3 picks from our expert

Welcome to our weekly PGA Tour gambling-tips column, featuring picks from GOLF.com’s expert prognosticator Brady Kannon. A seasoned golf bettor and commentator, Kannon is a host and regular guest on SportsGrid, a syndicated audio network devoted to sports and sport betting, and is a golf betting analyst for CBS Sportsline. You can follow Brady on Twitter at @LasVegasGolfer, and you can read his picks below for the 2025 U.S. Open, which gets underway next week at Oakmont.

Coming up next week, the world of golf turns to the quasquicentennial anniversary of the United States Open Championship, which will take place at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania for a record 10th time. If you are looking to buy your sweetheart a celebratory stone for the occasion, there is not one universally recognized for a 125th anniversary, but 100 years is celebrated with a 10-carat diamond and the 25-year jubilee is traditionally recognized with silver.

I’m guessing the Rolling Stones were not referring to this noteworthy golf milestone when they sang, “you got the silver, you got the gold, you got the diamonds…” but the winner of the 125th U.S. Open will receive a roughly nine-pound trophy made of sterling silver.

I started placing wagers on who would win this year’s championship back in January. I landed on my first two selections after the conclusion of the Farmers Insurance Open and the Genesis Invitational, both held this season at Torrey Pines.

Harris English (150-1); Best Current Odds: 110-1

We landed correctly on English that week to win in La Jolla at 110-1. Knowing not only of English’s history at the U.S. Open but also of Torrey Pines as a two-time host of this major championship, I decided to take a stab. In nine trips to this event, English has never missed the cut. He finished fourth in 2020 at Winged Foot, third in 2021 at Torrey Pines, and was eighth in 2023 at Los Angeles Country Club. In 2025, in addition to the win at the Farmers, English was 12th at the Masters and was runner-up to Scottie Scheffler last month at the PGA Championship. For me, he very much fits the mold of the prototypical U.S. Open-type player: Hit it long, straight, hit greens in regulation, and make some putts. English ranks 29th on Tour in Total Driving, 62nd for GIR, and 20th in Strokes Gained: Putting. Maybe for the 10th anniversary of English’s playing in the U.S. Open, he’ll receive a diamond, a 10-carat diamond, silver, and a sterling silver trophy.

Tommy Fleetwood (50-1); Best Current Odds: 40-1

I played Fleetwood just a few weeks later when he finished fifth at Torrey Pines — this time for the Genesis Invitational, which was moved from Riviera Country Club due to the fires in Pacific Palisades. Fleetwood’s best major in his career has been the U.S. Open. He too has played this event nine times. He has only missed the cut twice and has three top-5 finishes, including a runner-up at Shinnecock Hills in 2018. He has played 12 tournaments on Tour this season and has yet to miss a cut. He has finished fourth recently at two very U.S. Open-type tracks in Colonial CC and the Philadelphia Cricket Club. In his 12 starts in 2025, he’s finished top-20 eight times. Fleetwood ranks 67th on Tour in Total Driving, 11th for Strokes Gained: Approach, and is 48th in Strokes Gained: Putting.

Sepp Straka (66-1); Best Current Odds: 55-1

I made this play at the end of May, just prior to the beginning of the Memorial Tournament. At that time, Straka was off his recent win at the Truist Championship, his second win on the season. I believe all my early selections are what I noted earlier, quintessential U.S. Open-type players and Straka is no exception. He is not especially long off the tee but he is deadly accurate and ranks 37th on Tour for Strokes Gained: Off the Tee. He is second for Strokes Gained: Approach and 16th in Strokes Gained: Putting. Straka ended up third at the Memorial that week for what was his fifth top-10 finish of the season, including the two victories. Not including the two wins and outside of the top-10 finishes, Straka has finished top 15 another six times.

We’ll be back with the final card next week.