Golf best bets: Outright picks for the U.S. Open

As if that isn't enough, Scheffler is also coming off the most dominant iron week of his career at the Memorial Tournament. The World No. 1 gained a whopping 12.96 strokes on approach shots alone, while no one else in the field gained more than 7.59. Scheffler gained an average of 3.59 true strokes on approach per round at Muirfield Village. For reference, the 27-year-old has been (by far) the best iron player in the world all season and hadn't gained more than 2.51 true strokes on approach per round before last week. 

If you're confused by all these numbers and stats, don't be. To sum it up: There isn't a golfer in the U.S. Open field even close to Scheffler in terms of iron play right now, and Pinehurst No. 2 is only going to accentuate that gap. He's also masterful at chipping off tight lies onto heavily sloped greens, as he's proven at the Masters with two wins in the last three years.

Scheffler has won five of the last eight tournaments he's entered, and he has valid excuses for falling short in two of those winless weeks. He was quite literally arrested and charged with a felony during the PGA Championship. He still finished T8 with three rounds in the mid-60s. At the Charles Schwab Challenge the following week, Scheffler had a court date looming to decide if the Louisville Metro Police Department would be pursuing four charges. He still finished T2!

Scheffler finally shed that massive distraction when the LMPD dropped all charges against him after the Charles Schwab Challenge, and he returned to win his next start at the most challenging ball-striking test since the Masters. 

It's never fun to play a single bullet on such a comically low-priced golf outright, which is why we never go this route. But you know what's more fun? Winning money, and that's what we're going to do when Scottie Scheffler inevitably wins the U.S. Open.