Action Report: Local product Max Homa top betting liability ahead of U.S. Open

Another golf major is here with the U.S. Open from Los Angeles Country Club on June 15-18, which means another great week of golf betting.

The course hasn’t hosted a PGA TOUR event since the 1940s, so course knowledge is very limited this week. But one player who has played competitive rounds at LACC is Max Homa, who saw it during the 2013 Pac-12 Championship.

The L.A. native actually set the course record in that event with a 61.

Bettors at the BetMGM online sportsbookseem to be aware, because as of Wednesday Homa is drawing the third-most handle (8.1%) on the second-most tickets (6.9%).

Although Homa has largely struggled in majors (his best finish is a T-13 in 15 starts), he’s had tremendous success in California. Four of his six PGA TOUR wins, including this season’s Fortinet Championship and Farmers Insurance Open, have come in the state where he grew up.

Homa opened +5000 when odds were released last summer, but is now down to +2800. Those odds, combined with the flurry of action he has received, mean that Homa represents the largest outright liability for BetMGM heading into the opening round.

The player who has received the most individual bets is reigning PGA champ Brooks Koepka. The two-time U.S. Open champion and winner last month at Oak Hill is pulling in the most tickets (9.4%) and the highest handle (13.2%). His odds opened at +3300 last and are down to +1100. In nine U.S. Open appearances, he has five top-5 finishes.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is also generating a lot of action. The 26-year-old has the second-highest handle (11%) on the third-most tickets (6.6%) after missing a playoff by one shot in each of his last two starts. His odds are all the way down to +600 after opening at +1200, cementing him as a clear pre-tournament betting favorite.

Scheffler is on a tear of late, as he’s finished inside the top 12 in his last 16 events, including four straight top 5s.

Here’s a look at some of the other leaders at BetMGM for handle, tickets and overall liability:

Handle
1. Brooks Koepka – 13.2%
2. Scottie Scheffler – 11%
3. Max Homa – 8.1%
4. Jon Rahm – 7.4%
5. Viktor Hovland – 6.4%

Tickets
1. Brooks Koepka – 9.4%
2. Max Homa – 6.9%
3. Scottie Scheffler – 6.6%
4. Viktor Hovland – 6.1%
5. Jon Rahm – 5.9%

Hovland has seen his odds drop considerably following his second-place finish at the PGA Championship and winning the Memorial Tournament two weeks ago. Notably missing from the handle and ticket leaders is Justin Thomas, whose odds have drifted to +5000. But the two-time major winner did find support from one BetMGM bettor who put $5,000 on him at those odds and would win $250,000 if Thomas adds major No. 3 this week.

Among derivative markets, Koepka is pulling in the most tickets to finish in the top 5 (+250) and top 10 (+120). Meanwhile, England’s Tyrrell Hatton has the most tickets to finish in the top 20 (+120).

Phil Mickelson is the most-bet player to make the cut (+140), followed by Sahith Theegala (-190) and Rickie Fowler (-250), while Bryson DeChambeau (+170), Rory McIlroy (+350) and Cameron Young (+170) are the most bet-on players to miss the cut.

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