PGA Tour best bets: BMW Championship

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Will Zalatoris, tipped in this column last week at 25-1 for our ninth outright winner on the PGA Tour this season (13 overall for 2022), finally claimed his maiden PGA Tour victory in a dramatic playoff at the FedEx St Jude Championship. Zalatoris defeated Austria’s Sepp Straka on the third extra hole TPC Southwind despite not making a birdie. Zalatoris, who led the field for Strokes Gained: Approach (gaining 8.12 shots for the tournament), said after the win: “It’s kind of hard to say ‘about time’ when you’re in your second year on tour but (it’s) about time. Considering all the close finishes that I’ve had this year, to finally pull it off means a lot.” Zalatoris is posted at 14-1 for the BMW Championship this week.

Meanwhile, Cameron Smith’s bid for World No. 1 was dealt a blow before play began on Sunday, when he was assessed a two-shot penalty for playing from the wrong place on the fourth hole in Saturday's third round. A victory in Memphis would have propelled him past Scottie Scheffler and to the top of the rankings. On Monday morning, Smith's agent put out a statement that the Australian would withdraw from this week's BMW Championship due to a nagging hip injury. Smith is rumored to be joining LIV Golf and the timing of the penalty certainly brought out the conspiracy theorists on social media. 

 

The second leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs will be held in Delaware this week. With only 68 players in the field for the BMW Championship (Smith and Tommy Fleetwood, who’s mother passed away, are not playing), the top of the odds board is even tighter with as many as 11 players priced anywhere from 10-1 to 20-1. Rory McIlroy (10-1), the 2012 BMW winner at Crooked Stick, is the tournament favorite yet again but looked rusty en route to a missed cut in Memphis (he had not played since The Open). McIlroy's only other missed cut in 2022 was at the Valero Texas Open in April before finishing second the following week at the Masters, so he has a tendency to rebound off a poor performance. Jon Rahm (14-1), who won the BMW at Olympia Fields in 2020, posted his first top-5 since his victory in Mexico in April. He was third for Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and seems to be in a positive frame of mind after he and wife Kelley gave birth to their second child, Eneko, a week and a half ago. Patrick Cantlay (14-1) is the defending BMW champion, having outlasted Bryson DeChambeau in a six-hole playoff last year at Caves Valley. Matt Fitzpatrick and Tony Finau (both 16-1) finished top-5 last week. Justin Thomas (16-1), the 2019 BMW winner at Medinah, finished 13th last week.

Scheffler (16-1) couldn’t get anything going on the greens last week and missed just his third cut of the season. The rest of the OWGR Top 10 includes Xander Schauffele (20-1), Collin Morikawa (20-1) and Viktor Hovland (28-1). 

The Event​

The BMW Championship serves as the penultimate event of the FedEx Cup playoffs, with the Top 70 in the FedEx Cup standings playing this week. While this event started in 2007, its history dates back a long way. The event originated as the Western Open in 1889 and ran until 2006. The Western was predominantly played in the Chicagoland area at venues such as Cog Hill and Butler National. The Western Golf Association, based in the Chicago suburbs, still serves as an organizer for this event and Chicago is still its most regular stop, but the BMW now rotates around the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. %%offer%%

With only 70 players earning spots this week, there is no 36-hole cut. The Top 30 in the FedEx Cup standings after this event move on to the Tour Championship in Atlanta next week. 

Four players moved into the Top 70 last week in Memphis: 

— Lucas Glover (No. 121 to No. 34): Rocketed up the standings with a T3 finish, just his second top-3 on tour in the last five years. 

— Adam Scott (No. 77 to No. 45): Picked a good time to collect his best finish at TPC Southwind.

— Andrew Putnam (No. 87 to 47): His T5 finish at Southwind was his second top-10 of the season.

— Wyndham Clark (No. 79 to No. 70): Nabbed the final spot in the BMW field despite playing his final five holes in 4-over.

Four players also fell out of the Top 70:

— Anirban Lahiri (No. 63 to 71): Players runner-up was bounced from the playoffs after missing the cut in Memphis.

— John Huh (No. 67 to 73): Runner-up a week earlier at the Wyndham withdrew last week after playing his first 27 holes in 7-over.

— Brendon Todd (No. 68 to 74): Fell 38 points short of advancing after a Sunday 75. He played his final seven holes in 6-over.

— Lanto Griffin (No. 69 to 77): Did not play after having back surgery earlier this year.

Here is a look at the current FedEx Cup standings:

1. Will Zalatoris, 3,641

2. Scottie Scheffler, 3,555

3. Cameron Smith, 2,547

4. Sam Burns, 2,428

5. Tony Finau, 2,260

6. Xander Schauffele, 2,174

7. Patrick Cantlay, 2,129

8. Sepp Straka, 2,109

9. Rory McIlroy, 2,103

10. Justin Thomas, 1,995

11. Matt Fitzpatrick, 1,944

12. Cameron Young, 1,854

13. Jon Rahm, 1,797

14. Sungjae Im, 1,747

15. Hideki Matsuyama, 1,697

16. Max Homa, 1,675

17. Jordan Spieth, 1,574

18. Viktor Hovland, 1,467

19. Joaquin Niemann, 1,440

20. Collin Morikawa, 1,437

21. Tom Hoge, 1,424

22. Billy Horschel, 1,376

23. Brian Harman, 1,343

24. J.T. Poston, 1,261

25. Joohyung Kim, 1,129

26. Sahith Theegala, 1,098

27. Davis Riley, 1,073

28. Kevin Kisner, 1,059

29. Corey Conners, 1,054

30. J.J. Spaun, 1,035

31. Aaron Wise, 1,032

32. Maverick McNealy, 1,016

33. K.H. Lee, 1,002

34. Lucas Glover, 998

35. Denny McCarthy, 995

36. Seamus Power, 990

37. Shane Lowry, 977

38. Keith Mitchell, 969

39. Cameron Tringale, 956

40. Trey Mullinax, 938

41. Mito Pereira, 938

42. Luke List, 937

43. Russell Henley, 934

44. Keegan Bradley, 924

45. Adam Scott, 896

46. Kurt Kitayama, 838

47. Sebastián Muñoz, 832

48. Tyrrell Hatton, 829

49. Cam Davis, 826

50. Mackenzie Hughes, 820

51. Andrew Putnam, 820

52. Si Woo Kim, 800

53. Scott Stallings, 799

54. Lucas Herbert, 796

55. Emiliano Grillo, 772

56. Tommy Fleetwood, 766

57. Troy Merritt, 756

58. Chez Reavie, 733

59. Adam Hadwin, 733

60. Christiaan Bezuidenhout, 714

61. Chris Kirk, 706

62. Taylor Moore, 704

63. Matt Kuchar, 696

64. Brendan Steele, 688

65. Harold Varner III, 682

66. Alex Noren, 681

67. Taylor Pendrith, 676

68. Marc Leishman, 672

69. Alex Smalley, 657

70. Wyndham Clark, 645

The Course​

Wilmington Country Club has never hosted a professional event but has hosted six USGA events, including the 2013 Palmer Cup between the United States and Europe. Justin Thomas is the only player in the field who participated in that event.

Legendary architect Robert Trent Jones designed this track in 1959. The course was renovated by Keith Foster in 2008 and again last year by Andrew Green. Last year’s renovation included a complete rebunkering, the addition of eight new fairway bunkers around 300 yards from the tee to better challenge players, building seven new championship tees and changing the intermediate rough to tall Fescue. The bunker rebuilds came because a tornado tore through the course in 2020 and destroyed more than 300 trees.

Wilmington will play as a Par 71 (four Par 3s, 11 Par 4s, three Par 5s) of 7,534 yards. It is a tree-lined parklands layout that will play as the sixth-longest course on the PGA Tour this season. There are continual elevation changes including numerous downhill tee shots and uphill approaches. Jones is known for having heavily bunkered fairways and greens. The course’s 91 bunkers are the eighth most on tour. The bunkers that border the greens are built into the uphill slopes of the elevated green complexes. Unlike last week at TPC Southwind, there are only four water holes at Wilmington.

The fairways are Bentgrass with a combination of Fescue and Bluegrass rough at 4 inches. The massive greens (8,100 square feet on average, second largest on tour) feature a Tyee Bentgrass. The greens are elevated and slope from back to front, but there are numerous holes with severe false fronts and closely mown chipping areas. They will roll at a fast 12.5 on the stimpmeter.

In terms of correlated courses, Firestone, Bellerive, Congressional and Hazeltine are all Jones designs that have been featured on the PGA Tour over the years, with the last three on the list having hosted major championships and/or Ryder Cups over the past decade. From a pure distance standpoint, Bethpage Black, Torrey Pines South and Winged Foot also fit the profile. 

Recent Winners

2021: Patrick Cantlay (-27/261); Caves Valley; 25-1*

2020: Jon Rahm (-4/276); Olympia Fields; 10-1**

2019: Justin Thomas (-25/263); Medinah; 16-1

2018: Keegan Bradley (-20/260); Aronimink; 140-1***

2017: Marc Leishman (-23/261); Conway Farms; 45-1

2016: Dustin Johnson (-23/265); Crooked Stick; 10-1

2015: Jason Day (-22/262); Conway Farms; 15/2

2014: Billy Horschel (-14/266); Cherry Hills; 66-1

2013: Zach Johnson (-16/268); Conway Farms; 40-1

2012: Rory McIlroy (-20/268); Crooked Stick; 7-1

2011: Justin Rose (-13/271); Cog Hill; 66-1

2010: Dustin Johnson (-9/275); Cog Hill; 33-1

Playoff win over Bryson DeChambeau*

Playoff win over Dustin Johnson**

Playoff win over Justin Rose***

Statistical Analysis​

Total Driving (2021-2022 PGA Tour Rankings)

While this course is long, accuracy will still matter due to the 4-inch rough. Total Driving accounts for Driving Distance plus Driving Accuracy.

1. Jon Rahm 54 (3 %plussign% 51)

2. Keith Mitchell 92 (19 %plussign% 73)

3. Emiliano Grillo 99 (62 %plussign% 37)

4. Sungjae Im 101 (72 %plussign% 29)

5. Corey Conners 104 (79 %plussign% 25)

6. Viktor Hovland 106 (38 %plussign% 68)

7. Cameron Young 109 (4 %plussign% 105)

8. Davis Riley 110 (44 %plussign% 66)

9. Shane Lowry 111 (47 %plussign% 64)

10. Xander Schauffele 113 (35 %plussign% 78)

11. Collin Morikawa 119 (87 %plussign% 32)

12. Scottie Scheffler 124 (20 %plussign% 104)

13. Russell Henley 126 (108 %plussign% 18)

13. Rory McIlroy 126 (2 %plussign% 124)

15. Matt Fitzpatrick 127 (80 %plussign% 47)

15. Brendan Steele 127 (42 %plussign% 85)

17. Lucas Glover 128 (117 %plussign% 11)

18. Chris Kirk 133 (100 %plussign% 33)

19. Sebastian Munoz 134 (72 %plussign% 62)

20. Si Woo Kim 135 (92 %plussign% 43)

Driving Distance %plussign% Driving Accuracy rank

Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green (Last 36 Rounds)

Considering this is the first time Wilmington has hosted a PGA Tour event, it is more difficult to model certain statistics. Nevertheless, Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green is always a good place to start.

1. Tony Finau 83.6

2. Cameron Young 65.4

3. Rory McIlroy 63.9

4. Scottie Scheffler 62

5. Justin Thomas 60.3

6. Brendan Steele 59.8

7. Will Zalatoris 56.7

8. Mito Pereira 54

9. Jon Rahm 53.3

10. Matt Fitzpatrick 50.1

11. Joaquin Niemann 49.4

12. Russell Henley 48.2

13. Sungjae Im 47.2

14. Shane Lowry 45.1

15. Aaron Wise 44.4

16. Xander Schauffele 42.7

17. Hideki Matsuyama 42.7

18. Taylor Pendrith 42.7

19. Max Homa 42.6

20. Davis Riley 41.7

21. Jordan Spieth 40.8

Proximity Gained: 200%plussign% Yards (Last 36 Rounds)

With three long Par 4s at around 490 yards and three Par 5s, players will have a few approach shots of 200 yards or more per round.

1. Xander Schauffele 30.9

2. Emiliano Grillo 28.8

3. Adam Scott 24.6

4. Brendan Steele 23.4

5. Aaron Wise 22

6. Alex Smalley 21.3

7. Cam Davis 20.2

8. Mito Pereira 19.9

9. Kurt Kitayama 19.4

10. Cameron Tringale 18.4

11. Hideki Matsuyama 17.3

12. Trey Mullinax 16.8

13. Collin Morikawa 16.8

14. Shane Lowry 16.7

15. Jon Rahm 15.2

16. Harold Varner III 15.1

17. Justin Thomas 14

18. Viktor Hovland 13.4

19. Lucas Glover 13.3

20. Wyndham Clark 12.4

21. Max Homa 12.1

22. Rory McIlroy 12

Proximity Gained: 75-100 Yards (Last 36 Rounds)

Four of the Par 4s measure 420 yards or less, so players will have a few short wedge shots per round.

1. Russell Henley 10.7

2. Justin Thomas 6.8

3. Cameron Young 6.7

4. Alex Noren 5.1

5. Davis Riley 5

6. Scottie Scheffler 4.9

7. Matt Kuchar 4.9

8. Max Homa 4.8

9. Shane Lowry 4.7

10. Collin Morikawa 4.6

11. Lucas Glover 4.4

12. Chris Kirk 4

13. Jordan Spieth 4

14. Taylor Pendrith 3.9

15. J.T. Poston 3.5

16. Adam Hadwin 3.5

17. Marc Leishman 3.2

Proximity Gained 100-125 Yards (Last 36 Rounds)

1. Tom Hoge 8.9

2. Chez Reavie 8.2

3. Justin Thomas 7.4

4. Scott Stallings 6.8

5. Sam Burns 6.5

6. Xander Schauffele 6.1

7. Shane Lowry 5.9

8. Cam Davis 5.8

9. Russell Henley 5.1

10. Viktor Hovland 5.1

11. Mito Pereira 5.1

12. Keegan Bradley 4.8

13. Jordan Spieth 4.5

14. Rory McIlroy 4.5

15. Andrew Putnam 4.1

16. Seamus Power 4.1

17. Cameron Young 4

Proximity Gained stats measure feet gained per shot

Strokes Gained: Par 4s 400-450 Yards (Last 36 Rounds)

Six of the 11 Par 4s measure between 400 and 450 Yards.

1. Andrew Putnam 21.2

2. J.T. Poston 19.4

3. Luke List 18.4

4. Tom Kim 17.8

5. Viktor Hovland 16.8

6. Tony Finau 16

7. Hideki Matsuyama 15.7

8. Jordan Spieth 14.5

9. Keegan Bradley 14.4

10. K.H. Lee 14.4

11. Tyrrell Hatton 14

12. Scottie Scheffler 14

13. Corey Conners 13.8

14. Sungjae Im 13.4

15. Kevin Kisner 13.4

16. Brendan Steele 12.7

17. Davis Riley 12.5

18. Matt Fitzpatrick 12.4

19. Mito Pereira 11.5

20. Russell Henley 11.3

21. Denny McCarthy 11.3

Strokes Gained: Par 5s 600-650 Yards (Last 36 Rounds)

Two of the three Par 5s measure between 600 and 650 Yards. 

1. Xander Schauffele 11.8

2. Max Homa 11

3. Brendan Steele 8.6

4. Jordan Spieth 7.2

5. Sam Burns 6.1

6. Scott Stallings 5.1

7. Mito Pereira 4.9

8. Rory McIlroy 4.8

9. J.J. Spaun 4

10. Aaron Wise 3.9

11. Matt Fitzpatrick 3.9

12. Alex Smalley 3.9

13. Tom Kim 3.8

14. Adam Scott 3.5

15. Maverick McNealy 3.3

16. Kevin Kisner 3.2

17. Lucas Herbert 3.1

18. Harold Varner III 3

19. Keith Mitchell 3

20. Davis Riley 3

21. Will Zalatoris 3

Strokes Gained: Par 3s 200-225 Yards (Last 36 Rounds)

Two of the four Par 3s measure between 200 and 225 Yards. 

1. Xander Schauffele 9.2

2. Scottie Scheffler 8.5

3. Patrick Cantlay 8.3

4. Matt Fitzpatrick 7.8

5. Collin Morikawa 7.4

6. Emiliano Grillo 7.1

7. Mito Pereira 7

8. K.H. Lee 6.8

9. Maverick McNealy 6.6

10. Luke List 6.3

11. Viktor Hovland 6.2

12. Justin Thomas 5.7

13. Aaron Wise 5.6

14. Max Homa 5.2

15. Keith Mitchell 4.9

16. Denny McCarthy 4.7

17. Brendan Steele 4.3

18. Scott Stallings 4.2

19. Hideki Matsuyama 4

20. Alex Smalley 4

21. Wyndham Clark 4

3-Putt Avoidance (Last 36 Rounds)

With these greens being so large, the Greens In Regulation rate will be high. However, due to the size and speed of the greens, many potential 3-putts loom for these players.

1. Tony Finau 10.62

2. Justin Thomas 9.64

3. Xander Schauffele 9.13

4. Cam Davis 8.58

5. Tyrrell Hatton 7.73

6. Alex Noren 7.46

7. Lucas Herbert 7.45

8. Hideki Matsuyama 7.4

9. Keegan Bradley 6.44

10. K.H. Lee 5.79

11. Christiaan Bezuidenhout 5.39

12. Billy Horschel 5.27

13. Davis Riley 5.11

14.cRussell Henley 4.86

15. J.T. Poston 4.76

16. Sungjae Im 4.46

17. Denny McCarthy 4.42

18. Corey Conners 4.4

19. Sahith Theegala 4.31

20. Emiliano Grillo 4.14

21. Will Zalatoris 4.14

Sand Saves Gained (Last 36 Rounds)

Like most Robert Trent Jones designs, Wilmington's greens are well-protected by bunkers.

1. Matt Kuchar 13.8

2. Denny McCarthy 11.1

3. Lucas Herbert 9

4. Alex Noren 9

5. Wyndham Clark 8.2

6. Matt Fitzpatrick 6.5

7. Brian Harman 6.4

8. Rory McIlroy 6.4

9. J.T. Poston 6.1

10. Troy Merritt 6.1

11. Xander Schauffele 5.9

12. Shane Lowry 5.9

13. Justin Thomas 5.8

14. Andrew Putnam 5.7

15. K.H. Lee 5.2

16. Scottie Scheffler 4.9

17. Patrick Cantlay 4.7

18. Taylor Pendrith 4.6

19. Cameron Young 4.5

20. Tom Hoge 4.4

21. Jordan Spieth 4.3

Selections​

Jon Rahm (14-1 DraftKings)

Rahm has had a down year by his standards with the lone victory coming against a weak field in the Mexico Open. However, on a longer golf course where Total Driving will matter, there is no better driver of the ball than Rahm. He also posted his first top-5 since his win in Mexico last week in Memphis, where he led the field for both Scrambling and Greens In Regulation. Last week was also Rahm's first tournament back since he and wife Kelley gave birth to their second child. A little “nappy factor” this week, perhaps?

Xander Schauffele (22-1 Circa Sports)

Schauffele was seen as someone who couldn’t close out wins unless they were against shorter fields. Well, he put that to bed with victories in consecutive starts at the Travelers Championship and Scottish Open this summer. He pops on many of the modeled stats listed here, including being tops in the field for Strokes Gained: Par 5s 600-650 Yards, Strokes Gained: Par 3s 200-225 Yards and Proximity Gained: 200%plussign% Yards over the last 36 rounds. Schauffele’s recent form outweighs that of many in this field, yet he’s priced ninth in the market.

Cameron Young (28-1 BetMGM)

Young finished T31 last week but ranked fifth for Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and led the field for Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee. It was the putter that kept him out of contention, having lost more than 4.5 strokes on the greens. He has five runner-up finishes this season dating to the Sanderson Farms last fall, plus two other third-place finishes. He saw college teammate Will Zalatoris finally earn his first PGA Tour win Sunday. No reason Young can’t do the same. 

Viktor Hovland (33-1 Circa Sports)

Hovland finished T20 last week in Memphis but gained in all categories except for Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green, which is not surprising given his weak chipping game. This week, he will not have to rely as much on that part of his game considering these large greens at Wilmington. 

Joaquin Niemann (40-1 DraftKings)

In finishing T13 last week, Niemann ranked second in the field for Strokes Gained: Approach. The Genesis Invitational winner has also gained off the tee in every start this season.

D %plussign% D Real Czech Masters​

Scotland’s Ewen Ferguson claimed his second DP World Tour title of the season with a wire-to-wire win in the ISPS Handa World Invitational last week at a price of 22-1. Ferguson, who began the week with a course-record 61 at Galgorm Castle, carded a closing 69 at the same venue to finish 12-under-par, three shots clear of close friend and countryman Connor Syme and Borja Virto. Syme, still seeking his maiden DP World Tour victory, had to settle for runner-up for the second consecutive week. Ferguson now has two DP World Tour victories, having also won the Qatar Masters in the spring. 

Neither Ferguson nor Syme are in this week's field at the D %plussign% D Real Czech Masters, but last week's third- and fourth-place finishers are with Spaniard Virto (100-1) and Englishman Richard Mansell (20-1). 

Belgian Thomas Pieters (13-2) has won this event twice (2015, 2019) and finished runner-up in 2016 here in Prague, so he is the rightful favorite. France's Victor Perez (16-1), No. 100 in the world, won for the first time in two and a half years earlier this season at the Dutch Open. Englishman Eddie Pepperell (20-1) appears to have turned his season around with three straight top-20s, including a runner-up three weeks ago when this column tipped him at the Hero Open. Pepperell fell one shot short of American Sean Crocker (25-1), who won his first DP World Tour event. Crocker was also the co-runner-up in this event last year, along with Finland's Tapio Pulkkanen (100-1), to fellow American expatriate Johannes Veerman (35-1). 

South African Hennie du Plessis (22-1) finished runner-up with fellow countryman Jean Hugo on the Sunshine Tour last week. He also finished runner-up at the first LIV event in June. Other LIV members playing this week include Laurie Canter (25-1) and Ian Poulter (30-1).

The Course

The Albatross Golf Resort in Vysoky Ujezd, Czech Republic, was designed by Keith Preston in 2010 and has been the host for the Czech Masters since its inception in 2014. The course, which is located on the outskirts of Prague at slight altitude, is a 7,468-yard, Par 72 with exposed fairways and large Bentgrass greens that will roll at around 12 on the stimpmeter. The fairways are generous and the bombers can flourish here, but shorter hitters have also won on this track. 

Water is in play on seven holes including both closing holes on the front and back nines. There are four Par 5s three of those are on Holes 9-12. 

Recent Winners

2021: Johannes Veerman (-15/273); 25-1

2020: No Tournament due to COVID-19

2019: Thomas Pieters (-19/269); 20-1

2018: Andrea Pavan (-22/266); 50-1

2017: Haydn Porteous (-13/275); 60-1

2016: Paul Peterson (-15/273); 250-1

2015: Thomas Pieters (-20/268); 80-1

2014: Jamie Donaldson (-14/274); 12-1

Statistical Analysis​

Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green (2021-2022 DP World Tour)

The last two winners here, Veerman and Pieters, ranked third and second for Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green during their winning weeks.

1. Thomas Pieters %plussign% 1.94

2. Hennie du Plessis %plussign% 1.47

3. Victor Perez %plussign% 1.26

4. Ross Fisher %plussign% 1.16

5. Richard Mansell %plussign% 1.04

6. Lee Slattery %plussign% 1.02

7. Garrick Porteous %plussign% 0.91

8. Victor Dubuisson %plussign% 0.91

9. Alfredo Garcia-Heredia %plussign% 0.86

10. Paul Waring %plussign% 0.85

11. Louis De Jager %plussign% 0.83

12. John Catlin %plussign% 0.81

13. Jens Dantorp %plussign% 0.80

14. Matthieu Pavon %plussign% 0.78

15. Laurie Canter %plussign% 0.71

Strokes gained per round

Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee (2021-2022 DP World Tour)

Veerman and Pieters ranked sixth and fourth for Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee during their winning weeks. 

1. Richard Mansell %plussign% 0.97

2. Thomas Pieters %plussign% 0.86

3. Laurie Canter %plussign% 0.81

4. Wilco Nienaber %plussign% 0.75

5. Ross Fisher %plussign% 0.74

6. Hennie du Plessis %plussign% 0.70

7. Wil Besseling %plussign% 0.67

8. John Catlin %plussign% 0.57

9. Thriston Lawrence %plussign% 0.54

10. Alfonso Garcia-Heredia %plussign% 0.49

11. Victor Perez %plussign% 0.46

12. Paul Waring %plussign% 0.44

13. Garrick Porteous %plussign% 0.40

14. Lee Slattery %plussign% 0.39

15. Niklas Norgaard Moller %plussign% 0.33

Selections​

Thriston Lawrence (28-1 FanDuel/Boyd Sports)

Lawrence has four top-10s in his rookie season on the DP World Tour. 

Wilco Nienaber (31-1 FanDuel/Boyd Sports)

The big-hitting South African leads the DP World Tour for Driving Distance and ranks fourth in this week's field for Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee.

Paul Waring (35-1 Superbook Sports)

Waring finished runner-up at the Cazoo Classic four weeks ago and followed that up with an eighth-place finish at the Cazoo Open two weeks later. 

Wil Besseling (45-1 DraftKings)

Besseling is one of the longer hitters on the DP World Tour, ranking seventh in this field for Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and 13th overall on tour for Driving Distance. 

Niklas Norgaard Moller (65-1 FanDuel/Boyd Sports)

The DP World Tour rookie from Denmark is third on tour for Driving Distance. 

Gavin Green (70-1 PointsBet)

Green has been the first-round leader here twice and comes off a runner-up finish in Singapore last week.