The Country Club in Brookline, Mass. was the site of one of the biggest upsets in golf history, and many players will try to pull off a surprise at the 2022 U.S. Open. The Country Club also hosted the 1963 and 1988 U.S. Opens, but the 1913 event that went down in history. That was when 20-year-old local amateur Francis Ouimet defeated English stars Harry Vardon and Ted Ray in an 18-hole, next-day playoff. The moment was immortalized in a book and 2015 movie, “The Greatest Game Ever Played,” and while an upset of that magnitude could be unlikely, there are young upstarts like Sam Burns, Will Zalatoris and Davis Riley who could pull off a stunner at the U.S. Open 2022. They will face a loaded 2022 U.S. Open field headlined by world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, defending U.S. Open champ Jon Rahm and four-time major winner Rory McIlroy.
Coming off a victory in last week’s RBC Canadian Open, McIlroy is the 10-1 favorite in Caesars Sportsbook’s latest 2022 U.S. Open odds. Reigning PGA champion Justin Thomas is right behind at 11-1, followed by Scheffler (12-1) and Rahm (14-1). Burns (25-1) and Zalatoris (25-1) are among the top contenders in the 2022 U.S. Open lineup, while Riley is a 60-1 long shot. The 2022 U.S. Open date is Thursday, June 16 with Round 1. Before making any 2022 U.S. Open picks or PGA Tour predictions, you need to see what proven golf insider Sal Johnson has to say.
The esteemed golf insider has been around the game for many years and knows what it takes to win on the PGA Tour. Before the PGA Championship, Johnson predicted that if Thomas made his putts he could definitely win. Thomas had his best week of the season on the greens, gaining more than 1.5 strokes putting to rank second in the field. The result? He beat Will Zalatoris in a playoff to win his second PGA Championship.
In his previous set of predictions for SportsLine, he nailed the Masters for the third time in four years. Johnson backed Scheffler, saying he was “on a run where he has been hard to beat, and I see it rolling on at Augusta National.” The 25-year-old got his fourth victory of the season.
Now Johnson, the first producer of “Inside the PGA Tour” and longtime ABC Sports golf producer who worked with Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, has released his highly confident 2022 U.S. Open picks. The picks from the founder of GOLFstats.com, the world’s top golf statistics database, will definitely surprise you. You can only see them at SportsLine.
Top 2022 U.S. Open expert picks
One shocking choice from Johnson: He is fading Viktor Hovland, even though the Norwegian is among the top 10 players in the world. He is priced at 22-1 at Caesars and has six worldwide wins at age 24. He has missed one cut this season and finished outside the top 50 once. But the latter came in his most recent event, the Memorial, and he hasn’t finished in the top 10 since March. He also has failed to crack the top 10 in his first 10 majors. Hovland is strong off the tee, on approach and putting, but has been horrible around the green (202nd in strokes gained).
Meanwhile, Scheffler has the golf expert’s attention after dominating all year but seeming to ease off since his Masters victory in April. He missed the cut at the PGA Championship, but bounced back by nearly winning the Charles Schwab. He lost in a playoff to Burns, then tied for 18th last week in Toronto. The 25-year-old has four victories this season after getting his first on tour at Phoenix in February. He has finished 15th or worse in four of his past five, but he still has eight top-10s, including two runner-up finishes, to go with his four wins in 18 events.
Johnson also has watched Jordan Spieth’s up-and-down season, but knows if he can get his putter straight, he can dominate again. The 28-year-old, a three-time major champion, comes in at 22-1 U.S. Open odds 2022 at Caesars and has four top-10 finishes this year. He has a victory at the RBC Heritage in April and has been a runner-up twice. He hasn’t fared nearly as well in the majors, missing the cut at the Masters and tying for 34th at the PGA. Spieth is 47th on tour in scoring average (70.455), largely because of his putting (153rd in strokes gained).
How to make 2022 U.S. Open golf picks
Johnson is very high on a massive long shot who comes into the U.S. Open at more than 50-1. Johnson calls this golfer “one of the most underrated players on the PGA Tour.” His iron play is among the best on tour, and the expert knows if this player gets going around the greens he could pull off a stunner. You can find out who it is, and get the rest of Johnson’s U.S. Open picks, at SportsLine.
Who wins the 2022 U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline? Where do Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Spieth finish? And which massive long shot is a must-back? Check out the odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Sal Johnson’s full leaderboard, picks and analysis for the 2022 U.S. Open, all from the insider who is tuned in to what it takes to win on the PGA Tour, and find out.
2022 U.S. Open odds, field, top contenders
Scottie Scheffler 12-1
Jon Rahm 12-1
Rory McIlroy 14-1
Justin Thomas 14-1
Collin Morikawa 16-1
Dustin Johnson 16-1
Cameron Smith 18-1
Xander Schauffele 18-1
Brooks Koepka 18-1
Patrick Cantlay 20-1
Viktor Hovland 20-1
Jordan Spieth 22-1
Shane Lowry 25-1
Will Zalatoris 28-1
Bryson DeChambeau 28-1
Hideki Matsuyama 30-1
Matthew Fitzpatrick 35-1
Daniel Berger 35-1
Tony Finau 35-1
Joaquin Niemann 40-1
Paul Casey 40-1
Louis Oosthuizen 40-1
Tyrrell Hatton 40-1
Sam Burns 40-1
Webb Simpson 40-1
Tiger Woods 50-1
Tommy Fleetwood 50-1
Corey Conners 50-1
Justin Rose 50-1
Abraham Ancer 60-1
Harris English 60-1
Gary Woodland 65-1
Matthew Wolff 65-1
Marc Leishman 65-1
Patrick Reed 65-1
Jason Kokrak 65-1
Sungjae Im 65-1
Garrick Higgo 65-1
Jason Day 70-1
Christiaan Bezuidenhout 80-1
Phil Mickelson 80-1
Billy Horschel 80-1
Adam Scott 80-1
Max Homa 80-1
Sergio Garcia 80-1
Brian Harman 100-1
Russell Henley 100-1
Charley Hoffman 100-1
Lee Westwood 100-1
Branden Grace 100-1
Guido Migliozzi 125-1
Si-Woo Kim 125-1
Francesco Molinari 125-1
Bubba Watson 125-1
Thomas Pieters 125-1
Matt Wallace 125-1
Cameron Champ 125-1
Stewart Cink 150-1
Martin Kaymer 150-1
Ryan Palmer 150-1
Robert Macintyre 150-1
Carlos Ortiz 150-1
Kevin Kisner 150-1
Ian Poulter 150-1
Matt Kuchar 150-1
Kevin Streelman 150-1
Hudson Swafford 200-1
