This article is part of our Golf Picks series.
World Wide Technology Championship Betting Preview
Happy Halloween!
Following a short break in the schedule the PGA Tour returns to action and heads south of the border for the World Wide Technology Championship. Previously held at Mayakoba, the event switches locations this year to El Cardonal at Diamante in Cabo San Lucas.
The field is noticeably weaker this time around but still includes five of the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking. It is headlined by Ryder Cup participant Ludvig Aberg -- the tournament favorite at 9-1 odds.
Last year, Russell Henley -- at 50-1 -- bested Brian Harman by four shots and picked up his fourth PGA Tour victory.
All odds via DraftKings Sportsbook as of 5:30 PM ET Tuesday.
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Course Characteristics
El Cardonal is a Tiger Woods design and plays as a traditional par-72 layout at 7,452 yards. Considering the location, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that this is a resort-style golf course. Off the tee, players are faced with generously-wide fairways that average 60 yards with minimal rough surrounding them. As such, expect to see players pull out the driver on most tee shots. The greens -- which average 8,300 square feet -- are also large here, so the surroundings will be optimal for scoring. With this expected to be a birdie-fest, play around the greens will certainly diminished. The recipe for success will likely favor the longer hitters, those that approach it well from inside 150 yards and golfers that are capable of making birdies -- eagles -- in bunches. I'll also be looking at those who have had success on other resort-style courses in Hawaii and Mexico.
In the Proper Form
These five golfers, on a per-round basis, gained the most strokes off the tee and on approach combined over their last 20 rounds.
- Lucas Glover: 1.69
- Cameron Young: 1.05
- Adam Svensson: 0.98
- Stephan Jaeger: 0.88
- J.J. Spaun: 0.84
Ball striking -- especially at new venues -- is always a great statistic to look at, and it's no surprise to see Glover at the top of the list. He went through an insane run this summer where he won twice and had five finishes of T6 or better over a six-tournament stretch. The downside is that he hasn't played in over two months and his accuracy off the tee won't be highly rewarded here, but that seems to be more than factored into his 30-1 price. Not far ahead of him on the betting board at 25-1 is Jaeger, who is certainly used to having to go low from his Korn Ferry Tour days, when he picked up six victories. That has yet to translate to a win on the big stage, and while he has only two top-10s on the season, his consistency has been impressive, with 15 consecutive made cuts and eight top-25s during that stretch.
World Wide Technology Championship Bets: Outright Picks
Cameron Young (11-1)
This will be the first time we've seen Young since the BMW Championship, and I'm expecting him to play well with a chip on his shoulder from missing out on the Ryder Cup. He's one of the longest players on Tour -- he ranks third in driving distance -- and is capable of going low, ranking 12th in Birdie or Better Percentage.
J.J. Spaun (35-1)
Spaun's last three trips to resort-style courses -- Mayakoba, Kapalua and Waialae -- have resulted in three top-15 finishes On top of that, he was just two shots behind Collin Morikawa on the back nine of the final round of the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP two weeks ago before faltering late.
Davis Thompson (45-1)
I'm eyeing another longer hitter with this pick, as Thompson is averaging over 310 yards off the tee and notched a runner-up finish during his rookie season. He's capable of taking advantage of the four par-5s, ranking fifth in Par-5 Scoring this season with an average score of 4.48.
World Wide Technology Championship Bets: Top-10 Wagers
Davis Riley (5-1)
From one Davis to another, Riley has had an inconsistent season but did pick up a win in the Zurich Classic team event. We've seen the potential, as he had seven top-15s over a nine-tournament stretch last year. He has above average distance off the tee and solid approach numbers inside 150 yards.
Troy Merritt (8-1)
Merritt finished T15 and T3 the last two years at this event, and that means something even if it's at a different venue. He's had a hot start to the fall with a pair of top-10 finishes.
Ryan Palmer (11-1)
The 47-year-old is still an above average ball striker, as he ranks 44th on Tour in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and 53rd in approach this season. He's usually held back by his short game, but chipping shouldn't be much of a factor, and he's a better putter on paspalum.
World Wide Technology Championship Bets: Head-to-Head Matchups
Akshay Bhatia (-130) over Taylor Pendrith
This type of tournament and venue should be right up Bhatia's alley. While he's struggled in marquee tournaments, his win this summer came at an alternate event and he has top-5 finishes in Puerto Rico and Mexico. Pendrith does seem like he should fit the setup well, but with four missed cuts over his last five starts he's too risky for my liking in this format.
Matt Kuchar (+105) over Chris Kirk
Kuchar has historically played well on resort courses, winning at Mayakoba and Waialae over the last five years. On top of that, Kuchar has played three times since the end of the playoffs, posting a top-10 in his lone PGA start and a top-20 in Europe. Kirk, on the other hand, has not played in over two months and finished the summer with five missed cuts over his last nine events.
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