125th US Open at Oakmont

The third major of the season heads to Oakmont for the 125th US Open. This course could be the toughest track in the world offering up a massive layout with brutal rough and greens that will frustrate the best players in the game.

Here’s the skinny on the course:

U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club

• Par 70, 7,372 yards

• 156-player field and the top 60 and ties make the cut

• Big golf course without a single tree in play with no water hazards

• Correlated courses are Bethpage Black, Oak Hill, Winged Foot, Torrey Pines (South Course), and Muirfield Village in Ohio

• Heavily bunkered course with 168 bunkers, including the iconic "Church Pew" bunker design on holes 3 & 4

• Typical US Open set-up with narrow fairways (averaging 28 yards wide), extremely penal bunkers, diabolical 5"+ rough, and a majority of holes don’t offer any bail out areas

• Course offers two mammoth par 5s (600+ yards), seven par 4s at 450+, but two of those are drive-able if the USGA wants to offer that carrot (Holes 2 & 17), three of the par 3s measure 200+, including the comical 289-yard 8th hole

• The topography of the course serves up a ton of uneven lies and golfers will seldom have a flat stance - think Augusta National lie profile in the fairways with just absurdly long rough to add to the misery

• The winner will need to be very accurate off the tee, have elite approach game, especially from 200 yards, possess scrambling ability from thick rough, and will need to avoid 3 putts

• Greens: Considered some of the hardest greens in the world with Poa annua grass, averaging 8,500 sq. ft., extremely fast at 14+ on the Stimpmeter with undulations, sloping from front to back which is rare for green complexes

In an effort to simplify the handicap given all the hazards this course provides, here are a few of the key stats to look for this week: driving accuracy, greens in regulation, and scrambling. The player who can master those aspects of the game will be there on Sunday with an opportunity to lift the trophy. From a betting standpoint, save some powder for bets after the first round and the cut to see how the course is beating up this field of 156.

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This week’s betting card

Keegan Bradley Top 20 +220 (BetMGM)

• World class ball striker with the grit required to handle the emotional roller coaster of Oakmont

• Has the high ball flight to hold the greens on approach, especially from 175 to 200 yards

• His driving stats across the board are excellent: 19th in total driving, 27th in SG OTT, 47th in driving accuracy, and 68th in driving distance (averaging 303 yards)

Corey Conners Top 20 +180 (BetMGM)

• Similar to Bradley, Conners is a top 5 ball striker with the major experience to handle brutal courses

• Driving stats check every box with the notable exception of distance: 8th in driving accuracy, 10th in SG OTT, 42nd in total driving, but 144th in driving distance (averaging 295 yards)

• Conners enters in very solid form with a top 25 finish in 9 of his last 13 events

Here are some exotic/novelty bets to consider this week:

Top South African Erik Van Rooyen +210 (Draftkings)

• EVR was the medalist in his US Open qualifying site and was runner up to Scheffler at the Byron Nelson CJ Cup just a month ago

• Has the length OTT and course discipline to handle US Open set-ups

Top South American Emiliano Grillo +400 (Bet MGM, Draftkings & FanDuel)

• Grillo has the ball striking chops required to compete at Oakmont coupled with driving accuracy that ranks 24th on Tour

• The Argentine enters this week with three consecutive Top 25 finishes

Enjoy the golf this weekend and best of luck with all your bets!