Scottie Scheffler begins U.S. Open week as favorite

Scottie Scheffler arrived in Los Angeles this week with a firm grip on the No. 1 world ranking -- and on the status as the favorite ahead of the 123rd U.S. Open at The Los Angeles Country Club.

Scheffler hasn't finished worse than a tie for 12th in his past 16 starts. That run began in Mexico in February and has included a pair of wins, most notably at The Players.

Scheffler hasn't won since then, but he does enter this week with four consecutive top-5 finishes, including a T2 at the PGA Championship.

So it stands to reason that the 2022 Masters champion is the +700 favorite at DraftKings and BetMGM, where he has been backed by the second-most outright winner tickets (7.7 percent) and third-most money (10.7 percent) since opening at +1200.

The next-shortest odds at both books belong to the man who has been jockeying with Scheffler for the No. 1 ranking for most of 2023. Jon Rahm, who won the Masters in April, is +1000 at both books this week, followed closely by Brooks Koepka at +1100.

Koepka won the PGA Championship after a T2 at the Masters. The two-time U.S. Open champion is the second-biggest liability at BetMGM, having drawn the most money (13.0 percent) and third-most tickets (7.5 percent) since opening at +3300.

The book's biggest liability this week is Max Homa. Homa has yet to win a major, but the six-time winner on the PGA Tour is a Burbank, Calif., native who knows The Los Angeles Country Club well. As a senior at California in 2013, Homa set the course record at the North Course with a 9-under par 61.

Since opening at +5000, Homa's odds have shortened to +2800 as he leads BetMGM with 9.4 percent of the total tickets backing him to win and the second-most money at 11.7 percent.

Another popular choice has been Viktor Hovland. After battling Koepka down the Sunday stretch at the PGA Championship, Hovland finished T16 at the Charles Schwab Challenge before winning the Memorial in a playoff.

The young Norwegian star has seen his odds shift from +3000 to +1600, and Hovland is the book's third-biggest liability this week. He is fourth with 6.1 percent of the total bets and fifth with 6.6 percent of the money backing him to claim his first major this week.

Meanwhile, defending champion Matt Fitzpatrick has garnered very modest support, with only 1.4 and 1.7 percent of the action, respectively, at +4000 at BetMGM. He is being offered at +3500 at DraftKings -- 13th in the field.

Fitzpatrick, who enters this week ranked No. 8 in the world, won the RBC Heritage earlier this yearn but missed the cut at The Players and the PGA. He finished T10 at the Masters.

Rory McIlroy, the third-ranked player in the world, is is attempting to snap a major drought that dates back to 2014. He is +1200 at BetMGM and +1400 at DraftKings. That's fourth at both books.