With the lack of a dominating presence on the PGA Tour these days, almost every week a tournament is held is like pulling names out of a hat to find the winner. And despite the large amount of talent at Congressional Country Club this weekend for the 2011 U.S. Open it likely will be no different.
There really aren’t any discernable front runners this year, but I’ve included the top odds for the Open and apparently no one thinks someone is going to run away with it this year:
Lee Westwood: 12/1
Luke Donald: 12/1
Phil Mickelson: 14/1
Rory McIlroy: 16/1
Steve Stricker: 20/1
Matt Kuchar: 22/1
Dustin Johnson: 25/1
Hunter Mahan: 25/1
K.J. Choi: 25/1
Nick Watney: 25/1
Martin Kaymer:28/1
Bubba Watson: 40/1
Jason Day: 40/1
Graeme McDowell: 45/1
As for the Bay Area contingency at the U.S. Open, it isn’t much. Fresno State alum Nick Watney has the best chance to bring a major back to the "greater" Bay Area this year, and has 25/1 odds to do so at Congressional. San Jose native John Ellis along with Stanford’s David Chung (who also played at the Masters) will be in the field this week as well as an amateur.
As for making a prediction for a winner, it’s always more easily said than done. But for the sake of having someone to really root for I’m going to go with Nick Watney as the 2011 U.S. Open Champion at a score of -1 par 279 for the week.
For more on the U.S. Open, head on over to SB Nation’s golf blog, Waggle Room, to get in on the action.