Kendall Capps suggested backing Bryson DeChambeau for a top-five at +190 rather than an outright win. DeChambeau’s elite distance should let him ‘simply overpower’ a course that is not overly long, turning many missed fairways into 75-yard wedges out of the rough—an easier task than the longer recovery shots most competitors will face. Capps cited the 2020 Winged Foot blueprint and DeChambeau’s two U.S. Open titles as proof the strategy can work. While he doubts Bryson lifts the trophy, Capps views a leaderboard finish as a strong probability.

Calling him the best player without a major, Kendall Capps recommended sprinkling Viktor Hovland outright at +5500. The Norwegian snapped a slump by winning the 2025 Valspar and owns four other top-25 finishes in ten starts. Hovland has four major top-10s since 2022 and has actually gained strokes Around-the-Green in 12 of 19 career majors, mitigating his perceived weakness. Capps noted Oakmont’s oversized greens reward conservative play and that thick rough will make short-game outcomes partly luck-based—conditions that favor Hovland’s elite ball-striking. At 55-to-1, Capps says the risk/reward is too good to ignore.

Kendall Capps labeled Sepp Straka a value play at +800 for a top-five finish. The Austrian already owns two 2025 victories (American Express, Truist Championship at notoriously tough Philadelphia Cricket Club) and sits third in FedEx Cup points thanks to five top-10s, most recently a solo third at The Memorial. Statistically, Straka ranks 2nd in Greens in Regulation and 2nd in Strokes Gained: Approach, two categories Capps believes will decide Oakmont success given the emphasis on precise iron play. With that skill set and current form, Capps is ‘happily tossing a few bucks’ on Straka to land on the leaderboard.

Kendall Capps advised fading Rory McIlroy in all cut-related markets, arguing the four-time major winner is primed to miss the weekend at Oakmont. McIlroy’s tee-box edge evaporated after a forced driver change before the PGA Championship, and the results have been ugly: his worst 36-hole finish ever (149th, missed cut) at last week’s Canadian Open. Capps stressed how Oakmont’s unforgiving rough will magnify Rory’s current inaccuracy, predicting 36 holes of ‘hacking’ before an early exit.