The Champions Tour will continue this week with the best golfers 50-years-old or older making their way to the Scioto Country Club in Columbus Ohio for the U.S. Senior Open Championship. There will be $3.75 million in prize money up for grabs this week with the field set to tee off beginning Thursday morning at 7:30 AM eastern time. The field is absolutely loaded for this week’s event with some familiar faces in the mix among the sports betting favorites to win the tournament outright.
Event Details
Event: U.S. Senior Open Championship
Category: Champions
Date: August 11-14
Location: Scioto Country Club, Columbus, Ohio
With the 2016 Rio Olympics altering the schedules on the PGA, LPGA and European tour the Champions Tour will take a bigger share of the spotlight this week. Miguel Angel Jimenez nearly stole the show at the 3M Championship a week ago before conceding a playoff victory to Joe Durant and we could see some similar drama this week at the U.S. Senior Open Championship.
Past Five Winners
2015: Jeff Maggert -10
2014: Colin Montgomerie -5
2013: Kenny Perry -13
2012: Roger Chapman -10
2011: Olin Browne -15
What To Know About The Course
Short game prowess will be the key to success once again this week in Columbus including Greens In Regulation and putting statistics. The Scioto is one of only four courses to host the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship, the Ryder Cup and the U.S. Amateur so the majority of the field will have plenty of experience here. The course is listed as a par-70, 7,140-yard course for this year’s U.S. Senior Open Championship and that should translate to some strong scoring numbers this weekend.
The Field
Jimenez rallied with an incredible comeback to force a playoff with Durant a week ago and nearly won the 3M Championship with a birdie on the first playoff hole but fell just short thanks to an eagle from Durant. Jimenez enters this week as the outright betting favorite at +450 odds with some sportsbooks also listed Bernhard Langer as a co-favorite at +450. Vijay Singh, Colin Montgomerie and Durant all have experience at this course and are among the top-five picks according to the sportsbooks but there is at least one strong value play that might be worth taking a chance on as a potential top-five pick.
A Good Matchup To Bet: Miguel Angel Jimenez over Bernhard Langer
Jimenez’s flurry to finish last week’s 3M Championship inspired a level of confidence in him and we hope it will carry over to this week with him listed as a co-favorite to win outright with Langer. Jimenez has come close including blowing a four-shot lead at the Senior British Open but we feel he is overdue for an outright win. We are putting our money down on this being the week when he finally gets the job done. And in this type of a bet, you’re still just backing Jimenez to have a good week. It’s not as much risk as laying the +450 for him to win, although that option would return a larger payout. Jimenez has one result this season where he’s finished outside of the Top 5 and that was at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai in January when he placed 11th. Other than that, he has finished in the Top 5 in six straight events, including a win and three second-place results.
Langer isn’t a terrible pick for this week but we like Jimenez to come out on top in the head-to-head betting matchup.
Top-Five Pick: Billy Andrade
Andrade is one of the best player on the Champions Tour without a win so far this season, but he has the perfect game for this event so perhaps this is the week when he finally breaks through. Listed as a +3050 long shot to pull out the victory this week, we like having Andrade as an excellent sleeper value pick to turn some heads and surprise with a top-five finish while contending for the outright victory.
Top 10 Odds To Win The U.S. Senior Open Championship
Miguel Angel Jimenez +450
Bernhard Langer +450
Vijay Singh +850
Colin Montgomerie +1015
Joe Durant +1050
Jeff Maggert +2050
Kevin Sutherland +2050
Scott McCarron +2050
Scott Dunlap +3050
Billy Andrade +3050
