2025 U.S. Open: Experts' picks and betting tips - ESPN

The third major of the year begins with the 2025 U.S. Open from Thursday through Sunday at Oakmont.

Which players do our golf experts think will win? Where do our betting experts believe there is value? We break down the favorites and much more ahead of the 2025 U.S. Open.

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Experts' picks to win | Betting roundtable

Matt Barrie
Jon Rahm. Why: Because it's too easy to pick Scheffler, and Rahm is rounding back into major championship form. He tied for 14th at the Masters and eighth at the PGA Championship. He's starting to look and remind us that he was the best player on the planet before his LIV defection.

Tory Barron
Scottie Scheffler. By all accounts, Oakmont is a monster primed to chew up any golfer in its way. Thus, it stands to reason the eventual champion will need to be an equally formidable foe. I'm going with the guy who won in three of his past four starts by a combined 17 strokes — because there's no one scarier than Scheffler on a heater.

Michael Collins
Scheffler. Putting this in Marvel terms — Scheffler has the Infinity Gauntlet (glove) and all the Infinity Stones. Scottie is inevitable. There are only about eight guys who could possibly win on this golf course when the USGA sets it up. Scottie is inevitable.

Jeff Darlington
Scheffler. We've reached the point with Scheffler that's reminiscent of Tiger Woods — where the cliché of picking him to win outweighs the desire to think outside the box. Even though Bryson DeChambeau matches up nicely with Oakmont, Scheffler is just too good and too consistent right now.

Michael Eaves
Sepp Straka. The current Oakmont setup seems to be a throwback to when the U.S. Open perennially played brutally hard, putting a huge emphasis on fairways and greens. So far