Rocket Mortgage Classic betting preview

travelers-championship-2019-betting-preview

First off, it’s really not that wise to bet on a single player to win a golf tournament because a full-field regular PGA Tour event is 156 guys. So, the odds obviously are stacked against whomever you might choose. It’s smarter to bet on someone to finish in the Top 10 or in a head-to-head prop.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

travelers-championship-2019-betting-previewHowever, people certainly like to place bets on guys to win an event, and the No. 1 rule in handicapping is to give a ton of weight to tournament/course history. If a guy always plays well at a certain track, he’s called a “Horse for the Course.”

Unfortunately, there’s no tournament or course history to use as a guide this week because the PGA Tour stop is the new Rocket Mortgage Classic. It’s the first-ever PGA Tour event in Detroit, believe it or not. The greater Detroit area is chock full of stellar golf courses, such as Oakland Hills in suburban Bloomfield Hills, which has hosted the U.S. Open several times. But this is a first in the city of Detroit and the first PGA Tour event in the entire state of Michigan since the Buick Open ended its long run in 2009.

This tournament is replacing the Quicken Loans National, which had been played at Congressional Country Club outside of Washington, D.C., since 2014. In 2016, Quicken Loans – founded by Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert – launched Rocket Mortgage. Detroit Golf Club’s North Course, which opened in 1916, is the host and is a par 72 at around 7,300 yards.

This is the first tournament for many guys since the U.S. Open two weeks ago at Pebble Beach. Dustin Johnson was a favorite entering that but finished 35th. Johnson is the +550 betting favorite this week as he looks for his second victory of the year (WGC-Mexico Championship in February).

Gary Woodland, who won the U.S. Open for his first-ever major championship, is at +1400 odds ahead of Rickie Fowler and Hideki Matsuyama at +1200. That victory at Pebble Beach got Woodland to a career-high 12th in the world rankings. He, Johnson and Fowler all skipped last week’s Travelers Championship outside Hartford.

Chez Reavie sits at +2500 odds. Reavie won the Travelers Championship by four shots over Keegan Bradley and Zack Sucher. It was Reavie’s second career win and first since 2008. He also was in the mix at the U.S. Open, finishing tied for third. Matsuyama hasn’t won this season but also hasn’t missed a cut in 16 events. He was T21 at the U.S. Open.