Jordan Niebrugge
Jordan Niebrugge

US Open golf specials markets betting preview and tips


David John has a 200/1 first-round leader selection from the specials markets ahead of this week's US Open.

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1pt e.w. Jordan Niebrugge to be first-round leader at 200/1 (1/4 1,2,3,4,5) - local man out very early and chance to post a good score

2pts Stephan Jaeger to be Top German at 3/1 - hot form currently and could be a tad of value against the established Martin Kaymer

1pt Bernd Wiesberger for a top 20 finish at 9/2 - didn't fire in Austria last week but has the quality for a positive response

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There is an attractive price to be taken in the first-round leader market for Erin Hills and Wisconsin local Jordan Niebrugge is worth a roll of the dice on his US Open debut.

The 23-year-old will be in the opening group from the first tee on Thursday morning after emerging from qualifying in Tacoma to fulfil a childhood dream.

His family’s residence is just over 30 miles away in Mesqon outside of Milwaukee and Niebrugge said: “I used to walk this golf course thinking of the 2017 US Open.”

Well he now gets a crack at it for real and the former Oklahoma State (the same college as Rickie Fowler) All-American may well have what it takes to post a challenging score with the course at its pristine best.

Niebrugge is still getting to grips with life as professional and has decided to concentrate on the Mackenzie Tour in Canada to get some regular playing time having failed to make an impact as either a sponsors’ invite on the PGA Tour or as a member of the Web.com Tour.

His first event recently north of the border saw him finish T2 behind runaway winner Lee McCoy in Vancouver and the confidence he took from that display helped in his qualifying bid for the season’s second major.

A sparkling amateur career saw him claim the silver medal in the Open Championship at St Andrews in 2015 so producing on the big stage is not completely alien to him and he looks more than a little interesting in terms of potentially getting off to a fast start.

While Niebrugge has to beat the whole field for a maximum payout, I am going to take a chance that in-form Stephan Jaeger can eclipse sole rival Martin Kaymer and emerge this week as top German.

It is obviously a risky strategy going against the classy 2014 champion after he routed his field at Pinehurst No.2 to pick up his second major title but a humdrum run of recent form containing some big scores hardly inspires diving in at a very short price.

In comparison, Jaeger is enjoying a purple patch currently that has seen him win twice on the Web.com to secure his PGA Tour card for next season.

He is chasing a third success in that arena which would earn him an immediate battlefield promotion but the chance to compete at Erin Hills along the way is a very nice distraction having tied for first place in his qualifying section in Georgia.

Jaeger admits his game has suddenly started to fall into place and the man who shot a 58 on the way to glory in the Ellie Mae Classic last year can overcome Kaymer while he retains the hot hand. 

“I am playing better than I ever have and am looking forward to getting going,” he said after winning the Rust-Oleum Championship in neighbouring Illinois last weekend.

“Momentum is definitely a factor - it will be a tough week with firm and fast greens just like here. This was good preparation.”

Finally, in a seamless hop across the border from Germany into Austria, I am keen to side with Bernd Wiesberger in the top-20 betting. 

He has jetted over from supporting his national open just outside Vienna and it is fair to say things did not go to plan as he never really looked like justifying market leadership despite a move into a challenging position on Saturday. 

There were just too many errors from him at inopportune moments but he plugged away and a couple of late birdies on Sunday on the way to finishing in a tie for 15th at least got a cheer or two from the galleries.

Whether his focus was not quite where it should have been with a US Open just around the corner or simply down to an off-week, Wiesberger is much better than that and I expect to see a positive response.

He is a winner already this season on the European Tour in China and the way he plays the game should be ideal for the challenge ahead with his ability to cut some of these punishing holes down to size.

He is long overdue a strong showing at this level with almost three years passing since storming into contention in the US PGA at Valhalla and has the quality to get himself well up the leaderboard. 

Posted at 1430 BST on 13/06/17.   

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