2024 U.S. Open picks, predictions, odds, field: Golf expert high on ...

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