Last week
Brooks Koepka returned to the winner’s circle with a victory at LIV Singapore over our Aussies Cam Smith and Marc Leishman. Smith’s Ripper GC side also won the teams component of Singapore, their second LIV teams victory in a row. Smith’s teammate, Lucas Herbert, later became one of several golfers to be given special exemptions into the PGA Championship next week, among them was Talor Gooch – who has been vocal about LIV golfers’ access to the majors and the fact he will not tee up in 36-hole qualifying for US Open and Open Championship – and Dean Burmester.
This week
Another $US20 million event on the PGA Tour’s signature series and this one is the Wells Fargo Championship. It’s a ball-strikers course and you don’t necessarily have to putt amazingly, so look at big hitters, like Rory McIlroy, and defending champion, Wyndham Clark, if you’re having a punt. McIlroy is at $8, and this is his happy hunting ground given he’s won here three times. But I’ll be going with Clark. At $15, he’s still sitting just outside the odds he probably deserves. I think he’ll go back-to-back. His driving and iron play are suited to the big ballpark that is Quail Hollow. He’s also a good top-5 bet at $3.75. If you want a bit more value, look at 2019 winner Max Homa at $19 for a win or a top 5 at $4.50. Top Aussie has to be Cameron Davis at $3.6. He was right in contention during the Masters’ first two rounds and has great memories from his fantastic Presidents Cup performance at Quail Hollow in 2022.
Australians in the field: Jason Day (1:11am, AEST), Adam Scott (2:06am) and Cam Davis (2:17am)
Influencer classic?
People ridiculed the idea of offering a bunch of YouTube golfers the chance to qualify for a PGA Tour event, but I think it was a great idea. Pro golf is stale at the moment, and this is an opposite-field event. It needed some South Carolina hot sauce. There were YouTubers in that qualifier, names like Grant Horvat, Peter Finch, Micah Morris and George Bryan, who each have hundreds of thousands of followers. They had a chance to earn a spot at the inaugural Myrtle Beach Classic via “The Q at Myrtle Beach”, a 16-player, 18-hole qualifier. Veteran Korn Ferry Tour pro Matt Atkins, who is from South Carolina, won the qualifier and will compete on the PGA Tour at the Myrtle Beach Classic. He cameos often in Bryan Bros Golf YouTube content, so it was fitting the qualifier came down to Atkins and George Bryan in a playoff.
Bets? Have a look at Matt Wallace. He’s been playing good golf and is $29 for a win, $6.50 for a top 5 and $3.6 for top 10.
Looking ahead to the PGA Championship
Brooks Koepka, who just won LIV Singapore, is $13 for Valhalla next week. Valhalla is a bomber’s course, like when McIlroy won in 2014 and Tiger Woods won in 2000. You have to hit it long, so $13 is pretty good odds for Koepka, the defending champion. Scottie Scheffler is an amazing player and will probably be in with a chance on Sunday, but $5 to win doesn’t interest me. Also, if you wanted to bet on an Aussie, I’d get on Min Woo Lee at $41. He’s had top 25s in his past two starts, including the Masters. His ball speeds regularly clock faster than 190 miles per hour, so he’s got the necessary firepower.
