With the 2020 US Open teeing off today, we spoke to US golf journalist Mike Bailey ahead of the second major of the year, in a special edition of The Buildup podcast, in association with Ladbrokes.
Mike talked us through what promises to be a really tough course in Winged Foot West, New York, with some of the most challenging greens imaginable. Who can win it? Overall, it's going to favour the long hitters who can give themselves easier approach shots to those tricky greens, and while Dustin Johnson may be a huge favourite, Mike has a few selections that he thinks could do well.
Bryson DeChambeau 25-1
250mph? It's insane. The guy put on ... what ... 45 pounds of muscle? And he hits it really straight while doing that [driving long], so I figure that's worth taking a chance. He's a pretty good putter and he's so uncoventional with his golf swing. He seems like a really good fit for Winged Foot. If he can keep it in the fairways he's going to be really tough.
John Rahm 9-1
He's really rounding into form. He had a bit of temper before, where sometimes I think he would let it get the best of him but now I'm thinking back to that tournament this year where he had a two stroke penalty that he didn't even know about until the end. He wound up making bogey but he still won and he seemed to brush it off, he didn't have any problem with it...
He seems to really be maturing now. He's super talented; hits it far, great short game, great putter as well, so I think he's got a shot of winning this too.
Tony Finau 28-1
I love Tony Finau's game. I think if he's on form, he certainly hits it long enough. This is a guy who hits it long without really going after it. His normal, nice swing is long enough and he has all the tools as well. If he's on form he's definitely got a chance.
Matthew Fitzpatrick 45-1 and Matthew Wolff 50-1
I think those guys have an outside shot, and I love Matthew Wolff. I love that golf swing - he's so much fun to watch - and he's pretty long and usually pretty accurate, which is what you need at Winged Foot.
Odds: Ladbrokes.com
You can listen to our full chat with Mike below, and also don't forget to check out our second The Buildup podcast of the week, where we chat to Stephen Ferris ahead of the European Champions Cup quarter-finals. You can find it and all our other episodes on The Buildup on Balls.ie podcast feed here. Please gamble responsibly and you can visit Dunlewey.net for more information.
See Also: Bryson DeChambeau Says That He Wants To Live To Be '130 Or 140'
