As I peruse the leaderboard following the first two rounds of the U.S. Open I see some names that aren’t expected to be at the top and a few favorite names that are gone. Phil Mickelson, Retief Goosen, Luke Donald, Colin Montgomerie are names we expect to be battling for the lead but instead are among the group who have missed the cut, packed their bags and departed Oakmont Country Club. Still in the field but not to be found at the top are familiar names Tiger Woods, V.J. Singh and Jim Furyk. Replacing Mick, Retief, V.J. and Tiger at the top are the names Angel and Bubba.
Prior to Thursday’s first tee, Oddsmakers at most online sportsbooks installed the “Big-Three”, Tiger, Phil and V.J…as the ones to beat; Tiger Woods (2/1), Phil Mickelson (9/2) and V.J. Singh (15/1).
Going into Saturday’s third round, Angel Cabrera of Argentina leads the field at Even Par as Bubba Watson of Florida is close behind at +1. As of Thursday, Cabrera was a 100/1 odds longshot to win while Watson’s name is part of the betting board called…The Field. The Field is a group of unknowns, rookies and amateurs who managed to make the U.S. Open field. The odds any player from the field to win the tournament is 5/1.
The world’s top-ranked player and tournament favorite Tiger Woods finished Friday’s second round at +5. At only five strokes back, Woods could easily work his way back into contention with a par performance on Saturday. Jim Furyk is currently sitting at +6 and V.J. Singh is at +7. Geoff Ogilve, the 2006 U.S. Open winner is nine strokes back.
