Beginner’s Betting Guide for the U.S. Open: How to Bet Bryson DeChambeau, Xander Schauffele, and More

We're less than 24 hours away from the opening tee shot at the 2026 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills.

If you're new to betting on golf, or if you're just looking for a wide array of wagers to place, you're in the right spot. In this article, I'm going to break down my favorite bets across the board for several different markets. Let's dive into it.

You can place any of these bets at the best betting sites across the country.

How to Bet on the U.S. Open

Outright Bets

Outright bets are the most straightforward types of wager. It's simply a bet on who you think is going to win the tournament. Will Scottie Scheffler win to complete the career grand slam? Will Bryson DeChambeau win his third U.S. Open?

In my full betting preview, I gave out Xander Schauffele as my top pick to win:

We're getting a great price on Xander Schauffele this week due to some less-than-stellar performance from him of late, but let's remember he posted a T9 finish at the Masters and a T7 finish at the PGA Championship. Not only that, but Schauffele has had a fantastic history at the U.S. Open. He has six finishes of T7 or better and has never finished outside the top 15. He finished T6 the last time the event was hosted at Shinnecock.

Longshot Bets

If you want to get aggressive and bet on a golfer that could offer a bigger payout, or if you want a cheap option for your DFS lineups, then longshots are for you. I broke down my favorite dark horse golfers in an article here, but my favorite is Cameron Smith at 150-1:

Cameron Smith virtually disappeared from contention at majors ever since joining LIV, but his T7 finish at the PGA Championship shows he may be returning to elite form. He followed that T7 finish up with a T5 finish at LIV Andalucia, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him carry that form into this year's U.S. Open.

If strong iron play with an elite short game is what's going to lead to success at Shinnecock, prime Cam Smith would be a perfect fit. Can the 2022 Champion Golfer of the Year get back to his top level of play? Maybe not, but it's worth betting on at 150-1.

First Round Leader

If you want to stay extra locked in to Thursday's opening round, or if you don't feel like waiting all four rounds to see if your bet wins, you can bet on which golfer will be leading after Round 1. One of the golfers I'm betting on in this market is Shane Lowry:

No golfer in the field gains more strokes with their approach play in the first round of tournaments over the past six months than Shane Lowry. He has also had success at U.S. Opens in the past, including finishing T9 in 2015 and T2 in 2016.

I have little faith in his ability to sustain a high level of play based on how he's performed in 2016, especially on the weekend, but his style of golf is a strong enough fit for Shinnecock. I’m willing to bet on him at 90-1 that he’ll get off to a hot start on Thursday.

Matchup Bets

Betting on golf is filled with markets offering long odds. While they're fun to cheer for and even better to cash in, the likelihood of winning them is low. If you want to target a market that has bets that are closer to 50%, then consider betting on head-to-head matchup bets.

These bets are simply wagers on one golfer to finish further up the leaderboard than the one they're matched up against. Different sportsbooks will post different matchups, so be sure to shop around.

One matchup at FanDuel that I like is Akshay Bhatia at -110 vs. Rickie Fowler. Fowler's game has fallen apart the past few weeks. He missed the cut at both the Charles Schwab Challenge and The Memorial Tournament, losing -1.98 strokes with his approach play in one event and losing -2.43 strokes with his approach play in the second. Unless he fixes his swing, Bhatia should cruise past him at Shinnecock.

Make the Cut/Miss the Cut bets

Every major tournament, there are a few surprises when it comes to which golfers make the cut and which golfers are sent home before the weekend. In my cut article, I wrote about why I'm betting on Bryson DeChambeau to miss the cut for the third time at a major this season.

I successfully bet on Bryson DeChambeau to miss the cut at both the Masters and the PGA Championship, so of course I'm going to bet him to miss the cut again this week. Shinnecock demands artistry with irons and creativity with wedges. I don't think DeChambeau has either, and his recent history at majors proves he isn't at the top of his game. If he wants to be able to contend at top-tier courses moving forward, he'll have to put his YouTube channel on the back burner.

Prop bets

Some bets don't fall under any of the aforementioned categories, including bets that aren't on a specific golfer but are on the tournament as a whole. Those types of bets that are put under the "props" category. In my props bet article, I broke down why I'm betting on a golfer to set the course record at Shinnecock this week:

The 2018 U.S. Open winner at Shinnecock, Brooks Koepka, finished with a score of 1-over par, but people forget that Tommy Fleetwood set the course record on Sunday at 7-under par. This year, the USGA will be setting up the course more easily than it did in 2018, with fears of being accused of "losing the course." It has already been confirmed that they've widened the fairways in preparation for exactly that. If it's going to play easier than 2018, then why can't the course record be broken again?

Hole in one bets

Finally, there's one of the most popular golf bets you can place for a major: whether or not a hole in one will be recorded. I broke down the full history of holes in one at the U.S. Open, as well as why I'm betting on one not to happen this year:

I think this is one of the best bets on the board this week. Shinnecock is one of the most difficult courses on the U.S. Open rotation, and the Par 3s at this event aren't any different. In the four most recent U.S. Opens hosted at this course, there have been only two holes in one, and neither of them took place in the 2018 edition of the tournament.

Hole No. 2 is 252 yards long, so we can disregard that one as a possibility for an ace. Hole No. 7 is probably the best chance for a hole in one, but even with that being said, the dangers on both sides of the green are going to leave golfers having to aim for the safe side of the green instead of going pin-hunting. Hole No. 11 is the shortest, at 157 yards, but it's also the most dangerous. Finally, there's the 176-yard 17th hole, which is home to one of the two hole in ones so far. Wind and sun are going to play a role at this hole, once again leading to players likely trying to play it as safely as possible.

The "no" side of this bet should be much shorter than -138.

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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You can check out all of Iain's bets here!

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