Sports Blog 18/06/2015: Golf Preview – US Open, Thursday 18th to Sunday 19th June 2015

It is time for the second of the golf majors, as the US Open begins on Thursday, with Spreadex offering a smorgasbord of differing spread betting and fixed odds opportunities!

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the main contenders, especially those near the top of Spreadex’s Tournament Winner Betting spreads, i.e. the Leaderboard 80-40-30-25-20-15-10-5 Index. This Index sees the winner receive 80 points, the runner-up 40 points, 3rd place 30, 4th place 25, 5th place 20, 6th place 15, 7th place 10, 8th place 5 and, of course, everyone else a big fat zero.



Unsurprisingly, topping the Leaderboard Index at a spread of 14-17 is Rory McIlroy, who also sits at 13/2 fixed odds favourite to win the tournament. It has been a solid 2015 season for the Irishman. Wins at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, and a record-matching score, and victory at the WGC-Cadillac Match Play Championship (which saw McIlroy join Woods and Nicklaus as one of 3 players to reached 10 PGA tour events and 4 majors by 25) were joined by a career best 4th place at the 2015 Masters and a 2nd Wells Fargo Championship. In terms of the US Open, McIlroy will initially have the rather low target of beating his 2nd round exit from last year, with our Spreadex Clients and traders alike fancying him to do so, seeing him top both the Former Winner Index at 25-28 and the Irish Index at 40-43.

However, hot on the heels of McIlroy is Jordan Spieth, also at a Leaderboard Index spread of 14-17 but at 8/1 to win the tournament. Spieth, who went out in the first round last year, is currently in the best year of his short career. After winning the Valspar Championship in March, only his second PGA tour event victory, Spieth then went on to put on an astonishing display at the 2015 Masters, equalling Tiger Woods’ 1997 record low score of 270 on his way to the title. This leaves Spieth ranked 2nd in the world behind McIlroy, but ahead of the Irishman on Spreadex’s Super Index spread, at 17-20 to McIlroy’s 16-19.



Beyond these two clear frontrunners the field begins to get a bit more cluttered. At a Leaderboard Index spread of 8-11 and fixed odds of 16/1, Justin Rose will be aiming to repeat his 2013 victory at this year’s tournament. Rose scored the second lowest score by a runner-up (alongside Phil Mickelson) at the 2015 Masters, a nice primer for the US Open which he enters atop the English Index at 24-27.

Just behind Rose is the man who matched his score at the Masters, Phil Mickelson. The American is perpetually the bridesmaid and never the bride at the US Open, finishing among the runners-up in 6 of the last 16 tournaments without ever winning the damn thing. In fact, alongside Jack Nicklaus, Mickelson holds the record for finishing second at the majors, with 10 silver medals. Yet with a best ever placing at the Masters (previously his highest finish was 17th) it could finally be time for Mickelson to go the distance in Washington this year. Mickelson sits at a Leaderboard Index of 7-9 with fixed odds of 16/1, with plenty of interest from our clients.

Also at a 7-9 Leaderboard Index spread, and at 20/1 fixed odds, is Dustin Johnson. Johnson finished joint 4th at the 2014 US Open, and tied for 6th at this year’s Masters before winning the WGC-Cadillac Championship, the second WGC title in his career. Rickie Fowler, joint runner-up in 2014 and the winner of the 2015 Players Championship after 3 barren years, is also at 20/1 with a Leaderboard Index spread of 6.5-8.5. Similarly at a Leaderboard Index spread of 6.5-8.5 is Henrik Stenson. The 39-year old Swede finished a career best joint 4th at the Open last year, but was tied for 19th at the Masters in April. He is at 22/1 to win the tournament but is top of the Euro Index at a spread of 20-23.

Rounding out the top 8 on the Leaderboard Index is Hideki Matsuyama, at a spread of 5.5-7.5 and at 28/1 fixed odds to win the tournament. Matsuyama finished 5th at the 2015 Masters, and will be aiming to beat the career -best joint 10th place finish he achieved at the Open back in 2013. With relatively little competition Matsuyama is top of the Asian Index at 29-32.



Looking beyond the top 8 there are, of course, a couple of names that require a mention. Tiger Woods, 3-time winner of the US Open, the last being in 2008 just before his self-imposed 8-month hiatus, is at a Leaderboard Index spread of 1.75-2.75 and fixed odds of 80/1 to win this year’s tournament. Last year’s surprise winner Martin Kaymer, meanwhile, is at 50/1 and has a Leaderboard Index spread of 3-5.

Make sure to check Spreadex for all the latest spreads and fixed odds throughout the tournament!