U.S. Women's Open Bets of the Week- The Final Major of 2020

Photo provided by Ben Harpring

The final major of golf in 2020 is finally here. Houston, Texas plays host to 156 of the world's best vying to hoist the Harton S. Semple Trophy come Sunday.

With daylight savings, the USGA is splitting the field for Thursday and Friday. The Cypress Creek and Jackrabbit courses at Champions Golf Club will host the full field before the weekend, turning to Cypress Creek for the final 36 holes.

Nine of the top 10 players in the Rolex World Rankings are playing this week, and stars from the KLPGA, JLPGA, LET, and five Symetra Tour graduates join the usual cast of LPGA Tour phenoms to round out the 156-player field.

Jeongeun Lee6 is the defending champion, aiming to be the first player to successfully defend her title since Hall of Famer Karrie Webb in 2001. This column aims to successfully select for back to back weeks for the first time, with a fourth correct selection of the restart on the line.

Ben Harpring joins the column again for his own set of picks.

Full odds from MyBookie are here

Kent's Bets of the Week

Jin Young Ko (+1800)

It's her third event of the LPGA Tour season, heading to the southern part of Texas after a fifth-place finish at the VOA Classic. The world's No. 1 has the same odds as Nelly Korda and Brooke Henderson, tied for fifth-most likely to win this week.

Sei Young Kim is the outright favorite at +1000, with Inbee Park (+1100), Danielle Kang (+1200), and Hye Jin Choi (+1600). As mentioned last week, Ko is part of the Park/Kim/Kang tandem as the best players in the world right now. Ko finished with three consecutive top 10s on the KLPGA before arriving in the United States, where she had one of her worst GIR weeks during her LPGA Tour career at the Pelican Women's Championship.

Korda is returning to the tour off an injury, which presents too much volatility to pick her. Henderson is a difficult option to leave on the board, as she is on fire with four straight top 6 finishes. The reason to select the two-time major champion over the winningest Canadian golfer of all time is Ko's calling card, greens in regulation.

Her GIR jumped up from 57% at the Pelican Women's Championship to 65% last week, which is still significantly lower than her 79.8% she hit during the 2019 season. Ko's calling card to scoring is finding the putting surface more than anyone else, which is why she's so consistent at the U.S. Women's Open. In three appearances, she's finished T17, T15, and T16 in 2017 through 2019 respectively.

Henderson doesn't have that track record of consistency that Ko presents to a bettor. In seven appearances, Henderson has two top 10s, a T13, a T59, a 64 and a W.D. to her name. Her best finish was in 2015, a T5.

Ko's 2019 major resume is also outstanding. She won the ANA Inspiration and Evian Championship, finished in 3rd at the AIG Women's Open, T14 at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, and the aforementioned T16 at the U.S. Women's Open for an average finish of 7th place.

A fresh world No. 1 trending towards her peak powers, who saw odds as low as four to one last year, holds value buoyed by her aberration of a performance in Florida at the end of November. The T34 was her worst non-WD result on the LPGA Tour since the CME Group Tour Championship in November of 2018.

Bet: 7.5 units to win 135 units

So Yeon Ryu (+2500)

The 2011 U.S. Women's Open Champion is allergic to finishing outside of the top 25 at this event. In 10 career appearances, her worst finish is a T25 in 2010. Ryu's resume is nearly an auto bet at this tournament, with a 60% top 5 rate. Along with her 2011 victory, she finished in 3rd in 2013, 5th in 2014, T3 in 2017, and T2 in 2019.

Her average finish at the USWO is 9th place, the best of any player with more than four starts in the last decade.

It's Ryu's second event in the post restart, with a T2 last week at the Volunteers of America Classic. It's not the only success the two-time major champion has found in 2020, as she finished T2 at the ISPS Handa Vic Open in her first start of the year.

That blind resume alone feels it should be closer to the World's No. 1 odds, whom she beat by a stroke last week.

Bet: 6 units to win 150 units

Lydia Ko (+3300)

As mentioned on the 9th Tee Podcast, it felt like Ko was on the precipice after her T4 at the Pelican Women's Championship. While the momentum towards a return to prominence for the former World No. 1 shattered on the last at the Marathon Classic, the Kiwi has responded with four top 20 finishes in her previous five starts, three of which were top 10s. Her last two starts are top 10s, with the T4 in Florida and T8 at the Drive On Championship Reynolds Lake Oconee.

Ko's offseason work with swing coach Sean Foley has delivered consistency in the major championships in 2020. She posted T14 at the AIG Women's Open, solo 6th at the ANA Inspiration, and T18 at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship.

You may notice a trend to the selections so far- all of them are past and current world No. 1's. To get to that rare air, players have shown the capability to have an unmatched mental game to go along with their incredible skill. The next selection has led a recent charge up the world rankings into the top 15.

Bet: 5 units to win 165 units

Ayaka Furue (+6600)

Furue would be the first Japanese player to win the U.S. Women's Open in its 75-year history. But this doesn't respect the emerging Platinum Generation emerging out of Japan, as the nation's media has dubbed it. Nasa Hataoka (7th), Furue (15th), Hinako Shibuno (16th), Mone Inami (61st), Sakura Koiwai (76th), Erika Hara (82nd), Yuna Nishimura (84th), Minami Katsu (90th), and Yui Kawamoto (91st) are all Japanese players under the age of 22 and in the top 100 in the Rolex World Rankings.

From the value, Furue is the 33rd most likely to win and yet 15th in the world. She's been monstrous on the JLPGA, with two victories in her last three starts. The other result? 2nd place and held the lead through two rounds. Which featured four eagles.

The utter dominance flew her up the rankings. Furue jetted from 42nd in the world to 15th, just inside the line to represent Japan at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Countries are allowed to send up to four representatives to the Olympics if all of their players are within the top 15, so Shibuno provides Japan its closest opportunity to be the third country to send more than two players.

Back to the pick- that recent tear is hard to ignore. The JLPGA and KLPGA aren't like lower level minor leagues- consistently, players come over to the United States and find success. Hye Jin Choi's victory at the SK TELECOM - ADT CAPS CHAMPIONSHIP and her 2nd place finish at the 2017 U.S. Women's Open have her over-valued, at (+1600) and fourth-most likely to win.

Furue provides a great entry point to capitalize on international player market inefficiencies, and Ben's selections also speak to this.

Bet: 4 units to win 264 units

Stacy Lewis (+9000)

The last American is no. 1 in the world, but that's not a prevailing reason for selecting her. More importantly for this week, Lewis is a member at Champions Golf Club, the host course. She has an enormous preparation advantage over a field that's facing two unknown courses during COVID-19, which throws plenty of wrenches. As an example, Lizette Salas (+12500) had a false positive earlier this week and is getting less practice time than other players.

Lewis can sleep in her own bed, and take her time as she knows these courses like the back of her hand. It doesn't hurt that she's won this year, taking home the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open. Her second-best performance was at the ANA Inspiration, where she finished in solo 5th.

Lewis from 2014 to 2016 finished in the top 10 in this tournament three years in a row, posting 2nd, T3, and 7th. She's found success in USGA setups, and while her game has changed after having her first child, home course advantage is a more significant advantage than the market is pricing.

Bet: 2.5 units to win 225 units

Ben's Picks

Lydia Ko (+3300)

Lydia Ko has been knocking on the door all season. She's a proven winner, a Major Champion, and due for a breakout victory. Her last three starts have been: T18, T8, T4. With her game looking strong, and playing with confidence, look for Lydia to have a great week.

Bet: 9 units to win 297 units

Hae Ran Ryu (+5500)

The 17th ranked player in the world is not getting much respect here. She's won on the KLPGA this season and finished runner-up two times. Ryu hits more than 77% of her greens in regulation, and a U.S. Open demands accuracy. To put it simply, she's only 19 years old, but one of the best players in the game.

Bet: 7 units to win 385 units

Hee Jeong Lim (+7500)

Hee Jeong is one of the most impressive players I've seen play in person. In 2019, as a Rookie on the KLPGA Tour, Lim won 3 times. At the LPGA BMW Championship in Busan, South Korea, last Fall, Hee Jeong finished in 6th place. The field was comprised of the best players from the LPGA Tour in 2019. This year Lim is hitting more than 77% of her greens in regulation and ranks 4th in putting average and 5th in scoring average on the KLPGA Tour. She. Can. Play.

Bet: 4 units to win 300 units

Seon Woo Bae (+12500)

One of the best values in the field. Seon Woo is a multiple-time winner on the JLPGA Tour in Japan, as well as a multiple-time winner on the KLPGA Tour in Korea. She's a proven winner in multiple countries and finished T19 in her only U.S. Open appearance in 2017. With these odds, it feels like a no brainer to me.

Bet: 3 units to win 375 units

Ji Yeong Kim2 (+75000)

These odds baffle me. Ji Yeong is a multiple-time winner on the KLPGA Tour, including a victory this year. She ranks second on the KLPGA in driving distance at nearly 277 yards on average. She's been a consistent player in Korea for several years, and with these odds, I have no problem selecting her as a long-shot pick.

Bet: 2 units to win 1,500 units

Full Odds

+1000 Sei Young Kim +1100 Inbee Park +1200 Danielle Kang +1600 Hye Jin Choi +1800 Brooke Henderson +1800 Jin Young Ko +1800 Nelly Korda +2200 Nasa Hataoka +2500 So Yeon Ryu +2800 Carlota Ciganda +2800 Minjee Lee +2800 Lexi Thompson +3300 Lydia Ko +3300 Ally McDonald +3300 Jeongeun Lee6 +3500 Georgia Hall +4500 Charley Hull +4500 Sung Hyun Park +5500 Hae Ran Ryu +5500 Jennifer Song +5500 Jessica Korda +5500 Brittany Altomare +6000 Mel Reid +6000 Caroline Masson +6000 Yealimi Noh +6000 Anna Nordqvist +6600 Austin Ernst +6600 Ayaka Furue +7000 Angela Stanford +7000 Ariya Jutanugarn +7000 Celine Boutier +7500 Mi Jung Hur +7500 Moriya Jutanugarn +7500 Emily Kristine Pedersen +7500 Hee Jeong Lim +8000 Jodi Ewart Shadoff +8000 Na Rin An +8000 Mina Harigae +8000 Amy Yang +9000 Jennifer Kupcho +9000 In Gee Chun +9000 Stacy Lewis +9000 Anne van Dam +10000 Yu Liu +10000 Sophia Popov +10000 Gaby Lopez +11000 Jenny Shin +11000 Hannah Green +11000 Cheyenne Knight +12500 Lizette Salas +12500 Katherine Kirk +12500A Lim Kim +12500 Seon Woo Bae +12500 Hinako Shibuno +14000 Amy Olson +14000 Kelly Tan +14000 Kristen Gillman +14000 Megan Khang +14000 Bianca Pagdanganan +14000 Angel Yin +15000 Ashleigh Buhai +16000 Nanna Koerstz Madsen +16000 Xiyu Lin +17500 Yuka Saso +17500 Lindsey Weaver +17500 Eun Hee Ji +17500 Rose Zhang +17500 Su-Hyun Oh +20000 Azahara Munoz +20000 Sarah Schmelzel +20000 Yuna Nishimura +20000 Jasmine Suwannapura +20000 Mi Hyang Lee +22500 Min Young 2 Lee +22500 Brittany Lincicome +22500 Andrea Lee +22500 Brittany Lang +25000 Ho-Yu An +25000 Madelene Sagstrom +25000 Cristie Kerr +25000 Perrine Delacour +25000 Chella Choi +25000 Pornanong Phatlum +25000 Frida Kinhult +25000 Maria Fassi +25000 Patty Tavatanakit +27500 Alena Sharp +27500 Sakura Koiwai +27500 Erika Hara +27500 Gerina Piller +27500 Caroline Hedwall +27500 Christina Kim +30000 Nuria Iturrios +30000 Yu Jin Sung +30000 Annie Park +30000 Pernilla Lindberg +30000 Mirim Lee +30000 Jaye Marie Green +35000 Gabriela Ruffels +35000 Momko Ueda +35000 Ingrid Lindblad +40000 Pauline Roussin Bouchard +40000 Cydney Clanton +40000 Jeong Eun Lee +40000 Lei Ye +40000 Pajaree Anannarukarn +40000 Mi Jeong Jeon +40000 Nicole Broch Larsen +40000 Teresa Lu +40000 Hee Young Park +40000 Yui Kawamoto +40000 Ryann OToole +40000 Minami Katsu +40000 Bronte Law +40000 Esther Henseleit +40000 Linn Grant +40000 Alessia Nobilio +50000 Linnea Strom +50000 Lauren Stephenson +50000 Mamiko Higa +50000 Mone Inami +50000 Meghan Maclaren +50000 Emilia Migliaccio +50000 Maria Fernanda Torres +50000 Lucie Malchirand +50000 Agathe Laisne +50000 Beatrice Wallin +60000 Kim Kaufman +60000 Fatima Fernandez Cano +60000 Morgan Pressel +60000 Janie Jackson +60000 Maja Stark +60000 Lily May Humphreys +60000 Olivia Mehaffey +60000 Kaitlyn Papp +75000 Eri Okayama +75000 Lala Anai +75000 Sayaka Takahashi +75000 Emma Spitz +75000 Auston Kim +75000 Kana Mikashima +75000 Ji Yeong Kim2 +75000 Marianne Skarpnord +75000 Allisen Corpuz +75000 Caterina Don +75000 Ana Belac +75000 Amelia Garvey +75000 Emily Toy +75000 Benedetta Moresco +100000 Jing Yan +100000 Sarah Jane Smith +125000 Saki Asai +125000 Christine Wolf +150000 Asuka Kashiwabara +150000 Ina Kim-Schaad +250000 Seung Yeon Lee