Golf expert picking Collin Morikawa at Pinehurst

The 2024 U.S. Open tees off Thursday, when defending champion Viktor Hovland will attempt to do what’s only been done once in the last 34 years, repeat. Brooks Koepka (2017-18) is the only back-to-back U.S. Open champion since 1989, but Hovland faces an uphill climb to join him. The Norwegian has recorded just one top-10 finish in 2024 and has finished T-24 or worse in four of his last six starts on the PGA Tour. The U.S. Open 2024 gets underway from Pinehurst No. 2 on Thursday. Hovland is going off at 12-1 to repeat according to the latest 2024 U.S. Open odds.

Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1-ranked player in the world, is the 11-4 favorite, followed by Rory McIlroy (10-1), Xander Schauffele (10-1) and Bryson DeChambeau (10-1) on the PGA odds board. Before locking in any U.S. Open picks, make sure you see the PGA Tour predictions and best bets from golf betting and fantasy expert Sia Nejad.

Nejad specializes in betting and DFS in golf, among other sports. He’s had incredible success in the outright and first-round leader markets and in betting head-to-head matchups. He also has been solid with his head-to-head matchups since last year’s Charles Schwab Challenge, going 49-30-3 and returning 16.31 units over that span. That’s a $1,631 profit for $100 bettors since May 2023.

Nejad also nailed Wyndham Clark, a 75-1 longshot, as the outright winner at the Wells Fargo Championship last year. In 2023, SportsLine debuted “The Early Wedge,” and in the first three months of the show, he hit two first-round leaders and three outright winners.

Now, Nejad has turned his attention to the 2024 U.S. Open field and locked in his best bets, top sleepers and favorites to avoid. See whom they are at SportsLine.

Top 2024 U.S. Open expert picks

One surprise: Nejad is low on the chances of Patrick Cantlay, even though he’s an eight-time PGA Tour champion. Cantlay has had success at the U.S. Open in recent years, finishing inside the top 15 in his last three starts. However, the 32-year-old enters the 2024 U.S. Open in a bit of a funk. Cantlay has recorded just one top-10 finish in his last eight starts and is coming off a missed cut at last week’s Memorial, a place where he had won twice before.

Cantlay’s struggles this season can be directly attributed to his iron play. He enters the third major of the year ranked 112th in strokes gained: approach to green (-0.099) and 157th in greens in regulation percentage (61.92%), which doesn’t bode well at a course like Pinehurst No. 2. “His game is clearly out of sorts as he missed the cut at the Memorial, a place where many assumed he’d regain his form due to his elite course history,” Nejad told SportsLine. 

Another curveball: Nejad is high on the chances of Collin Morikawa, even though he’s a longshot at +1600. The 27-year-old Morikawa will attempt to add a third leg of golf’s grand slam to his résumé. He won the PGA Championship in 2020 and the Open Championship the following year.

Last week at the Memorial Tournament, Morikawa continued his hot stretch of golf with a runner-up finish to Scottie Scheffler. In the Memorial, Morikawa finished second in strokes gained: total (13.339) and third in scrambling (74.19%). “He narrowly missed an outright victory last week and played very well, gaining strokes across all strokes gained categories. He has the ball-striking and short game to once again compete,” Nejad told SportsLine. See which other players to back at SportsLine.

How to make 2024 U.S. Open picks

Nejad has locked in his best bets for the 2024 U.S. Open and is backing several longshots, including one priced at more than +4500. This player “has the ball-striking acumen and short game” and is a longshot who could surprise. You can see Nejad’s PGA Tour picks only at SportsLine.

So which players should you target or avoid for the 2024 U.S. Open, and which player in the U.S. Open 2024 field could bring a huge payday of more than +4500? Check out the odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Sia Nejad’s top picks for the 2024 U.S. Open, all from the expert who is 49-30 on his golf head-to-head picks.

2024 U.S. Open odds, field

See Nejad’s picks, best bets and predictions here.

Scottie Scheffler +300
Rory McIlroy +1000
Xander Schauffele +1200
Collin Morikawa +1600
Viktor Hovland +1800
Bryson DeChambeau +1800
Brooks Koepka +2200
Ludvig Aberg +2200
Jon Rahm +2500
Tommy Fleetwood +3500
Justin Thomas +3500
Cameron Smith +4000
Patrick Cantlay +4000
Max Homa +4500
Tyrrell Hatton +5000
Matt Fitzpatrick +5000
Hideki Matsuyama +5000
Tom Kim +5500
Shane Lowry +5500
Jordan Spieth +5500
Wyndham Clark +6000
Tony Finau +6000
Sahith Theegala +6000
Sam Burns +6500
Corey Conners +6500
Will Zalatoris +6500
Min Woo Lee +7000
Keegan Bradley +7000
Sepp Straka +8000
Russell Henley +8000
Jason Day +8000
Dustin Johnson +8000
Cameron Young +8000
Byeong Hun An +8000
Sungjae Im +9000
Si Woo Kim +9000
Justin Rose +9000
Robert MacIntyre +9000
Denny McCarthy +10000
Dean Burmester +10000
Adam Scott +10000
Sergio Garcia +13000
Alex Noren +13000
Brian Harman +13000
Billy Horschel +15000
Harris English +15000
Rickie Fowler +15000
Christiaan Bezuidenhout +15000
Thomas Detry +18000
Tom Hoge +18000
Ryan Fox +18000
Kurt Kitayama +18000
Adam Hadwin +18000
Akshay Bhatia +18000
Aaron Rai +20000
Stephan Jaeger +20000
Erik Van Rooyen +20000
Tiger Woods +25000
Mackenzie Hughes +25000
J.T. Poston +25000
Victor Perez +25000
Nicolai Hojgaard +25000
Lucas Glover +25000
Adrian Meronk +25000
Taylor Moore +30000
Seamus Power +30000
Eric Cole +30000
Daniel Berger +30000
Chris Kirk +30000
Cam Davis +30000
Tom McKibbin +30000
Taylor Pendrith +30000
Richard Mansell +30000
Nick Dunlap +30000
Martin Kaymer +30000
Beau Hossler +30000
Phil Mickelson +35000
Adam Schenk +35000
Austin Eckroat +35000
Webb Simpson +35000
Matthieu Pavon +35000
Mark Hubbard +35000
Jake Knapp +35000
Harry Higgs +35000
Davis Thompson +35000
Brendon Todd +40000
Nick Taylor +40000
Gary Woodland +40000
Emiliano Grillo +40000
S.H. Kim +40000
Matteo Manassero +40000
David Puig +40000
Chesson Hadley +40000
Adam Svensson +40000
Mac Meissner +40000
Greyson Sigg +40000
Matt Kuchar +50000
Tim Widing +50000
Justin Lower +50000
Ryo Ishikawa +60000
Peter Malnati +60000
Takumi Kanaya +80000
Rikuya Hoshino +80000
Max Greyserman +80000
Frankie Capan III +80000
Ben Kohles +80000
Zac Blair +100000
Sam Bennett +100000
Gordon Sargent +100000
Brian Campbell +100000
Benjamin James +100000
Maxwell Moldovan +100000
Brendan Valdes +100000
Sam Bairstow +150000
Rico Hoey +150000
Isaiah Salinda +150000
Grant Forrest +150000
Luke Clanton +150000
Eugenio Chacarra +150000
Brandon Wu +150000
Francesco Molinari +150000
Nico Echavarria +200000
Jason Scrivener +200000
Carter Jenkins +200000
Willie Mack III +250000
Taisei Shimizu +250000
Stewart Hagestad +250000
Santiago De la Fuente +250000
Robert Rock +250000
Riki Kawamoto +250000
Omar Morales +250000
Neal Shipley +250000
Logan McAllister +250000
Jim Herman +250000
Frederik Kjettrup +250000
Christopher Petefish +250000
Chris Naegel +250000
Casey Jarvis +250000
Brandon Robinson Thompson +250000
Ashton McCulloch +250000
Andrew Svoboda +250000
Joey Vrzich +250000
Hiroshi Tai +250000
Bryan Kim +250000
Carson Schaake +250000
Wells Williams +250000
Colin Prater +250000
Jackson Buchanan +250000
Gunnar Broin +250000
Michael McGowan +250000
Parker Bell +250000
Edoardo Molinari +250000
Otto Black +250000
Sung Kang +500000
John Chin +500000
Charles Reiter +500000