124th U.S. Open: Who are the experts picking to win the third major championship of 2024 (2024)

The fight to hoist the U.S. Open Trophy at the conclusion of America’s National Championship begins on Thursday.

With many of the world’s best players on hand for the third major tournament of the year, any player in the field has an opportunity to be victorious on Sunday.

Who will that player be to win the U.S. Open and hoist the trophy on Sunday at Pinehurst No. 2?

Here is a look at who some of the golf experts are picking.

PGA Tour selects favorites, plus Tommy Fleetwood

Will Gray: Tommy Fleetwood

Through the PGA Tour’s weekly Expert Picks, Will Gray is selecting Tommy Fleetwood because of his recent success with four straight Top 26 finishes, including a T13 at the Wells Fargo Championship. Gray also notes that Fleetwood has been in the mix before. At the Masters two months ago, Fleetwood tied for third and tied for fifth at last year’s U.S. Open in Los Angeles.

Ben Everill: Collin Morikawa

Ben Everill is going with Collin Morikawa because of how successful he has been with his ball striking as he was the runner-up to Scottie Scheffler last week at the Memorial by one stroke after a couple of fourth place finishes at the Charles Schwab Challenge and the PGA Championship. Everill is also pick Morikawa as the player to win in the ‘without Scheffler” betting market.

Chris Breece: Collin Morikawa

Like Everill, Chris Breece is also choosing Morikawa. Breece said Morikawa is “going to get a big win at some point.” With a win, Morikawa would get the third leg of the career grand slam and one Masters Tournament away from completing it. Breece also said that the metrics favor him at U.S. Open and to Pinehurst No. 2 specifically, while noting the consistency as of late.

Matt Delvecchio: Rory McIlroy

Matt Delvecchio is going in a different direction in Rory McIlroy He said that while Scheffler will win three majors this year, he does support Scheffler’s odds in a 156-man field. As a result, he goes with McIlroy in the perspective of the Northern Irishman needing to seize where he is at right now, playing at No. 3 in the world, but without a major in a decade.

Also Read: Where Rory McIlroy stands among the list of U.S. Open Champions

Rob Bolton: Scottie Scheffler

The next six picks from the PGA Tour are through their season-long fantasy picks where they list four starters and two bench spots, in addition to their winning pick. Rob Bolton is going with Scheffler, who is the first player with at least five wins in a PGA Tour season since Justin Thomas in 2016-17, because he knows that where he can get the most points to not only have success, but to win.

Sean Martin: Collin Morikawa

Sean Martin is picking Morikawa because of his iron play needing to be on point and accurate this week. Morikawa, who has a T3 and a T4 in the first majors of 2024. When Morikawa won the Open Championship 2021 for his second major win, everyone was talking about that it was his iron play that helped him win and remains one of the best iron players on the PGA Tour.

Christian Skaret: Viktor Hovland

Christian Skaret is going with Viktor Hovland because of his high ball flight and the progress he has made in his short game is what can be a success at Pinehurst No. 2. In his last two starts at the PGA Championship and the Memorial, Hovland has his two best finishes of the season in a third place and a T15, respectively.

Cameron Morfit: Xander Schauffele

Cameron Morfit is going with the reigning PGA Championship winner to have success once again on a major championship platform. Morfit said Xander Schauffele knows how to get hot and use that confidence as an advantage, referencing his nine straight top-20 finishes at major championships. He also has 10 top 10s already this season, which trails Scheffler by two and leads Ludvig Aberg and Moriawa by four

Brett Jungles: Scottie Scheffler

Scottie Scheffler is once again chosen to win, this time by Brett Jungles from the PGA Tour. Jungles is picking the No. 1 player in the world because he does not believe this is a week to go against the best player in the world. Scheffler finished third and tied for second in the previous two U.S. Opens as he looks to get win and achieve the second leg off the grand slam.

Golf.com makes their picks, picking the favorites, plus Matsuyama, DeChambeau and Homa

Ryan Barath: Scottie Scheffler

Ryan Barath is going with Scheffler as a result of being the best ball and one of the best chippers on the planet. Having both of those attributes are going to be vital this week at Pinehurst No. 2 as Scheffler is trying to become the first player since Tiger Woods in 2009 with six wins in a season.

Alan Bastable: 2020 U.S. Open Champion, Bryson DeChambeau

Alan Bastable from Golf.com is going with Bryson DeChambeau following his sixth-place finish at the Masters and his runner-up at the PGA Championship. DeChambeau is looking his second U.S. Open victory, this time with fans in attendance after winning in 2020 at Winged Foot during the COVID-19 pandemic and that major championship was pushed back to September that year.

Adam Christensen: Scottie Scheffler

Adam Christensen is going with Scottie Scheffler because Scheffler’s game with his approach shots and around the green are his strengths. This season, Scheffler leads the PGA Tour in strokes gained approach by more than half a stroke and is 14^th this season ins strokes gained around the green. Scheffler also leads the PGA Tour this season in greens in regulation percentage (73.52%) and proximity to the hole (34 feet, two inches).

James Colgan: Xander Schauffele

James Colgan is picking Xander Schauffele to become the first player to win back-to-back major championships since Brooks Koepka in 2018 when he won the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open. Colgan noted that since the notion of coming close but not winning a major championship has ended, Schauffele can win multiple times. One the keys for Schauffele is that he ranks second on the PGA Tour in both avoiding three-putts and bogeys.

Nick Dimengo: Bryson DeChamebeau

Nick Dimengo is picking DeChambeau to raise the U.S. Open on Sunday because of his showmanship to add with his success he brought during the PGA Championship. Having that joy and positive mentality can go a long way, especially during a week where the pressure and adrenaline are high and the seriousness of trying to win a major championship kicks in.

Also read: U.S. Open FAQ: Everything you need to know about the third major of 2024

Connor Federico: Max Homa

Connor Federico is picking Max Homa following last year’s narrative how Wyndham Clark emerged victorious in Los Angeles. Clark views Homa as an up-and-coming PGA Tour player to claim his first major championship. Homa has a T3 at the Masters and a T35 at the PGA Championship for his best 1-2 start to a major championship season. Federico also notes how Homa is one of the game’s most likable characters with his charisma both on the course and on social media.

Jack Hirsh: Scottie Scheffler

Jack Hirsh is picking Scheffler to win the U.S. Open because he simply cannot find a reason not to pick him. Even after getting arrested and not having his caddie, Ted Scott for the third round (when he shot a 73) during the PGA Championship, he still went on and recorded a top 10, finishing tied for eighth.

Jessica Marksbury: Scottie Scheffler

Like Hirsh, Jessica Marksbury is also choosing Scheffler to win this week. Marksbury mentioned that Scheffler worst finish on a leaderboard is 17^th and that was when he shot a whopping 21-under par at The American Express in January. Add in what took place at Valhalla last month during the PGA Championship and can not picture, especially right now, him not being in contention this week.

Zephyr Melton: Collin Morikawa

Zephyr Melton is choosing Collin Morikawa, who has two top five finishes in majors this season. Melton als recognizes and Morikawa is probably best suited for Pinehurst No. 2 than anybody else in the field, led by his iron and approach play.

Nick Piastowski: Hideki Matsuyama

Nick Piastowski is going in a different direction like a few others in Hideki Matsuyama. The 2021 Masters Champion has been excellent in everything this year, but his putting. (Scheffler and other top players are the same way) Matsuyama, who won The Genesis Invitational at Riviera earlier this year, is top 10 on the PGA Tour in strokes gained: around the green (1^st), tee to green (3^rd) and total (6^th), while his putting ranks 133^rd.

Related: U.S. Open Tee times, TV Scehedule and which featured group Hideki Matsuyama is apart of for the first two rounds

Josh Sens: Cameron Smith

Like Piastowski, Josh Sens going in a different direction in Cameron Smith. Sens is picking the Aussie, not for his driver play, but for his short game. Seens also noted the previous success Smith has on undulating course designs, having won the Open Championship at St. Andrews and having three top 10s in the last four years at the Masters.

Sean Zak: Scottie Scheffler

Sean Zak is picking Scottie Scheffler simply because “it feel professionally irresponsible” to pick any golfer to win a tournament right now. Scheffler is the first player since Arnold Palmer in 1962 to have five wins in a season before a U.S. Open. In 1962, Palmer won eight times that year, including the Masters and Open Championship. In the U.S. Open that year, he lost in a playoff to Nickalus, which began their historic rivalry.

Josh Berhow: Xander Schauffele

Josh Berlow is picking Xander Schauffele to be victorious for the second straight major, noting his strength of avoiding bogeys, his approach play, which ranks sixth on the PGA Tour, and his scrambling play, which leads the PGA Tour this season. In addition, Schauffele is the first player to begin a U.S. Open career with seven straight top-15 finishes since Bobby Jones had 11 straight top-15 finishes from 1920-30.

Also read: Where Xander Schauffele currest stands among the top 15 in the latest world golf rankings

The Athletic makes their picks, going with the recent hot hands

Dennis Esser: Bryson DeChambeau

The Athletic’s trio of pickers makes their selections every week. Of the three, Dennis Esser made the first pick, going with Bryson DeChambeau as a result of his excellence in majors championships this year.

Brody Miller: Viktor Hovland

Brody Miller is the middle man in this draft, going with Viktor Hovland. Miller feels that Hovland has done enough to regain his 2023 form with his runner up at the PGA Championship and the possibility of fitting into the course at Pinehurst No. 2.

Hugh Kellenberger: Scottie Scheffler

Scottie Scheffler. That’s the answer for Kellenberger as he looks for victory No. 6 this year to be his second major win of 2024.

Related: How Scottie Scheffler and 82 others earn exemptions into the U.S. Open field

Golf Digest makes their selection

The Golf Digest’s panel of experts to select the winner of the U.S. Open consists of an anonymous caddie on site at Pinehurst No. 2, Pat Mayo of Underdog and Mayo Media Network, Brandon Gdula of numberFire and FanDuel, Andy Lack of RunPureSports.com, Keith Stewart, the CEO of Read the Line and Golf Digest’s Christopher Powers and Stephen Hennessey.

Also: U.S. Open Future Sites: Where the next U.S. Open Championship events will take place