2024 U.S. Open Tournament Matchup Best Bets (Back Keegan Bradley & Hideki Matsuyama)

We are one day out from the first round of the 2024 U.S. Open at the renowned Pinehurst No.2 Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina. It looks like a great weather weekend for golf. However, the conditions of this course look unbelievably tricky.

For years, Pinehurst has been a formidable challenge in professional golf. Its lightning-fast, firm greens and the brutal wiregrass in the sandy waste areas off the fairways make it a course that demands precision. As Bryson Dechambeau aptly put it, "Pinehurst is a ball strikers paradise."

Ball striking has been the theme of all my bets this week on the U.S. Open so far, and I will keep that theme going today as I go through a couple of full tournament matchup bets that I have locked in.

If you want more information on the course or my best bets for the weekend, check out my complete U.S. Open Event Preview. I have also played and discussed four Nationality Prop Bets if you are interested in getting involved with some tournament props for the U.S. Open this weekend.

Keegan Bradley (-110) vs Cameron Young - Bet365

I faded Cameron Young successfully last weekend at the Memorial Tournament in a 72-hole matchup with Alex Noren. Young ended up struggling last weekend, posting a T50 finish. This finish adds another lacklustre finish to Young's recent resume, and he has now finished outside the top 30 in five straight starts on the PGA Tour.

Keegan Bradley has been trending in the opposite direction. However, he finished T43 at the Memorial Tournament last weekend at Muirfield Village; Bradley had three top-30 finishes in three straight events before the Memorial.

These two have relatively similar skill sets. Bradley is slightly more accurate with the tee but gives up the distance to Young. Bradley is also marginally better on approach and has been a much better putter on Bermuda grass over the last six months. He will have an easier time on a challenging course this weekend than Young, who has struggled to strike the ball consistently over the previous two months.

Hideki Matsuyama (-112) vs. Justin Thomas - Fanduel

If you have been following my bets on the U.S. Open this week, you would know I love Matsuyama. I have talked about him in every article I have written and have backed him to win this event, finish in the top 30, and finish as the top Japanese finisher this week.

At the risk of overexposing myself to one player, I will back Matsuyama to beat Thomas this week. Matsuyama has eight straight top-40 finishes and has finished inside the top 10 in three of the last five events he has played. While Thomas has started to turn his game around from his struggles in late 2023, he has been more inconsistent than Matsuyama in recent months.

Coming into this event, Matsuyama ranks No.11 in total strokes gained over the last five years compared to Thomas, who ranks No.30 in the field. Looking at more recent major championships, Matsuyama has finished inside the top 40 in the last six majors. At the same time, Thomas missed the cut in four of those six majors and only boasted one finish in the top 40 over those six events.

Matsuyama has been among the best golfers on challenging courses over the last two years. He ranks No.3 in the field in strokes gained tee-to-green in 'very difficult' scoring conditions compared to Thomas, who ranks No.57 in that split.

Matsuyama has gained strokes on approach and around the green in seven of his last eight starts, as well as gained strokes putting in three straight events; I think his game is in a better spot than Thomas's heading into this weekend at one of the most challenging courses that we will see these players play.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.