For the first time in 14 years the United States Open returns to the  Washington, DC area and the Congressional Club in Bethesda, Maryland. The few veterans that played this course 14 years ago will not even recognize the metamorphic changes made to it. The complete overhaul finds the sequence of holes has been changed. Before the changed the 18^th hole has now become the 10^th hole and the old 17^th hole has been lengthened to become the closing 18^th hole. The total yardage for this course has now become 7568 and will present problems to those players that are weak off the tee. It is likely that many players in this event will be over par most of the time.

Let’s look at some of the top players and analyze their chances to win the U.S. Open. The odds listed are very likely to change before they tee off on Thursday, June 16, 2011.

Luke Donald is the #1 player in the world but has never played this course. He leads in FedEx Cup points and is leading the European Race also. His man problem is he’s not super long and the Englishman ranks 148 out of 184 in driving distance, averaging 279.9 off the tee. His odds are listed at 14-1.

The best odds for winning come from Lee Westwood at 13-1 due to the fact that this course fits his style of play better than most. He has not played this course since the changes have been made but in 1997 he finished 19^th in the Open.

Phil Mickelson has to always be considered a top golfer in any event he is in. The odds are 16-1 to win this event. He has never won a U.S. Open but has finished close several times and played the reconstructed course one time and missed the cut on this long course.

The hottest golfer is Steve Stricker. He is fresh off a win at Memorial and has not finished out of the top 20 in any golf tournament since February. He has played the Congressional recently and finished in the top 20 on both occasion. With 25-1 odds this is a good bet to consider to win the tournament.

Tied for 6^th last year, Matt Kuchar enters with 25-1 odds to win the Open. In his last two events he has finished in 6^th and 2^nd place and has played this new course two times.

Dustin Johnson has the tools to win this event. He can play length on any course and his talent level is there to compete. In the 2010 U.S. Open he had the event in hand and melted near the end. He has never played this course.

Our Pick: Steve Stricker 25-1

A longshot to consider with your bet is Robert Allenby at 125-1 due to the fact he has played well on the Congressional recently with a 6^th place in 2007 and a 3^rd in 2008.