Sports Betting This Weekend: U.S. Open, Pirates/Brewers, College World Series

Some major champions were crowned over the last week, but that doesn’t mean the online sports betting calendar is dead and buried. Here are some notable events to consider:

Golf

U.S. Open

Thursday, June 15 through Sunday, June 18

This weekend marks another major weekend in the golf calendar, as pros from around the world will gather at the Los Angeles Country Club for the U.S. Open. 

Scottie Scheffler is the favorite and deservingly so. The Texan has notched top-5 performances at four consecutive tour events, including his runner-up status at the PGA Championship last month. 

Scheffler’s golf odds have moved down throughout the week, landing at +600 at the BetMGM online sportsbook right before the start of play on Thursday morning.

Jon Rahm, who opened the tournament second in the table at +1000, has had an up-and-down spring. He won the Masters in April but finished +7 last month at the PGA Championship.

Brooks Koepka (+1100), Rory McIlroy (+1200), Patrick Cantlay (+1600), Viktor Hovland (+1600), and Xander Schauffele (+1800) filled out the top of the board. 

MLB

Pittsburgh Pirates at Milwaukee Brewers 

Friday, June 16 through Sunday, June 18   |  Apple TV+ (Friday, 8:10 p.m.)

The NL Central is totally up for grabs this season. The Cardinals closed as -125 favorites in late March but are now 15 games under .500. 

All five teams in the division currently have a negative point differential. However, Milwaukee is fourth in the National League with a team ERA of 4.12, trailing the Padres, Braves, and Giants.

The Pirates (34-32), whose MLB odds opened at a staggering +6600 to win the division, are holding onto a narrow lead over Milwaukee (34-34) and Cincinnati (34-35) after the early-week games. 

This weekend’s series winner could build on that lead, with the All-Star break approaching.

NCAA Baseball

College World Series

Begins Friday, June 14

With the NBA Finals, Stanley Cup Final, and French Open finals all resolved over the last week, many sports fans and bettors will be scouring the TV for something to watch.

One strong candidate is the College World Series. Eight college baseball teams will descend on Omaha to crown the last major spring sports champion of this collegiate year: Oral Roberts, TCU, Virginia, Florida, Stanford, Wake Forest, Tennessee, and LSU. 

Wake Forest was selected as the national No. 1 seed, so the Demon Deacons are an unsurprising betting favorite. At BetMGM, they’re -225 to beat Stanford on Saturday and +250 to win the championship. 

Florida is the No. 2 seed in the bracket, but it’s actually LSU who’s second in the college baseball odds table at +375. 

The Gators drew a tough first CWS opponent in Virginia, which is a veteran national contender; LSU’s first game is against unseeded Tennessee.

The CWS uses a double-elimination format, meaning any team that loses its first game this weekend drops down into the loser’s bracket, rather than being immediately eliminated.