Punters lose faith in Rory McIlroy as he drifts in US Open betting
RORY MCILROY is friendless in the US Open betting markets - and now finds himself THIRD favourite.
The Masters hero was tipped for a clean sweep on Major victories after his long-awaited Augusta triumph in April.
But he followed that up by scraping into the top-50 at the USPGA and then missing the cut at the RBC Canadian Open with a +9 through his two rounds.
Not ideal preparation coming into a tricky Oakmont Country Club course that has gained widespread coverage on the difficulty it possesses.
So much so, McIlroy suffered a missed cut when this tournament was last held here back in 2016.
In fact, in his pre-tournament media duties, McIlroy revealed a recent practice round saw him birdie the final two holes - yet still shoot an EIGHTY-ONE.
He said: 'You hit a ball off the fairway and you were looking for a good couple of minutes just to find it. It's very penal if you miss.
'Last Monday felt impossible. I birdied the last two holes for 81. It felt pretty good.
"It didn't feel like I played that bad.'
A combination of all the above factors has seen McIlroy take a walk in the betting markets with William Hill, with Bryson DeChambeau now a clear second favourite.
McIlroy was an 8/1 shot when the market opened and can now be backed as big as 11/1, with Ludvig Aberg going the other way to now sit 20/1 from 25/1.
Scottie Scheffler is of course the short price favourite, at a ridiculously short price of 13/5 in a stellar field.
DeChambeau comes next at 7/1 before McIlroy and Jon Rahm at 11s.
Lee Phelps from William Hill, said: 'Following his first missed cut of the season at the RBC Canadian Open, Rory McIlroy has drifted in the US Open outright market from 8/1 to 11/1, behind favourite Scottie Scheffler (13/5) and defending champion Bryson DeChambeau (7/1).
'While McIlroy has drifted, others in the market have shortened – we've seen some late support come in for Ludvig Aberg, who we've cut to 20/1 from 25/1.
'Jon Rahm and Xander Schauffele remain steady in the betting, priced 11/1 and 20/1 respectively. Further down the market, the British trio of Tommy Fleetwood (30/1), Justin Rose (60/1) and Robert MacIntyre (70/1) have been popular picks among punters before play gets underway at Oakmont Country Club.'
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