under 500 yards) one par five of over 620 yards and on the 15th a very short par 3 which could be a pivotal hole in all four rounds.
Who Gains An Exemption to the US Open?
The field at the US Open is comprised of golfers who gained an exemption in any of a number of ways, winners of stated tournaments and a number of golfers who qualified from the 13 Final Qualifiers that took place around the world this past weekend.
Exemptions
The following players are exempt from qualifying and have a place guaranteed at the 2023 US Open.
- US Open 2022 – Top Ten Finishers
The winners (and sometimes runners up) of the following tournaments:
- US Senior Open Championship
- US Amateur Championship (plus Runner-up)
- NCAA Men’s Championship
- Latin America Amateur Championship
- British Amateur Championship
- US Junior Amateur Championship
- US Mid-Amateur Championship
- Champions of The Masters, USPGA Championship and the British Open for the last five years.
- The previous three winners of The Player’s Championship
- The winner of the most recent BMW PGA Championship
- Any player that has won multiple PGA Tour Events
- Winner of the Korn Ferry Tour points list
Players ranked or who qualified in the following positions/competitions are also given an exemption.
- No.1 ranked Amateur player in the world.
- Any players that qualified for the previous year’s Tour Championship.
- Any players that have earned the required number of FedEx Ranking points.
- Any players that have earned the required number of DP World Tour Ranking points.
- Any players with a high enough raning on the 2022 Race to Dubai rankings.
- The top two points earners from the European Qualifying series.
- Anyone not already qualified but who is ranked inside the top 60 of the Official Golf World Rankings on both the 22nd of May and then also the 12th of June.
- Finally, tournament sponsors and organisers can grant certain players exemptions to compete in the tournament.
For the 2023 US Open, this saw 93 players earn exemptions to play in the Major.
Qualifiers
Alongside all these exempt players, another 63 players have also qualified via the 13 Final Qualifiers contested in the United States, Canada, Japan and England over the last few days.
Qualifiers included Sergio Garcia (Spain), Stewart Cink (USA), Ross Fisher (England), David Puig (USA) and Kevin Streelman (USA) with a significant number of amateur players also earning a place in the tournament.
Who won’t be playing?
Tiger Woods and Will Zalatoris are amongst the golfers who will miss out on the US Open this year through injury.
Others that have not qualified or gained an exemption include Bill Haas, Jimmy Walker, Harold Varner III, Lee Westwood, Luke Donald, Ian Poulter, Webb Simpson, Danny Willett, Marc Leishmann and Matthew Wolfe.
Who Are The Golfers To Back For US Open 2023 Glory?
With such a large field, I always feel each-way betting is the way to go on golf bets, but I will give you one tip for an outright winner, plus 4 or 5 golfers to watch for the each way markets.
Outright Winner – Justin Thomas (USA) – 30/1.
Thomas is a fantastic golfer, always performs at the Majors and at 30/1, he is a fantastic value bet to win the tournament outright.
Each Way Options – Patrick Cantlay (USA) – 14/1, Jordan Spieth (USA) – 22/1, Dustin Johnson (USA) – 33/1, Tommy Fleetwood (Eng) – 50/1 and Patrick Reed (USA) – 66/1
Any of the above golfers would offer you great value as an each way bet with bet365.
Tune in from the 15th June to catch the opening round of this great golf tournament!
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