US Open In-Play Betting Tips: Jamie’s 2-Ball Treble for Day 3

We are half-way through the US Open and we have some big names still very much in the hunt to win the third major of 2024.

Our golf tipster Jamie Worsley has put together a treble for those looking for some in-play betting action for Day 3 at Pinehurst and you can read what that is and why below as part of our US Open Golf 2024 Tips...

Another thrilling day at Pinehurst came to a close yesterday and we have a leaderboard packed full of stars (along with a few surprises) that leaves us with a perfectly poised event as we enter the weekend of the 124^th US Open.

US Open leaderboard after round two:

1^st – Ludvig Aberg (-5)

T2 – Bryson DeChambeau (-4)

T2 – Patrick Cantlay (-4)

T2 – Thomas Detry (-4)

T5 – Rory McIlroy (-3)

T5 – Tony Finau (-3)

T5 – Matthieu Pavon (-3)

8^th – Hideki Matsuyama (-2)

*You can check out the latest US Open 2024 Odds over on betfred.com

The man at the top at the halfway point is Swedish phenom, Ludvig Aberg. He has produced a ball-striking clinic in this, his THIRD major championship start, leading the field both in driving and greens in regulation. He’s barely put a foot wrong and though he performed well at Augusta when in contention earlier in the year, heading into the weekend of a major with the lead is a different kind of pressure and it will be fascinating to see his weekend unfold.

Patrick Cantlay followed his fantastic start on Thursday with a rock-solid 71 yesterday to sit one off the lead in 3^rd on -4. He is joined on that number by Bryson DeChambeau and one of the surprise packages from the top of the leaderboard, Belgium’s Thomas Detry.

Rory McIlroy had a day to forget on the greens but is still bang in the mix. He is sat in 6^th spot on -3 alongside Tony Finau and Frenchman, Matthieu Pavon, who had been tied for the lead with Aberg before bogeying his final two holes.

Hideki Matsuyama moved into contention on -2 after a bogey-free 66 - the round of the day – and among the players at -1 are last month’s PGA Championship winner, Xander Schauffele, the leading player on the Korn Ferry Tour, Tim Widing and LIV’s Tyrrell Hatton.

World #1, Scottie Scheffler, who is normally the most unflappable of competitors, was as frustrated as you’re ever likely to see him on Friday. Only managing to make the cut on the number, it will take something incredible over the weekend for him to walk away with another major title.

Other players to make the cut on the number included Northern Ireland’s Tom McKibbin, who birdied the last to make the weekend on his major debut; 35-year-old American, Justin Lower also just got through to the weekend in this position on his first major start; along with more familiar names, such as Brooks Koepka, Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry and Matt Fitzpatrick.

We also witnessed two holes-in-one on day two. The first came in the morning, as Sepp Straka clawed back a couple of shots that he’d lost with an incredibly unfortunate triple-bogey on the 3^rd hole by holing his tee-shot on the 9^th. Then towards the end of the day, Francesco Molinari repeated the feat on the same hole but in much more dramatic circumstances, with his hole-in-one taking him from two outside the cutline to making the weekend at Pinehurst.

There were several high-profile casualties at the halfway point, including the names of Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Jason Day, Will Zalatoris, Max Homa and Viktor Hovland. Though no more high profile than Tiger Woods, who despite playing some decent stuff and unluckily burning a few edges on his way in, succumbed to a second-round 73 to miss the cut by two.

SELECTIONS

With another day of hot, dry conditions and more wind about on Saturday than the previous two rounds, moving day could be a brutally difficult one at Pinehurst. One that could see significant changes at the top of the leaderboard.

Hideki Matsuyama is the best of the outright selections in 8^th, whilst Russell Henley, Brian Harman, Cameron Smith and Brooks Koepka have all made the cut. Whilst Min Woo Lee (Top 20) and Christiaan Bezuidenhout (Top African) occupy strong positions in terms of the specials picks.

I don’t feel the need to dip back into the outright market with the potential carnage that today could bring and will instead focus on a few 2-balls for day three of the US Open.

Min Woo Lee to beat Emiliano Grillo

Min Woo Lee was much improved during his second round yesterday and with playing partner, Emiliano Grillo going in the other direction, I think the Aussie is the pick of this duo.

I fancied Min Woo to go well this week, hence the top-20 pre-event selection. Though shooting +3 in round one he did little wrong barring a double-bogey on the 8^th and with no such mistake on the card yesterday, he was able to fire a 1-under-par round to move inside the top-30.

His combined stats make good reading too over those first two days. He’s driven it well (long and straight), ranking 22^nd off-the-tee and is no worse than 21^st in greens-in-regulation, scrambling and putting. Ultimately, he’s doing everything well enough to really make a move this weekend.

Grillo, on the other hand, started well with a level-par opening round where most of his game looked in good shape. This wasn’t the case yesterday, as he hit the ball poorly, ranking outside the top-100 in ball-striking, as well as tee-to-green, and if it wasn’t for the putter, things could’ve been much worse than his 2-over 72.

Min Woo had the superior form coming into this and looking well-suited to this challenge, I think he’ll be one of the main movers up the leaderboard today.

Chris Kirk to beat Jackson Suber

Jackson Suber was the last man in the field following the withdrawal of Jon Rahm and though performing well with a 1-under 69 in round one, yesterday was more of a struggle, with a round of 73. Chris Kirk has been super-steady with a pair of 71s so far and I expect another similarly steady display today, while the inexperienced Suber continues to slip down the leaderboard.

Kirk looked strong off-the-tee and with the short game in round one but struggled with his irons. He rectified this yesterday, ranking top-20 in greens-in-regulation and top-40 in approach. Hopefully he can put that all together today.

Both players came into this off the back of a few missed cuts, though Kirk obviously on the heightened level of the PGA Tour as opposed to the talented Suber’s struggles on the Korn Ferry Tour. Having said that, just six starts ago, Kirk was finishing in the top-20 at Augusta and it’s those types of experiences that should serve him well in the patience-testing conditions that they’ll encounter today.

Jordan Spieth to beat Martin Kaymer

Jordan Spieth has played some terrific golf this week and though his battles with the putter have held him back from being right in the mix here, I still think the quality of his tee-to-green game will be enough to see off Martin Kaymer today.

Spieth ranks inside the top-5 in ball-striking, greens-in-regulation and tee-to-green at the halfway point, but 147^th in putting. Which has led him to rounds of 72 and 71 to sit in 37^th at +3 after 36 holes.

Kaymer has flirted with the top of the leaderboard over the first two days, but started to lose control yesterday, shooting +5 for his final 14 holes. He’s driven he ball poorly in both rounds and whilst looking good across all other areas in round one, he regressed across the board yesterday.

The German has been wildly out of form since joined LIV, recording his first top-10 there in two years just last week. He was able to carry that momentum over into the opening round this week but I suspect his regression yesterday will continue and though Spieth’s putting gives some cause for concern, he may not even need to improve with the club to beat Kaymer today, if his tee-to-green game remains as good as it’s been over the first two days.

You can find all Jamie's latest Golf Betting Tips over on our dedicated golf Insights hub.