US Open Golf In-Play Betting Tips: 9/1 Treble the play for Friday

The 125^th US Open is underway at Oakmont Country Club, with J.J. Spaun leading the way after an opening round of 4 under. 

Our golf tipster Jamie Worsley has picked out three golfers he likes to win their three-balls on Friday and you can check out his the US Open Golf In-play Betting Tips below...

The 125^th edition of the US Open got underway at Oakmont Country Club yesterday, and this brilliant but brutally difficult course lived up to expectations—leaving us with an eclectic leaderboard as we head into day two of the championship.

Leaderboard after round one:

1^st – J.J. Spaun (-4)

2^nd – Thriston Lawrence (-3)

T3 – Si Woo Kim (-2)

T3 – Brooks Koepka (-2)

T3 – Sungjae Im (-2)

T6 – Ben Griffin (-1)

T6 – Thomas Detry (-1)

T6 – Jon Rahm (-1)

T6 – Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen (-1)

T6 – James Nicholas (-1)

Just 10 players finished the opening day under par, but it’s J.J. Spaun who leads the way early on. Delivering the only bogey-free round of the day, he showcased a superb short game to post a four-under 66. The American has enjoyed a strong season on tour—narrowly losing a playoff to Rory McIlroy at THE PLAYERS Championship—and, after missing the cut in his only previous US Open appearance in 2021, he’ll be eager to keep the momentum going on day two.

South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence has defied a dismal run of form in 2025—failing to make the cut in 11 of 14 starts and posting just one top-50 finish—firing a 67 to sit 2^nd after 18 holes. Just behind him at -2, a trio tied for 3^rd includes South Korean duo Si Woo Kim and Sungjae Im, but the standout name is undoubtedly five-time major champion Brooks Koepka, who hasn’t seriously contended in a major since winning the 2023 PGA Championship.

Jon Rahm is the most striking name among those tied for 6^th. He’s joined by three players making their US Open debut: the in form Ben Griffin, Danish talent Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, and current world No. 502 James Nicholas. Meanwhile, Belgium’s Thomas Detry will be hoping to improve on last year’s impressive 14^th-place finish at Pinehurst.

Oakmont takes no prisoners, and eight of the current top 10 players in the world shot over par on day one. Most notably, Scottie Scheffler never really got anything going, eventually signing for a three-over 73 that leaves him in a tie for 49^th. Rory McIlroy undid a lot of good work on his front nine, shooting six-over on the back to finish in 62^nd at +4. Justin Thomas has plenty of work to do to make the cut after opening with a 76 that leaves him just inside the top 100, and a sluggish finish sees this week’s second-favourite (behind Scheffler) Bryson DeChambeau also sitting in 49^th at +3.

Of the rest, an exceptional albatross on the par-5 4^th wasn’t enough to prevent Patrick Reed from carding a three-over-par round. Shane Lowry endured a torrid time on the greens, slumping to nine-over, while star names such as Cam Smith, Dustin Johnson, Joaquin Niemann, Patrick Cantlay, Jason Day, and Justin Rose all sit below the cut line and will need a big performance today to make the weekend.

SELECTIONS

Carlos Ortiz to beat Matthew Jordan & Yuta Sugiura

Carlos Ortiz was the second-best player in the field from tee-to-green yesterday but ranked 152^nd out of 156 players on the greens. However, he was still able to win his 3-ball comfortably and I see no reason why he won’t come out on top again today.

Ortiz sits in 20^th place after round one, firing five birdies and six bogeys to sign for a one-over 71. He ranked 2^nd in greens-in-regulation, 3^rd off-the-tee—displaying power and accuracy—7^th in approach and 16^th around-the-greens.

Matthew Jordan seriously struggled with the long game, ranking 134^th in ball striking, but due to some short-game quality he was able to limit the damage to a four-over 74. Yuta Sugiura looked all at sea in most areas and made just one birdie, eventually shooting a nine-over 79.

This is Ortiz’s fifth US Open appearance and while he hasn’t pulled up any trees previously, that experience counts for a lot against players making their debut in the event. It will take an almighty improvement from either playing partner—or drop-off from him—to stop the Mexican winning this 3-ball for the second day running.

Thriston Lawrence to beat Thorbjorn Olesen & Noah Kent

Thriston Lawrence proved with his 4^th-place finish at last year’s Open Championship that he’s not afraid to compete at this level. Although he’d shown little form prior to this week, he impressed right through the bag yesterday and beating the other members of this 3-ball—Thorbjorn Olesen and amateur, Noah Kent—by a combined 22 shots, he looks value to win it again.

Lawrence sits in 2^nd place thru 18 holes, after shooting a three-under 67 that included six birdies, a bogey and a double bogey. He hit the ball with precision, ranking 2^nd in driving accuracy and 9^th in greens-in-regulation, and also adapted quickly to these challenging greens, ranking 4^th in putting.

Olesen finished the day nine shots behind him on +6. He was terrible from tee-to-green, ranking 140^th, and had to rely on the putter to keep the score from getting even worse, ranking 8^th on the greens. Kent, meanwhile, made zero birdies in a 10-over 80.

Although the Dane has been playing the better golf of the two main protagonists this season, there were signs that Lawrence was returning to form two starts ago, finishing 4^th in the Soudal Open on the DP World Tour. Olesen has never so much as made the cut in the US Open and I fancy Lawrence to stick around this week, much like he did at Royal Troon last year.

Brian Harman to beat Phil Mickelson & Cam Smith

Brian Harman outperformed LIV’s Phil Mickelson and Cam Smith in almost every area yesterday, which led to him beating them by three and four shots respectively. His game is better suited to this test than the current versions of his playing partners, and he should stamp his authority in round two.

Harman’s one-over 71 was achieved how you’d expect, with some solid, no-fuss ball striking and a high-class short game, ranking 1^st in scrambling. Mickelson found more fairways than him and Smith ranked higher off-the-tee, but he was better than each of them in every other area, and I’d much rather have his ability to find fairways than Smith’s erratic driving around this course.

The Aussie has been in poor form this year and despite initially maintaining form in the majors when moving to LIV, his record in these events has regressed rapidly, and he’ll need to find something to avoid a fourth straight missed cut today. Whilst Mickelson showed promise early on, the near 55-year-old isn’t the force he once was and lost control around the turn.

Harman hasn’t been in major contention since winning the 2023 Open Championship, but he has only missed one of his last six cuts in these events. He’s readymade to enjoy a good week here and I expect he’ll emphasise this point today as his playing partners battle to make the weekend.

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