US Open Golf Tournament History, Legends, Tournament Preview And Tips

Last year’s 2022 US Open took place amidst a storm of controversy over the departure of several top stars to the new LIV Golf organisation.

This year though, the furore has died down a little but there will still be an undercurrent between LIV Golf players and other tour professionals after Brooks Koepka’s win at the USPGA Championship last month.

With Jon Rahm having won the 2023 Masters, the forthcoming US Open, hosted for the first time at Los Angeles Country Club, in California, promises to be an exacting test of golf.

The USGA are not known for giving golfers an easy time of things at the US Open, leaving rough to be much more punitive, narrowing fairways and speeding up greens and the like to ensure as tough a test of golf as is possible.

And this year’s tournament looks like being as tough as any other.

So in this article, we are going to take a look at the history of this famous tournament, some of its most successful players, it’s venues and of course, we’ll focus in on 2023 in particular with a look at the course and also some of the top players to consider backing if you fancy a bet on the outcome.

As always, odds are provided by bet365 Sport and were correct at the time of writing but may have changed in the meantime.

So let’s begin with a look at the history of this famous golfing tournament.

The History of the US Open

The US Open began in 1895 with the first tournament held at the Newport Country Club in Rhode Island. Horace Rawlins, an Englishman, won the first tournament and in its formative years, it was won predominantly by golfers from England and Scotland.

1911 saw the first US winner of the event in 19-year-old John McDermott, who still is the youngest player ever to win this major Championship.

However since 1911, US players have enjoyed huge success in the tournament, winning it 82 times in total, with Scotland the next most successful country with 10 winners, England have eight and South Africa five.

63 is the lowest score shot in any round at the US Open, with the lowest winning score being 16-under par (by Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka).

Who are the Most Successful Golfers in US Open History?

Just four golfers have won the US Open four times in their career. They were:

• Willie Anderson (Sco)
• Bobby Jones (USA)
• Ben Hogan (USA)
• Jack Nicklaus (USA)

Two players have won the event three times, Tiger Woods and Hale Irwin, both of the United States.

There have been sixteen two-time US Open Champions and they are:

• Alex Smith (Sco)
• John McDermott (USA)
• Walter Hagen (USA)
• Gene Sarazen (USA)
• Ralph Guidahl (USA)
• Cary Middlecoff (USA)
• Julius Boros (USA)
• Billy Casper (USA)
• Lee Trevino (USA)
• Andy North (USA)
• Curtis Strange (USA)
• Ernie Els (RSA)
• Lee Janzen (USA)
• Retief Goosen (RSA)
• Brooks Koepka (USA)

Which Courses Have Hosted The US Open Most Often?

LACC may be hosting the tournament for the first time in 2023, but there are a number of courses that have hosted the tournament on numerous occasions.

Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania holds the record for most US Opens hosted with nine, two clear of Baltusrol in New Jersey with seven, with Pebble Beach (CA), Winged Foot (NY) and Oakland Hills (MI) all hosting it six times.

Three courses have hosted the tournament five times, Merion (PA), Olympic Club (CA) and Shinnecock Hills (NY).

52 different courses across the US have been used for the tournament since it was first contested in 1895.

US Open 2023 – Preview

• Venue – Los Angeles Country Club, Los Angeles, California
• Dates – 15^th June to 18^th June 2023
• Competitors – 156 players
• 2022 Defending Champion – Matthew Fitzpatrick (England)

Los Angeles Country Club In Review

Known for some of its very long par fours over the final five holes, plus one 620+ yard par five, LACC will be a fitting home for the 2023 US Open. The full list of holes and pars are shown below:

LACC – Holes

• 1^st – 590 yards (par 5)
• 2^nd – 497 yards (par 4)
• 3^rd – 419 yards (par 4)
• 4^th – 228 yards (par 3)
• 5^th – 480 yards (par 4)
• 6^th – 330 yards (par 4)
• 7^th – 284 yards (par 3)
• 8^th – 537 yards (par 5)
• 9^th – 171 yards (par 3) – Out – 3536 yards (par 35)
• 10^th – 409 yards (par 4)
• 11^th – 290 yards (par 3)
• 12^th – 380 yards (par 4)
• 13^th – 507 yards (par 4)
• 14^th – 623 yards (par 5)
• 15^th – 124 yards (par 3)
• 16^th – 542 yards (par 4)
• 17^th – 520 yards (par 4)
• 18^th – 492 yards (par 4) In – 3887 yards (par 35)

The 156 Competitors

Who is in?

There are a total of nine former winners of this tournament taking part in this year’s event and they are Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson, Gary Woodland, John Rahm and Matt Fitzpatrick.

They are amongst the winners of the US Open in the past ten years to receive an automatic invite.

Other ways to qualify include:

• Top 10 finishers at the previous year’s US Open
• Winner of the US Senior Open Championship
• Winners of the US Amateur Championship, NCAA Men’s Championship, Latin America Amateur Championship & the British Amateur Championship plus the top ranked Amateur in the world.
• Winners of the US Junior Amateur, US Mid-Amateur and Runner up at the US Amateur qualify.
• Winner of The Masters, The Open and USPGA Championship for the last five years.
• The last 3 Winners of The Player’s Championship
• Win the most recent BMW PGA Championship
• Qualify for the Tour Championship
• Win multiple PGA Tour events
• Earn enough FedEx Cup Ranking points
• Win the Korn Ferry Tour Points List.
• Earn enough 2022 DP World Tour Ranking Points.
• Earn a high enough spot in the 2022 Race to Dubai rankings.
• Top 2 points earners from European Qualifying series.
• Anyone not already qualified who is ranked inside the world rankings top 60 on both May 22 and also June 12.
• Be granted a special exemption.

Any remaining positions in the 156-man tournament are awarded to winners of a number of local qualifying and Final Qualifying events, 13 of which are held around the world (10 in the US and one each in Canada, the UK and Japan).

How many places are available depends on the number of exemptions awarded based on the criteria above.

Notable Absentees

Tiger Woods leads the list of absentee players from the event as he recovers from ankle surgery.

Will Zalatoris is another that will miss out through injury.

Others not yet qualified include Ian Poulter, Webb Simpson, Paul Casey, Danny Willett, Lee Westwood and Graham McDowell.

Who Should I Back to Win the 2023 US Open?

Before we begin to go into a bit more detail, here’s the latest odds from bet365 Sport showing players rated at better than a 100/1 chance to win the tournament.

• 15/2 fav – Scottie Scheffler
• 8/1 – Jon Rahm
• 9/1 – Rory McIlroy
• 11/1 – Brooks Koepka
• 14/1 – Patrick Cantlay
• 18/1 – Victor Hovland
• 20/1 – Xander Schauffele, Colin Morikawa
• 22/1 – Jordan Spieth
• 25/1 – Max Homa, Cam Smith
• 30/1 – Justin Thomas, Tony Finau
• 33/1 – Matt Fitzpatrick, Dustin Johnson, Hideki Matsuyama
• 35/1 – Sungjae Im, Jason Day
• 40/1 – Shane Lowry, Cameron Young, Tyrrell Hatton
• 50/1 – Sam Burns, Justin Rose, Bryson DeChambeau, Tommy Fleetwood
• 60/1 – Joaquin Niemann, Corey Conners
• 66/1 – Adam Scott, Rickie Fowler, Joohyung Kim, Patrick Reed, Si Woo Kim
• 80/1 – Keegan Bradley, Min Woo Lee, Davis Riley
• 90/1 – Louis Oosthuizen
• 100/1 bar

While backing a player to win is appealing given the odds, I do feel each way betting is by far the best way to go on Major tournaments, so I will give you my pick for someone to back to the event, as well as a number of other players to consider as an each way bet

• To Win – Cam Smith – 25/1

The current British Open Champion has been a little out of the picture so far this season, but his form is coming together now and I think he should be in a good position to make a strong run at the title here.

• Each Way – Patrick Cantlay (14/1), Collin Morikawa (20/1), Justin Thomas (30/1), Tommy Fleetwood (50/1), Joaquin Niemann (60/1)

All of these five options offer a good bet as an each way punt.

Catch all the action from Los Angeles Country Club from the 15^th June as the third Major of the year will be contested!