5 dark horses who could upset and win the U.S. Open 2018

4. Francesco Molinari (+6600)

The last time that we saw Francesco Molinari on the PGA Tour wasn’t exactly a confidence-inspiring performance from the Italian as he missed the cut at THE PLAYERS Championship. Overall, however, Molinari has enjoyed a great amount of success this year. In fact, the last two times that he was on the course — which was on the European Tour, was at the BMW PGA Championship and then the Italian Open the following week. He finished first and second in those tournaments, respectively.

In truth, Molinari hasn’t fared particularly well throughout his career when it comes to playing at the U.S. Open. He’s missed the cut four times in eight tries, including not seeing the weekend last year at Erin Hills. However, Molinari has been playing quite well overall this season and the game that he’s putting forth is one that seemingly could lead to success at Shinnecock Hills this week.

Coming into the second major championship of the year, Molinari ranks seventh on the PGA Tour in strokes gained off the tee and is 15th in strokes gained tee-to-green. On a course such as this one, that level of play is key. And while you’d like to see him playing better in terms of his approach — he ranks just 62nd in that strokes gained metric — that bodes well for his showing this week.

Put simply, Molinari is the exact type of player to succeed at this type of tournament and course. He’s solid in all areas, and won’t make too many critical mistakes when presented with challenges. That could easily put him in contention on a course that will test the mental state of these players.