we are into Day 4 at the US Open and as always our Golf tipster Jamie Worsley is here with his in-play updates and he has one bet he really likes going into Sunday’s Final Round…

US Open In-Play Betting Tips for Sunday

• Dustin Johnson & Ryan Fox to win their 2 balls 2.33/1 – 2.5 pts

Current Standings (Top 8):

T1 – Wyndham Clark (-10)

T1 – Rickie Fowler (-10)

3rd – Rory McIlroy (-9)

4th – Scottie Scheffler (-7)

5th – Harris English (-6)

T6 – Dustin Johnson (-5)

T6 – Xander Schauffele (-5)

8th – Ryutaro Nagano (-4)

Rickie Fowler maintained his position at the top of the leaderboard for the third straight day at the US Open, though due to a two-shot swing on the final hole he has company on that leading score of -10. As for the second day in a row, Fowler will be teeing off with Wyndham Clark, in this final round of the US Open.

Both players had endured an up-and-down final round – as did much of the field as Los Angeles Country Club continued to increase in difficulty – but entering the 18th hole yesterday Fowler had opened up a two-stroke lead.

This all changed on that final hole, as Wyndham Clark hit a superb approach to around 6ft – an approach he hit despite visibility starting to reduce due to the lateness of the tee-times, for which he criticised the USGA after his round – which he duly holed and potentially put the pressure on Fowler that caused him to miss his rather innocuous 3 ½ footer for par.

Fowler’s missed putt didn’t just allow Clark to close the gap, but it also brought the two at the top – both chasing their first major trophy – a little closer to the rest of the field and no doubt buoyed the high-class major winning duo of Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler in 3rd and 4th.

McIlroy shot one of just seventeen under par rounds yesterday, with his 1-under 69 getting him to within one of the lead and in with an excellent chance of winning a first major in nine years. Meanwhile, Scheffler closed to within three thanks to a 2-under 68 – the 5th-best round of the day – in which he finished with an incredible hole-out eagle on the lengthy 17th and followed with a 20ft+ birdie on 18.

Not just major winners but as the #3 (McIlroy) and #1 (Scheffler) ranked players in the world, the pairing look a formidable prospect today and should put that leading pairing under all kinds of pressure.

Those final 2 pairings were the only four players from yesterday’s starting top 10 to not shoot over par. Xander Schauffele suffered a terrible start and after rallying back to level par at the end of his front 9, gave it all back on the final 9 to drop to five off the pace.

Harris English enjoyed an excellent first ten holes to get it to -10 but gave four shots back over his final eight holes to now sit four back, whilst Dustin Johnson’s +1 sees him now five behind.

There were more difficult rounds for Sam Bennett, who dropped 38 spots on the leaderboard due to a 9-over 79 (the worst round of the day by anyone), whilst Min Woo Lee also dropped out of contention with a 4-over 74.

They were replaced in the top 10 by comfortably the most surprising performance of the week, as journeyman Japan Tour golfer Ryutaro Nagano shot -2 to climb into 8th spot, whilst Korean Star Tom Kim’s best-of-the-day 4-under sees him jump into the top 10 in 9th, alongside Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith.

Today’s Conditions/Tee-times

Wyndham Clark – and most fans on this side of the pond – will be pleased to know the tee-times have been made earlier for today, with the leading pair teeing off at 2:30pm local time (10:30pm in the UK).

The weather looks very similar to the last couple of days, with the sun set to appear by the time the leaders get out on the course and with another day to firm up, the course should play the toughest it has all week for this final round.

Selections

Rory McIlroy now heads the betting at 2/1, followed by the leaders: Rickie Fowler at 13/5 and Wyndham Clark at 3/1.

Scottie Scheffler is next in the betting at 4/1 and I’m inclined to draw the line under him in terms of where I think the winner will come from today. I just think that leading quartet is too strong and playing too well; whilst you can always see one, two or even three of them having a slow day, it’s tough to see all of them struggling.

As for my strategy today, we’re very much in a similar position to yesterday. Scheffler has every chance from three back, whilst the trio of Smith, DeChambeau and Matsuyama are all in the mix for places. I’m not tempted to invest in the outright market and will instead focus on the 2-balls once again (hopefully with a little more success!).

Dustin Johnson & Ryan Fox to win their 2 balls

Whilst a five-shot deficit doesn’t put Dustin Johnson completely out of this event today – for all he’ll need a huge amount of help elsewhere – he’s effectively one disastrous hole away from being a huge player in today’s final round.

As well as he played to bounce back from the quad-bogey on his second hole on Friday, take that away and DJ would be trailing today’s leaders by just one shot. He really has produced excellent golf this week and this is represented by his stats.

DJ has performed well in each area so far this week, ranking 6th tee-to-green and 28th on the greens. Looking particularly good with the driver – as you’d expect – ranking 7th.

The irons were on fire in the first round, ranking 2nd, though he’s regressed a little over the last two rounds and I’m hoping he can rediscover the form he had with the clubs on Thursday.

His 2-ball partner today is Harris English, who in contrast has been heavily reliant on the putter this week, where he ranks 2nd. This was very much on show yesterday through those first ten holes as he got himself to -10. However it couldn’t save him over those final eight holes, where he lost four shots and hit the ball quite poorly; ranking 52nd in ball-striking and 56th in approach for the day.

It’s hard to recover from that and with DJ’s all-round performance this week – not to mention his proven major class – I expect the two-time major winner to finish stronger than his playing partner today.

I’m doubling up DJ with New Zealand’s Ryan Fox, who is paired with Brian Harman today.

Fox currently sits in 32nd on +1 though yesterday shot his second under par round out of three this week, with a -1. He’s been one of the best players tee-to-green so far, ranking 10th and was the 5th-best player T2G in the field yesterday; his approach play has been particularly strong, as he ranks 6th overall and was 10th yesterday.

In contrast, Harman’s game has largely regressed since his excellent opening 5-under 65 on Thursday. Whilst he ranked top 10 in approach yesterday, he looked poor in other areas, ranking 59th off-the-tee, 45th around-the-greens and 38th with the putter; leading to his 2-over 72.

The momentum looks to be with the big-hitting New Zealander in this 2 ball and I expect him to get his third straight major top 30 of the year this week.

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