PLUS A LOOK AT THE BMW CHAMPIONSHIP AT WENTWORTH
Ryder Cup picks aside, the U.S. golf circuit has had a couple of weeks downtime since the TOUR Championship, which featured our +1400 Schauffele top American winner! It returns this week with the first event of the FedEx Cup Fall series – the Fortinet Championship from California, where most attentions will be on Ryder Cup participants Homa and Thomas.
Homa is the tournament favorite at +700, and he’s only there because he’s bidding to win this three times on the bounce. His Ryder Cup teammate Justin Thomas has been in poor form recently, missing out on the FedEx Cup Playoffs entirely, so it’s no surprise he’s taking to the course, looking to show Zach Johnson what he can do. Whilst they’re looking to dial in ahead of the trip to Italy and both clearly have the talent required to win an event like this, it’s easy enough to look past the pair for victory given their mind is partly elsewhere and that leads us to our winner pick…
OUTRIGHT WINNER: SAHITH THEEGALA (+1800, DraftKings)
Theegala would’ve certainly been looking at making a case for booking a spot on the plane to Rome this time last year but a poor run of form midseason proved costly. The American started the 22-23 season well, with a T6 in this followed by three more top five finishes before a T6 at the Genesis and a 9th at the Masters. Recapturing that form will put him right there on Sunday.
As the season closed out in the FedEx Cup Playoffs, we got to see flashes of that Theegala returning, logging a T13 and T15 in the first two events before missing out on the TOUR Championship by one place. The break will have done him good to reflect on a return to form and he should be raring to go on the Silverado Resort and Spa North Course.
Theegala is still searching for his first win, but this is certainly one of his best chances yet with the European big guns over at the BMW Championship and nearly the entire U.S. Ryder Cup team sitting it out. On the rest of the field, Theegala stands above in terms of ability.
TOP 5 FINISH: TAYLOR MONTGOMERY (+1200, DraftKings)
Montgomery promised so much last season, especially after starting off with a solo 3rd here, carding an eight under final round! He wasn’t outside the top 15 in the first five events of the season, and then only once outside that mark in the first nine. That form earned him the FedEx Cup Playoffs spot which came to a close for him with a T37 in the St Jude Championship.
It’s partly that result which has given us hope that Montgomery can find that form of 12 months ago again. After a terrible +4 opening round, the American’s final three rounds (and his most recent in a professional capacity) yielded a -9 score. If starting out like that, he’d have been in contention on Sunday.
A few weeks off, with a good final outing in the back of his mind, the 28-year-old is ready to start afresh and back at a venue that brought about his best result of last season.
BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP TOP 5: LUDVIG ABERG (+500, DraftKings)
The entire 12-man European Ryder Cup team lineup at Wentworth this week for the BMW PGA Championship, eyes on both sides of the Atlantic will be watching to see how they perform and interact in particular feature groups.
It’s to be expected they’ll all be battling to showcase their credentials to Luke Donald and ensure they’re on his team sheet for the opening morning in Rome. The odds are stacked in that manner obviously, but the most exciting rookie has been priced at +500 for a top five finish.
Aberg has finished in the top five in three of his last six events, and both of his last two, including victory last time out when the pressure was on to deliver and claim a place in Rome. It’s no secret that the Swede is extremely talented, as his collegiate career proved, and this week’s tournament has given Aberg a spotlight to demonstrate his skill surrounded by his peers.
We’ll be back with a full build up and best bets for the Ryder Cup in two weeks!
All odds listed from DraftKings, as of Tuesday September 12.
