A very strong field and an extremely difficult course can't stop bookmakers from making Scottie Scheffler a historic favorite for the 125th U.S. Open. His incredibly short odds also aren't preventing bettors from backing him en masse.
Scheffler shows +275 odds to win the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club, according to ESPN BET odds. That makes him the largest favorite for any men's golf major since Tiger Woods was +225 or shorter for every major in 2009, though he would not win any of those tournaments. Scheffler surpasses his own personal best major odds of +325 going into the 2024 U.S. Open, where he ultimately finished tied for 41st.
The short odds and checkered history for big favorites isn't scaring away the betting public: ESPN BET reports over 50% of handle and a leading 22.6% of bets backing Scheffler to win at Oakmont.
"Scheffler's price entering tournament week reflects his consistent performances, knack for showing up in majors, and the outsized betting interest that he garners tournament after tournament, no matter how much of a favorite he is," ESPN BET VP of Sportsbook Strategy & Growth Adam Landeka said over email. "He's been the favorite for just about every tournament over the last few years, and as he's continued to perform, it was only a matter of time until we saw a historically short line like this."
In the sportsbook's yearlong U.S. Open market, Scheffler opened at +500 and continually shortened with his hot play in the first half of 2025, coming down to +400 after his PGA Championship win and +300 after his triumph at the Memorial Tournament. Despite the heavy support, Scheffler's very short odds mean he's not a terrible scenario for sportsbooks should he capture the third leg of his career grand slam.
"It's not that [the bettors] won't bet him, because they will bet him, it's just that they're going to take a much shorter price and we won't normally have exposure on that," DraftKings sportsbook director Johnny Avello told ESPN. "I think where the exposure may come in is where he's close to the lead and it's in-game wagering, and at that point is when I've noticed there's been a piling up on him [in the past]."
Aside from Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau, who is the second favorite on ESPN BET's oddsboard at +750, is also garnering meaningful public support marketwide, taking upwards of 15% of the handle at several major sportsbooks. The defending U.S. Open champion has seen his odds cut almost entirely in half from his opener at +1400.
Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy's odds have lengthened immensely amid his poor form: After winning The Masters in April, the 36-year-old was +550 to win the U.S. Open, but fell to +1150 after missing the cut at the Canadian Open and is currently +1400, per ESPN BET odds.
"There's no buzz, he's almost like a sleeper at this point," Caesars Sportsbook lead golf trader Anthony Salleroli told ESPN. "I thought for sure we would've had three single bullets coming into the U.S. Open if you asked me around the PGA Championship time, but Rory fell out of that class and now people can't get enough of two guys, Scheffler and DeChambeau."
The only other golfers garnering any sort of attention across the sportsbook marketplace are Jon Rahm (+1200), Ludvig Åberg (+2200), Collin Morikawa (+2500), Shane Lowry (+3300) and Harris English (+8000).
Bookmakers chalk up some of the gravitation towards favorites on the reported difficulty of Oakmont, which produced winning scores of -4 and +5 the last two times the U.S. Open was staged there.
"A U.S. Open at Oakmont is one of the toughest tests these players will face," BetMGM senior sports trader Matt Wall said in a release. "BetMGM customers are leaning towards the proven quality in the field."