2024 U.S. Open Round One 3-Ball Best Bets (Back Matthew Fitzpatrick & Adam Hadwin)
The U.S. Open is here; the action kicks off Thursday morning at the challenging Pinehurst No.2. I have already placed many bets covering various markets throughout the event. Now, I want to talk about the first round. There are two groups where I have found an edge in a 3-Ball matchup that I want to break down before players tee off tomorrow morning.
If you want more detailed information on the course or my best bets for the weekend, check out my comprehensive U.S. Open Preview. I also have articles detailing three different nationality props and two full tournament matchups, which can be found here.
Let me stop wasting time. Let's get into these round-one 3-Ball picks:
Matt Fitzpatrick (+110) v. Tiger Woods v. Will Zalatoris
While I don't love fading Tiger Woods, I must do it here: Woods's best major finish since returning to golf in 2022 is 47th place in the 2022 Masters.
Since then, he has played in five other major championships, having withdrawn from two, missed the cut in two and finished 60th in the other major over that stretch. Having only played two events since the start of March, his game must be sharper to take on the challenge that Pinehurst No.2 presents.
The other guy I am fading in this group is Will Zalatoris. While I have him projected to have a pretty good weekend, he has struggled on and around the greens in the first rounds of events over the last six months, which could cause him some problems in the first round, as players will still be trying to figure out these complex green complexes at Pinehurst.
Fitzpatrick is coming into this event ranked No. 15 in strokes gained putting over the last three months, which could help bail him out when the conditions make it challenging to gain strokes around the green. In addition to his putting, Fitzpatrick has been excellent on courses with difficult scoring conditions, ranking No.4 in strokes gain tee-to-green in comparable scoring conditions.
The combination of Fitzpatrick's short game and above-average ball-striking give him the best chance to get off to a hot start this weekend at Pinehurst in this group.
Adam Hadwin (+140) v. Phil Mickelson v. Rickie Fowler
Hadwin is coming off of an exceptional weekend at the Memorial Tournament, where he teed off with Scottie Scheffler in the final pairing on Sunday and ended up with a third-place finish.
Fowler and Mickelson have both been inconsistent in 2024. Mickelson has only achieved one top-20 finish on the LIV Tour this season, and Fowler has only managed one top-finish throughout the 2024 PGA season.
Over the last three months, Hadwin has ranked No. 37 in total strokes gained in the first round of events compared to Mickelson, who ranks No. 93 and Fowler, who ranks No. 106 in the field.
Hadwin is coming off his best ball-striking week of the year on a challenging course. He has the best recent form of these three players; I like him to set the pace in this group on day one.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.