PGA Tour Golf Preview – August 8th – 11th, 2019
The first FedEx Cup playoff event of the season is here. The season is now building up to its big climax. It’s off to the Northern Trust Open which is the first of now just three events in the playoffs. Of the 125 players invited, only 70 will be going through to the next leg of the competition. Extra pressure is now on in the revamped format.
Northern Trust Golf Winner Odds*
Brooks Koepka 8/1
Rory McIlroy 11/1
Jon Rahm 16/1
Dustin Johnson 16/1
Justin Rose 18/1
Justin Thomas 20/1
Patrick Cantlay 22/1
Rickie Fowler 22/1
Tommy Fleetwood 22/1
Webb Simpson 25/1
Tiger Woods 28/1
Xander Schauffele 28/1
Francesco Molinari 40/1
Adam Scott 40/1
Bryson DeChambeau 45/1
Patrick Reed 45/1
Matt Kuchar 45/1
Tony Finau 45/1
Bar 50/1
* (Betting Odds were taken from bet365 on August 6th, 2019 at 5:33 p.m.)
Table of Contents
Outright Favourite
Brooks Koepka is top of the tree for the Northern Trust 2019 betting. The American is the beast to beat when it comes to the main events. Koepka was the regular-season points race leader. A big bulk of his points came from his PGA Championship victory. In his last outing Koepka raced away to win the FedEx St Jude Invitational.
That was on the back of a T4 at The Open Championship as well. There is just no way to write him out of the picture at all. He was in the driver’s seat after 36 holes at Ridgewood last year at the Northern Trust, but just couldn’t convert from there. More likely than not he is going to be in contention.
Reigning Champion
Bryson DeChambeau claimed the win last year at Ridgewood. He comes back into the mixer as a 45/1 odds chance* (Betting Odds were taken from bet365 on August 6th, 2019 at 5:33 p.m.). DeChambeau won by four strokes as well over Tony Finau who is the same price as him for the Northern Trust 2019.
We have not quite seen the same kind of form from DeChambeau this season. However, he has improved over the last couple of months with a T8 at the Travelers Championship followed by a T2 at the 3M Open. He missed the cut at The Open (fourth missed cut in nine) and was nowhere at the St Jude. It’s not quite been happening for him.
Who are the Northern Trust Top Picks?
It has been a brilliant season from Rory McIlroy, just of late it has been missed opportunities. He banked a great win at the Canadian Open and then earned a top ten finish at the US Open. There was then his missed cut at The Open where he had a horrible start but produced a brilliant fightback on day two just miss out on the weekend. He was back in form at the St Jude, holding the lead but unable to finish the job.
It’s raised questions about his mentality in handling pressure at the right time, which is ridiculous given his career. He is rarely out of the top ten of any event that he enters, but will punters desert him at an 11/1 price* (Betting Odds were taken from bet365 on August 6th, 2019 at 5:33 p.m.)? Missed out on a chance at the St Jude to take top spot in the FedEx Cup from Koepka. He’s got plenty of fight in him.
Webb Simpson is a top pick for us at 25/1* (Betting Odds were taken from bet365 on August 6th, 2019 at 5:33 p.m.). His all-round game is on fire at the moment. At Liberty National it’s not so much about the putter it’s just about some top-class ball-striking upfront. Since June, Simpson has hit a streak of three second-place finishes in five.
He has taken runners up spot in his last two events, the St Jude and the Wyndham. He’s sticking the ball in the right places and his putter is going well. So that will make him a threat. He has also taken two top fifteen finishes in his two previous Northern Trust/Barclays events at Liberty National. He’s in the zone and looking a good fit for the week.
Top Each Way Picks
Tommy Fleetwood is in the picture as well or should be. He’s another who is hitting the ball well at the moment and after a T13 at the Travelers, has followed it up with a runner-up at The Open and then an impressive top five at the St Jude. He is going to have plenty of support at the right price of 25/1* (Betting Odds were taken from bet365 on August 6th, 2019 at 5:33 p.m.).
Xander Schauffele is a big 60/1 punt this week* (Betting Odds were taken from bet365 on August 6th, 2019 at 5:33 p.m.). However, he is sitting right up there in fourth place in the FedEx Cup regular-season standings. He came firing out of the blocks this season and its performances in some of the big events that pique interest. There was his T2 at the Masters in April and his T3 at the US Open in mid-June. The Open links was a non-starter for him but was under par at the St Jude as a warm-up for this. The former rookie of the year is worth considering.
There has to be a look at Collin Morikawa, who will be on the drift after a disappointing T31 at the Wyndham. However, there was a positive in that, because he rallied to a brilliant 65 on Sunday. The reason he’s worth a look is because of his form before that. He was red, red hot with the Barracuda Championship win followed by back to back top fives at the John Deere and 3M Open. At 50/1 odds he’s there to be taken on each way* (Betting Odds were taken from bet365 on August 6th, 2019 at 5:33 p.m.).
Northern Trust Open 2019 Predictions
It’s worth remembering that this is a stepping stone in the battle to reach the Tour Championships and have a shot at the $15 million bonus that’s there. It ramps up the pressure, and for some near that 70-man cut, survival is going to be fuelling their game.
From the top of the market, we would skip both Kopeka and McIlroy because of price issues and see far more value on someone like Justin Thomas or Patrick Cantlay. But all that can get pushed aside anyway because it’s Webb Simpson who just checks all the boxes this week.
