U.S. Open bettors fade Scottie as odds lengthen

Scottie Scheffler will be favored heading into the 2026 U.S. Open -- his 15th consecutive major as the pre-tournament favorite or co-favorite -- but his odds to complete the elusive career grand slam are not quite as short as bettors are used to. Scheffler shows +445 odds at DraftKings Sportsbook to win at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club this weekend, but his odds are longer across the sportsbook marketplace, reaching as high as +550 as of Wednesday morning. It's a stark contrast to last year, when Scheffler entered the U.S. Open at an extremely short +275 coming off a PGA Championship victory a month earlier. Caesars Sportsbook golf lead Anthony Salleroli told ESPN that depending on action that comes in before tee-off, he could see Scheffler's price reach as high as +700 but is expecting it to stay a bit shorter than that. Per usual, the 29-year-old Scheffler is the leading ticket attractor at several books, but it's not to the same extent as usual, according to bookmakers. "He's taken some bets, but he's not getting the kind of action that he was when he was unstoppable," DraftKings sportsbook director Johnny Avello told ESPN. The betting public could be at least vaguely aware of the potential for long shots at recent majors, particularly the U.S. Open. Two of the last three winners of this tournament -- Wyndham Clark in 2023 and J.J. Spaun in 2025 -- were 100-1 or longer coming into the fray, while Aaron Rai made history at the 2026 PGA Championship by becoming one of the longest pre-tournament underdogs to win a major at up to 290-1. According to several sportsbooks, Tommy Fleetwood (22-1), Matt Fitzpatrick (23-1), Si Woo Kim (35-1) and Sam Burns (36-1) have all been popular in early betting. Clark and Spaun -- coming in at much more manageable 46-1 and 58-1 odds, respectively -- have also seen their fair share of action given their solid form. Caesars also says it took at least one large wager on Tyrrell Hatton, who is 30-1 there and 43-1 at DraftKings. "You always keep your ears perked for long shots because if somebody wants to lay a good sized bet down, that's instantaneous liability that you have to be willing to absorb," Salleroli said. "So you have to be conscious of all your long shot numbers and the players you want to favor, and possibly ones you want to fade." One other big name to watch is Brooks Koepka, who won the U.S. Open when it was last staged at Shinnecock in 2018, but whose status is in some doubt after he withdrew from last week's RBC Canadian Open due to a hand injury. The always-popular major pick is 36-1 to win this year's event, according to DraftKings lines. One big factor that bookmakers and bettors alike will be keeping an eye on is the weather: The forecast is calling for winds exceeding 20 mph early in the weekend, which could make an already difficult course even more of a problem for the world's best golfers. When Koepka won in 2018, his winning score was +1.