2013 U.S. Open Odds + Event & Field Info, Tee Times, TV Coverage

It's time for the second Major Championship of the year, beginning on Thursday, June 13th through Sunday, June 16th. The 2013 U.S. Open will be contested at Merion Country Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania. This is the second trip to the northeast for the U.S. Open in the last five years, with the Black Course at Bethpage the last in 2009. It's the first in Pennsylvania since 2007 at Oakmont. Merion is no stranger to hosting a U.S. Open, but this will be the first in 32 years.

ESPN and NBC will team up for coverage on all four days. ESPN will have coverage early on Thursday and Friday, with NBC taking over for part of the afternoon, and then back to ESPN for the conclusion of the day. Then on the weekend, it will be all NBC, as they will pick things up in the afternoon and televise until the final putt drops each day. Highlights of the day’s events will also be available all day on the Golf Channel.

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The U.S. Open

Put on by the United States Golf Association, the U.S. Open is one of the premiere events in the world. On the calendar, it's the second Major Championship of the season, following the Masters. The U.S. Open is widely regarded as the most difficult test that the PGA tour will face all season, and the USGA prides itself on that. They shoot for an Even par score to win the tournament. Sometimes we get lower than that, and then sometimes there isn't a single player in the field to break par.

Merion Golf Club in Pennsylvania will host the 2013 U.S. Open. This is the fifth time that Merion will be the site of a U.S. Open, the last coming in 1981. Merion was opened in 1912, and has played a big part in some of the most notable events in golf throughout its years.

The 2013 U.S. Open at Merion will be set up as a Par-70. And while on the card it says 6,800 yards, expect the USGA to lengthen that to over 7,000 to create more of a test.

The winner of the U.S. Open will receive just under $1.5 million, along with 600 FedEx Cup points, and forever be placed in the history of the game.

What Happened In 2012?

The 2012 U.S. Open was not without serious drama throughout as we've come to expect in a Major Championship. At the end of the day, it was Webb Simpson who won by a single shot over Graeme McDowell. As a testament to how difficult The Olympic Club played all week, there was not a player in the field who finished under par all week. Simpson went out and won the event on Sunday though, as the only player under par in the final three groups, with a 2-under round of 68. There were a number of notables in contention during the week, including Tiger Woods, who was tied for the lead through 36 holes before falling apart on the weekend. In the end, it was a very exciting U.S. Open that has us looking forward to 2013.

The 2013 U.S. Open

Tiger Woods hasn't won a Major championship in five years, with his last coming in 2008 at the U.S. Open in Torrey Pines. And as the 2013 U.S. Open gears up for Thursday this week, Woods comes in as the big favorite to put Major win No.15 on the board. But a win at Merion on Sunday definitely won't come easy. Not only are some of the top players in the world playing well right now, but Merion has the potential to bring in new contenders with the fact that it is a golf course that plays under 7,000 yards.

Merion is actually the first U.S. Open golf course since 2004 to play under 7,000 yards. But then again, the USGA makes it their mission to set up the U.S. Open course for the year as the most difficult test that players will face all year. Pars will now feel like birdies, and a great bogey save could even feel like a birdie as well.

As for the betting odds to win the 2013 U.S. Open, it looks like Woods and then everyone else. Bovada Sportsbook has come out with their week-of betting lines, with the No.1 ranked player in the world well in front. Of course, let's not start engraving the trophy just yet. If anything, the Memorial Tournament a few weeks ago taught us that Woods is still very human in spite of the four victories already this year.

Odds To Win 2013 U.S. Open

Tiger Woods 9/2 (+450) - Woods is set at 9 to 2 this week on the overall odds to win the U.S. Open from Merion. Woods has three U.S. Open wins in his career, but like we said, it's been five years since his last Major championship win. But if you take out that round at Memorial where he shot a 79, it's arguably been his best start ever to a year. The wins prove that. Woods will need to get off to a nice start in the first round to build some early momentum.

Adam Scott 20/1 (+2000) - The Masters champion earlier this year is the only player with a chance at the elusive Grand Slam. After all, you have to win the first in order to have a shot at the rest. This is Scott's first Major championship as a Major champion. He will have plenty of attention on him with his pairing in the first two days.

Matt Kuchar 20/1 (+2000) - Kuchar is one of the most consistent golfers on the PGA Tour. The guy is always in contention. He won the Memorial Tournament against a field as good as this one will be at Merion. There is no question that is Kuchar makes some putts, he is good enough off the tee to be a serious threat to claim his first Major.

Phil Mickelson 20/1 (+2000) - It's strange to think that Mickelson doesn't have a U.S. Open win. He has come close so many times, and really should have won it back in 2006. Lefty likes to play the week before a Major championship, and had success at the St. Jude Classic last week. The plan has worked so far, but how he performs beginning Thursday remains to be seen.

Rory McIlroy 20/1 (+2000) - McIlroy is that other piece to the three some on Thursday and Friday that will get most of the attention. He, along with Woods and Scott will go out on Thursday afternoon. The 2011 U.S. Open champion has been hot and cold this year. But we all know that if he brings it, he will be on the leaderboard with a chance for U.S. Open win No.2.

2013 U.S.Open Betting Odds - lines found at Bovada on 6/10/2013
Tiger Woods 9/2 Adam Scott 20/1 Matt Kuchar 20/1 Phil Mickelson 20/1 Rory McIlroy 20/1 Graeme McDowell 22/1 Justin Rose 25/1 Brandt Snedeker 28/1 Charl Schwartzel 28/1 Lee Westwood 28/1 Luke Donald 33/1 Sergio Garcia 33/1 Dustin Johnson 40/1 Jason Day 40/1 Jim Furyk 40/1 Keegan Bradley 40/1 Steve Stricker 40/1 Webb Simpson 40/1 Hunter Mahan 50/1 Jason Dufner 50/1 Louis Oosthuizen 50/1 Matteo Manassero 50/1 Bill Haas 66/1 Bubba Watson 66/1 Ernie Els 66/1 Henrik Stenson 66/1 Ian Poulter 66/1 Rickie Fowler 66/1 Angel Cabrera 80/1 Billy Horschel 80/1 Bo Van Pelt 80/1 Francesco Molinari 80/1 Martin Kaymer 80/1 Nick Watney 80/1 Padraig Harrington 80/1 Tim Clark 80/1 Zach Johnson 80/1 Boo Weekley 100/1 Fredrik Jacobson 100/1 K.J. Choi 100/1	Kevin Chappell 100/1 Kevin Streelman 100/1 Martin Laird 100/1 Peter Hanson 100/1 Russell Henley 100/1 Ryan Moore 100/1 Scott Stallings 100/1 Thorbjorn Olesen 100/1 Nicolas Colsaerts 125/1 Branden Grace 150/1 Carl Pettersson 150/1 Charley Hoffman 150/1 DA Points 150/1 David Toms 150/1 Geoff Ogilvy 150/1 George Coetzee 150/1 Gonzalo Fdez-Castano 150/1 John Huh 150/1 John Senden 150/1 Jordan Speith 150/1 Lucas Glover 150/1 Marc Leishman 150/1 Michael Thompson 150/1 Paul Casey 150/1 Robert Garrigus 150/1 Robert Karlsson 150/1 Sang Moon Bae 150/1 Scott Piercy 150/1 Thongchai Jaidee 150/1 Hideki Matsuyama 200/1 Marcel Siem 200/1 Stewart Cink 200/1 Aaron Baddeley 250/1 Brandt Jobe 250/1 David Hearn 250/1 David Howell 250/1 Jaco Van Zyl 250/1 Jamie Donaldson 250/1 Jerry Kelly 250/1 John Peterson 250/1 Josh Teater 250/1	Justin Hicks 250/1 Luke Guthrie 250/1 Marcus Fraser 250/1 Morgan Hoffman 250/1 Rory Sabbatini 250/1 Shawn Stefani 250/1 Yong-Eun Yang 250/1 Brendan Steele 300/1 Brian Stuard 300/1 Casey Wittenberg 300/1 David Lingmerth 300/1 Edward Loar 300/1 Scott Langley 300/1 Ted Potter Jr. 300/1 Matthew Goggin 400/1 Simon Khan 400/1 Adam Hadwin 500/1 Alistair Presnell 500/1 Darren Clarke 500/1 Doug Labelle 500/1 Estanislao Goya 500/1 Hiroyuki Fujita 500/1 Jim Herman 500/1 Joe Ogilvie 500/1 John Parry 500/1 Jose Maria Olazabal 500/1 Matt Bettencourt 500/1 Matt Weibring 500/1 Nicholas Thompson 500/1 Cheng-Tsung Pan 1000/1 Chris Doak 1000/1 Chris WIlliams 1000/1 Cliff Kresge 1000/1 Jay Don Blake 1000/1 Kevin Phelan 1000/1 Peter Hedblom 1000/1 Roger Tambellini 1000/1 Steven Alker 1000/1 Wil Collins 1000/1 Yui Ueda 1000/1

Our Picks

The Winner - PGABettingOdds.com is going to go with a first-time Major winner to break through in the U.S. Open at Merion this week. Although he is a top-five favorite, Matt Kuchar has yet to win a Major championship, which is very surprising. But if there is a course that sets up well for him, this could be the one. Merion is not very long, and rewards straight hitters. Kuchar fits the profile of a Merion winner perfectly. At 20/1, bettors can also get a nice payout.

Darkhorse Value Bet - Picking a darkhorse at the U.S. Open is always a wildcard, because there are typically several players that come from way off the radar and into contention. Looking down the list, we are going to go with Zach Johnson. Johnson has a Major win under his belt at the 2007 Masters where he famously laid up on all of the par-5s. With Merion not measuring long, Johnson is another player who could get into contention. He has the makeup to win a Major, we already know that.

Notable Pairings

The 2013 U.S. Open has presented us with some great pairings to take notice of over the course of the first two days at Merion.

Betting odds have already been formed for the threesomes for the first round. 3 Ball betting odds for the U.S. Open will be up all week long, which certainly provides plenty of time to get in on the action

Leading the way is the pairing of the top-three ranked players in the world. That would be Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and Adam Scott. The galleries following the group might break some records. They go off at 1:14pm ET on Thursday, and then 7:14am ET on Friday. Woods is out in front of this group at +125 on the moneyline to record the lowest score in this top pairing. McIlroy comes in second at +200, with Scott at +225.

But the pairings that fans will be excited about certainly does not end there. Phil Mickelson (+150) will be matched up with Steve Stricker (+180) and Keegan Bradley (+200) for the first 36 holes, all three of which are considered top favorites. It's an early tee time for them on Thursday, at 7:11am ET, but then will be in the afternoon wave on Friday.

And as we continue down the list, we have Matt Kuchar (+150) alongside Justin Rose (+180), and Brandt Snedeker (+200) This group will go in the morning at 7:22am ET, and then will be on the opposite side of the draw for Friday's round.