U.S. Open Picks, Predictions & Odds for 2026

• The U.S. Open from Shinnecock Hills Golf Club tees off Thursday, June 18th
• Scottie Scheffler is the +455 favorite to complete the career grand slam
• See my 2026 U.S. Open picks, best value bets, and the odds to win the tournament

After Bud Cauley won the RBC Canadian Open for his maiden PGA Tour title, the third major of the season commences at the U.S. Open. It’s being held at famed Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, which is always a very stern test of golf. Should tournament favorite Scottie Scheffler win the event, he’ll become just the seventh man to complete the career grand slam, much like how Rory McIlroy did so last year at the Masters.

The last time this course hosted the U.S. Open was in 2018, won by Brooks Koepka at +1. His status is uncertain heading into the third major championship of the season, given that he had to withdraw after three rounds of the RBC Canadian Open with a hand injury. Defending champion is J.J. Spaun, who won last year at Oakmont in dramatic fashion with a final hole birdie putt bomb. The first two major champions of 2026 have been Rory McIlroy (Masters) and Aaron Rai (PGA Championship).

U.S. Open Odds (2026)

I’m starting my card this week with the Sam Burns, who has been playing some excellent golf lately, and has two consecutive top-10s at the U.S. Open, with a T-9th in 2024 and T-7th last year. That was a tough pill to swallow for the five-time PGA Tour champ, as he was the 54 hole leader, and got an unfavorable ruling on a drop in the final round that led to a double bogey. He has two T-7ths in his last four majors, having also done that at this year’s Masters.

Odds as of 9:23 pm ET on Sunday, June 14th, at DraftKings. Check out the full list of DraftKings deposit methods.

Bettors who you live in regions where prediction site Kalshi is operational can find better prices on most of the top contenders. Scottie Scheffler, for instance, is priced at 15 cents to win, which is equal to a +567 moneyline in American odds.

The graphic below shows the current top-ten favorites at Kalshi. Click “Predict” to claim SBD’s exclusive Kalshi sign-up bonus.

Use SBD’s odds converter to see how Kalshi prices compare to American odds. Enter the Kalshi price in the “Implied Probability” field and the “American” field will display the corresponding odds.

Last 5 U.S. Open Winners

He’s sixth in putting for the season, which will go a long way this week at the treacherous Shinnecock, where several times you’ll need to get up and down for pars. Burns was T-4th at the Memorial Tournament just two weeks ago, then T-20th in Canada, as he flirted with contention before a tough final three holes (+3). At +3800, you can get Burns at odds longer than the top twelve golfers on the board, so it’s pretty intriguing value.

U.S. Open 2026 Picks & Value Bets

1. Tyrrell Hatton +4600: Tyrrell Hatton has been a mainstay on major championship leaderboards, with eight career top-10s. He was right in the thick of things at the U.S. Open at Oakmont last year, before settling for a T-4th result. He also had great form at Shinnecock when it hosted the U.S. Open in 2018, when the Englishmen was T-6th. At the Masters this year, he picked off a T-3rd, to date his best result in a major. Hatton was a winner in the last time he competed at the LIV Golf Andalucia just last week.
2. Viktor Hovland +5300: Viktor Hovland is still searching for his breakthrough title at a major, and it very nearly happened in this championship twelve months ago, where he eventually wound up third. He’s coming in with a recent pop at the just completed RBC Canadian Open, where the Norwegian was third. The 2023 FedEx Cup champion has four career top-5s in majors.
3. Harris English +8800: Harris English has quietly had a very strong campaign, racking up twelve top-30’s in 14 tourneys, highlighted by a T-4th at the RBC Heritage. In two of his last five majors, English has been the eventual runner-up (2025 PGA Championship and Open Championship). The U.S. Open has been his strongest major, in terms of career top-10’s, with three, resulting in a third in 2021, fourth in 2020 and T-8th in 2023. The five-time champion is seventh on the season in putting.
4. Cameron Smith +16000: In terms of pound for pound value, it’s harder to find anyone better than Cameron Smith at this number. The 2022 Open Championship winner and Players Champion posted a solid T-7th in the most recent major, the PGA, last month. That squashed a streak of six missed cuts in a row in majors. Smith has had a pair of fourth places results in the U.S. Open in his career (2015, 2023), and was T-5th in his most recent LIV start. While winning might be a stretch for the Aussie, he’ll be interesting to monitor in the top 5/10/20 markets.