The 2024 U.S. Open gets started bright and early on Thursday morning, and we can't wait for the sandy carnage to ensue at Pinehurst No. 2. We already have you covered with a ton of full-tournament betting content this week, but for you impatient bettors, let's target a couple first-round bets for you to sweat out while faking your way through the work day. 

Collin Morikawa top-20 finish after Round 1 (+185 DraftKings)

We're looking for Morikawa to get off to a hot start at Pinehurst No. 2. The American ranks second on the PGA Tour this season in Round 1 scoring average (68.08), and he's shot 68 or better in the first round in five straight starts. 

Morikawa is playing with loads of confidence right now. He's recorded three straight top-five finishes on Tour, and his approach play has improved in each of those events. The two-time major champion has the perfect skill set for Pinehurst No. 2 because he's deadly accurate off the tee and precise with his long irons. His short game is also the best it's been in his entire career. Morikawa has the advantage of going off early in the morning on Thursday when the golf course won't be as firm, so he should be able to put himself near the top of the leaderboard after Round 1. 

18-hole matchup: Jason Day > Cameron Young (-115 FanDuel)

Young is on full fade watch at the U.S. Open. The 27-year-old finished runner-up at the Valspar Championship and T9 at the Masters in back-to-back starts, but he's been abysmal ever since. In his last five starts, Young has finished T62 in a 69-player field, T34, T63, cut, and T50. He lost strokes on approach and from around the green in four of those five starts, and those two areas will be pivotal around these sloped, turtleback greens at Pinehurst No. 2. 

Day hasn't been great with his irons, either, but his stellar short game gives him such a high floor at this golf course. Both players are going to miss greens in the first round, but we trust Day to get up and down from awkward spots more consistently than Young. 

In the news ...

Kristaps Porzingis questionable for Game 3 with 'rare injury' — NBA reporters sent the Internet into a tizzy on Tuesday when they broke the news that Porzingis suffered a torn medial retinaculum allowing dislocation of the posterior tibialis tendon in his left leg. If you do any research on the unique injury, you could come away thinking Porzingis could play in Game 3 of the NBA Finals or require surgery and miss extended time. For now, the Boston Celtics are treating it as a day-to-day injury. With Porzingis' status in doubt, the Celtics are 2.5-point underdogs in Game 3.

Jon Rahm withdraws from the U.S. Open — One of the top favorites at the U.S. Open won't be teeing it up at Pinehurst No. 2. On Tuesday afternoon, after he met with the media and checked out the golf course, Rahm withdrew from the tournament due to an infection in his left foot. The former World No. 1 pulled out of LIV Golf Houston last week to recover in time for the U.S. Open, but he won't be able to give it a go. Without Rahm in the field, Scottie Scheffler has shifted to +280 to win.

Joey Chestnut starts beef with Nathan's Famous, won't compete in hot dog eating contest — The Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest will be missing a legend this year, as Chestnut won't be competing on the Fourth of July. The 16-time champion reportedly agreed to a brand deal with Impossible Foods, one of Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs' competitors. There's no love lost in the hot dog game, frankly.

Today's Bark Bets is written by Jack Dougherty