2023 Tour Championship Expert Picks: Trust the chasing pack

By brett hoffman | aug 23, 2023.

Sungjae Im, Tour Championship, East Lake,Adam Hagy-USA TODAY Sports

We’ve reached the Tour Championship, the final tournament of the PGA Tour season.

The top 30 golfers in the FedEx Cup standings descend on the renowned East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. This tournament features the largest purse in golf, $70M, with the winner cashing $18M.

The Tour Championship features a starting strokes format, meaning the leader of the season-long FedEx Cup standings, Scottie Scheffler, begins the tournament at 10 under par, with those behind him starting with scores on a staggered scale. (No. 2, Viktor Hovland, starts at 8 under, No. 3, Rory McIlroy, at 7 under, etc., all the way down to the final five in the standings, who begin at even par, 10 shots behind Scheffler.)

The golfer who finishes the tournament with the lowest score, incorporating the starting strokes, will win both the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup.

The betting market is offering two options to bet; one is factoring in starting strokes and the other is betting on the winner without starting strokes. For this betting preview, the focus is on Winner Without Starting Strokes , and we’re targeting 3 players in Atlanta.

2023 Tour Championship: Picks and Best Bets for East Lake.

Note: All listed odds are courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook. Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. For more betting content and insights for all sports check out Betsided.

(Tournament Winner Without Starting Strokes)

Sungjae Im (+3500)

The South Korean ace famously torched East Lake to end the 2022 season, nearly winning the tournament despite starting at 4 under, 6 shots back. The sun is starting to rise at the most critical point of the season (Finished 7th at the BMW, and 6th in Memphis).

Im lives in Atlanta too, so he’ll be comfortable. Sungjae has the ammo to track down the leaders.

Jordan Spieth (+3500)

When everyone jumps off the Jordan roller coaster, that’s when I like to ride it. Spieth will begin play at even par, so he’ll be playing loose and with house money, making him a danger man.

Spieth excels at East Lake, he won here in 2015, finished T2 in 2013, and T7 in 2017. With tons of Tour Championship experience, Spieth will climb up the board in Atlanta this weekend.

Next. 2023 Tour Championship Power Rankings. dark

Tom Kim (+4000)

This will be Tom Kim’s maiden voyage to East Lake, so no course history to lean on, but that hasn’t stopped the young man in the past. Tom Kim has recorded wins at two properties he never played on before ( Sedgefield at the Wyndham Championship in 2022, and TPC Summerlin at the 2022 Shriners Children’s Open).

Kim has been flashing lately, posting three top 10s in his last 4 starts, and he certainly has the moxie to navigate East Lake and the big stage.

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golf digest tour championship expert picks

It’s time.

It’s time to crown the winner of the 2021-22 FedEx Cup. After his victory at the BMW Championship last week , Patrick Cantlay has vaulted from No. 7 in the FedEx Cup standings to No. 2, only behind Scottie Scheffler.

At this week’s Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, the leaderboard will be staggered. Players will start a certain amount of shots behind the world No. 1 depending on where they rank in the standings (the full leaderboard is detailed below).

Tuesday morning, Will Zalatoris, No. 3 in the FEC standings, withdrew from the event due to two herniated discs .

The last three FedEx Cup champions: Patrick Cantlay (2021), Dustin Johnson (2020) and Rory McIlroy (2019).

Let’s jump into our final preview of the 2021-22 campaign.

Tour Championship :  PGA Tour Live on ESPN+ | What’s at stake?

Golf course

East Lake Golf Club | Par 70 | 7,346 yards

golf digest tour championship expert picks

A general view as Justin Thomas of the United States putts on the 18th green during the final round of the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club on September 05, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

  • Strokes Gained: Approach
  • Fairways in regulation
  • Strokes Gained: Putting: Bermuda

Data Golf Information

Course Fit  ( compares golf courses based on the degree to which different golfer attributes — such as driving distance — to predict who performs well at each course – DataGolf): 1. TPC River Highlands, 2. TPC Twin Cities, 3. TPC Deere Run

Trending : 1. Rory McIlroy (last three starts: 3, MC, T-8), 2. Tony Finau (1, T-5, T-28), 3. Xander Schauffele (T-15, T-57, T-3)

Percent chance to win (based on course history, fit, trending, etc.): 1. Scottie Scheffler (34.8 percent), 2. Patrick Cantlay (14.6 percent), 3. Xander Schauffele (9.3 percent)

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Players-only meeting details surface, Tour Championship preview: Apple Podcasts  |  Spotify  |  Google Podcasts

Betting preview

Leaderboard, xander schauffele.

2022 BMW Championship

Xander Schauffele plays his shot from the third tee during the final round of the BMW Championship golf tournament. (Photo: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports)

Since 2017, the year Xander Schauffele won the Tour Championship as a rookie, he has not shot over par at East Lake (20 rounds, two 70s). He was the gross-scoring winner in 2020 and third in 2021.

You could say he likes Atlanta.

Bets to consider: Outright (+750), Outright without strokes (+1200), Top 5 (-110)

Rory McIlroy

2022 BMW Championship

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays his shot from the sixth tee during the first round of the BMW Championship at Wilmington Country Club on August 18, 2022, in Wilmington, Delaware. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Another man who loves East Lake. He tied for second at the Tour Championship in 2014 (before the staggered start was in place), won in 2016 (again, before the staggered start), was in the final group in 2018 before stumbling on Sunday and won again in 2019 (first year of staggered start, was 5 under to start the week).

Bets to consider: Outright (+1200), Top 5 (+130)

Jon Rahm

Jon Rahm on the 5th hole during the third round of the 150th Open Championship golf tournament. (Photo: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports)

Something seemed to click for the Spaniard over the weekend at the BMW Championship. After opening the week with rounds of 73-70, Rahm fired a 65 on Saturday and 67 on Sunday. Last season, Rahm tied Kevin Na for the lowest gross score at East Lake.

Bets to consider: Outright (+1500), Outright without strokes (+750), Top 5 (+180)

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Rbc heritage 2024 golf betting preview, odds, pga picks and props.

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2023 RBC Heritage winner Matt Fitzpatrick hands his ball off to his caddie during the first round of ... [+] the RBC Heritage golf tournament, Thursday, April 13, 2023 at Harbour Town Golf Links, in Hilton Head Island, S.C. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

Following world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler ’s dominating win at The Masters for his second green jacket and third PGA Tour title in 2024, the top golfers head about 140 miles Southeast to Hilton Head Island for the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town. Scheffler is right back on the tee as prohibitive betting favorite for a Signature Event at Harbour Town Golf Links. The tournament and $20 million purse drew an elite field for the second straight year, and note that this is a no cut event with all golfers playing 72 holes. The field includes just 69 players and all but two of the top-30 in the Official World Golf Rankings (Matsuyama and Hovland out).

Betting favorites and top players continue to take a bulk of the betting action when wagering to win, and bettors also include many of those players in other types of bets like top finishing position (top 5, 10, 20) and other prop bets like Round 1 birdies or better. Most players have an over/under of 4.5 for birdies or better with different odds. For example, FanDuel Ambassador and 2022 Heritage champion Jordan Spieth is -150 for under 4.5 birdies or better, and +105 for over . The 2023 Heritage winner of the plaid jacket who beat Spieth in a playoff was Matt Fitzpatrick , who is -140 for under 4.5 birdies or better and +100 for over . The two tournament favorites, Scottie Scheffler is -175 to go over 4.5 birdies or better in Round 1 while Rory McIlroy is -140 over. Patrick Cantlay also has four top-3 finishes in six starts at Harbour Town plus a T7. He’s -115 to make more than 4.5 birdies in Round 1 and an over/under score of 68.5 (-140 over ) at FanDuel Sportsbook .

Harbour Town Golf Links

A players favorite on the Pete Dye design, Harbour Town Golf Links is a Par 71 tree-lined track that plays to 7,213 yards for the RBC Heritage event. Experience helps as players navigate a claustrophotic course where water is in play on all 18 holes. Golfers shape shots into tiny greens that average 3,700 square feet - second smallest on the PGA Tour. The perennial ryegrass rough is down from last year’s cut of 2.5 inches.

The doglegs around the trees and penalty areas don’t allow for the big hitters to separate themselves off the tee, as players often hit to similar target areas with more approach shots from 175 yards range.

Scottie Scheffler finished T11 here last year in his tournament debut shooting 68-65 before falling over the weekend with 69-70. Scheffler commented in the press room Tuesday before the 2024 event about the difference in coming from Augusta National to a completely different golf course here at Harbour Town.

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“Yeah, it's very different. I think sometimes when you're coming from Augusta — we were talking about it today, the green at No. 14 just looked so small. I'm sitting there with a 6-iron looking at this small green, and Augusta everything is really big at times and then you come here and everything is really, really small it seems like,” Scheffler said.

Harbour Town Golf Links - Hole By Hole

“It's a great golf course, and it's a lot of fun to play. I think it's very interesting,” Scheffler added. “I think for some people, distance debate type people if they're ever looking at golf course design and how to combat people only trying to hit the ball really far, they need to come here and do a case study on this golf course because it's really, really good. You've got to curve the ball both directions, and you have to control your distance. You have to control where the golf ball is going. It's not just a place where you can go bomb it.”

RBC Heritage Golf Odds And Favorites

Leading favorites and contenders golf odds from FanDuel Sportsbook refresh periodically and are subject to change, including on props and live betting.

  • +450: Scottie Scheffler
  • +1200: Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele
  • +1400: Ludvig Aberg
  • +1600: Patrick Cantlay
  • +1800: Tommy Fleetwood, Collin Morikawa
  • +2500: Matt Fitzpatrick
  • +2800: Max Homa
  • +3000: Jordan Spieth, Will Zalatoris, Cameron Young
  • +3500: Si Woo Kim, Wyndham Clark
  • +4000: Sahith Theegala, Russell Henley
  • +4500: Justin Thomas, Shane Lowry
  • +5500: Tom Kim, Sam Burns, Corey Conners
  • +6000: Tony Finau, Akshay Bhatia, Brian Harman
  • +6500: Chris Kirk, Jason Day, J.T. Poston
  • +7000: Denny McCarthy
  • +7500: Byeong Hun An, Harris English, Cam Davis
  • +8000: Taylor Moore, Sungjae Im, Lucas Glover
  • +8000: Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Sepp Straka
  • +9000: Brend0n Todd, Matthieu Pavon
  • +11000: Eric Cole, Kurt Kitayama, Stephan Jaeger
  • +11000: Adam Hadwin, Keegan Bradley, Adam Schenk
  • +12000: Tom Hoge, Emiliano Grillo

72 Hole Winning Score (Par 71): 266.5

Top 5 and Top 10 Finish

  • +110 Top 5, -200 Top 10: Scheffler
  • +260, +120: Schauffele
  • +280, +130: McIlroy
  • +300, +140: Aberg
  • +350, +160: Cantlay
  • +360, +160: Fleetwood
  • +360, +175: Morikawa
  • +500, +230: Matt Fitzpatrick
  • +550, +240: Homa
  • +600, +260: Zalatoris

Those 10 top players all have odds from -110 to -230 to finish Top 20 with Scheffler -550 to finish Top 20.

Looking at recent course history, 11 players have multiple Top-15 finishes over the last five years: Sam Burns, Patrick Cantlay, Corey Conners, Cam Davis, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood, Emiliano Grillo, Brian Harman, Sungjae Im, J.T. Poston and Jordan Spieth.

Team RBC ambassadors include: Sam Burns, Corey Conners, Adam Hadwin, Mackenzie Hughes, Adam Svensson, Nick Taylor, Sahith Theegala and Cameron Young.

RBC Heritage Golf Picks

Leading golf analysts and contributors picks to win and top finishing position include:

  • Golf Digest - Tommy Fleetwood (2), Xander Schauffele, Max Homa, Shane Lowry, Si Woo Kim, Cam Davis
  • SportingLife: Patrick Cantlay, Collin Morikawa and longshots Tom Kim, Adam Hadwin, Eric Cole
  • Golf Bet - Xander Schauffele, Max Homa, Patrick Cantlay, Will Zalatoris and longshots Cam Davis, J.T. Poston and Lucas Glover. Top 10’s Shane Lowry, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood and Akshay Bhatia
  • FanDuel - Scottie Scheffler, Si Woo Kim and longshots Harris English, Christiaan Bezuidenhout

Each of the last five RBC Heritage winners have been top-11 in Strokes Gained : Tee-to-Green.

Tournament Matchups

Additional golf betting odds from FanDuel and leading online sportsbooks are updated and adjusted througout the tournament along with props and tournament matchups .

  • Rory McIlroy (-125) vs. Patrick Cantlay (+105)
  • Max Homa (-140) vs. Wyndham Clark (+110)
  • Collin Morikawa (-140) vs. Matt Fitzpatrick (+110)
  • Will Zalatoris (-120) vs. Jordan Spieth (+100) - bet Zalatoris
  • Tommy Fleetwood (-165) vs. Cameron Young (+130)
  • Xander Schauffele (-125) vs. Ludvig Aberg (+100)
  • Justin Thomas (-125) vs. Sam Burns (+100)
  • Corey Conners (-110) vs. Tom Kim (-110)
  • Brian Harman (-115) vs. Denny McCarthy (-105)
  • Xander Schauffele (-115) vs. Rory McIlroy (-105) - Round 1
  • Ludvig Aberg (-120) vs. Collin Morikawa (-105) - Round 1
  • Wyndham Clark (-120) vs. Justin Thomas (-105) - Round 1 - bet Thomas
  • Patrick Cantlay (-115) vs. Tommy Fleetwood (-110) - Round 1

Despite Jordan Spieth winning here in a playoff in 2022 and finishing runner-up last year in a playoff, the 30-year-old is not likely to find as much success this week with his game in a poor place. Spieth has missed the cut in three of his last four events including in The Players Championship which requires precision iron play. Spieth has lost strokes Tee-to-Green in four of his last five tournaments and his Approach stats rank outside the top-100 over his last 24 rounds.

Meanwhile, Zalatoris has continued his elite ball striking while also averaging 4+ strokes on the field Tee to-Green over his last five events. That includes a T9 last week at The Masters, T4 at the Arnold Palmer Inviational and T2 at The Genesis Invitational .

How To Watch The RBC Heritage

All times Eastern. Tournament April 18-21

  • Thursday-Friday: 2-6 p.m. (Golf Channel)
  • Saturday-Sunday: 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. (CBS)

Thursday and Friday pairings and tee times .

Featured Groups

Thursday PGA Tour Live on ESPN+

  • 1:40 pm hole #1: Rory McIlroy, Ludvig Aberg
  • 1:50 pm hole #1 : Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa
  • Rory McIlroy, Ludvig Aberg
  • Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth
  • Will Zalatoris, Akshay Bhatia
  • Harris English, Tom Kim

Featured holes Par 3’s at No. 4, 7, 14, 17

Check out more golf stats, performance charts and tournament news , picks and information you can bet on for the RBC Heritage and weekly golf events. The PGA Tour and leading U.S. golf courses are leading the way in technology and sustainability . The top online sportsbooks are leading the way in wagering options as betting on golf continues to be most popular with fans firing for more fairways and greens.

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TOUR Championship picks 2023: Expert picks, best bets for PGA Tour golf this week

By cody williams | aug 28, 2023, 2:03 pm edt.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - AUGUST 28: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland celebrates on the 18th green after winning during the final round of the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club on August 28, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

TOUR Championship picks and best bets at East Lake this week with an outright, Top 5, One and Done, and more PGA Tour expert picks for golf.

We’ve finally arrived at the end of the PGA Tour season and the FedEx Cup Playoffs with the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club. It will also be the final time we see this iteration of the golf course in Atlanta as renovations are expected to begin as soon as the FedEx Cup champion is crowned.

As has been the case for the past few years now, the players will begin with staggered scoring and starting strokes. Scottie Scheffler is in front as the leader in the FedEx Cup standings at -10 with Viktor Hovland, who we hit as an outright winner at the BMW, coming in at -8. The rest of the field fills out with Rory McIlroy at -7 and on down the board.

Hovland was our only hit last week but that still put us up +4.74 units with our PGA Tour expert picks and best bets, up more than 16 units on the season. For our TOUR Championship picks, we won’t be going as heavy with a longshot pick or anything of that ilk, but will be upping our outright to a full unit play.

Let’s finish strong with our TOUR Championship picks and best bets for this week at East Lake.

Note:  All odds are courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook unless otherwise noted. Odds will be updated when made available. For more betting picks and advice, check out BetSided .

Golf betting record in 2023 through BMW Championship: 48-142-2, +16.096 units (4-49 on outrights, 0.5 unit bets, 0.1 unit longshot bets | +4.74 units at BMW) One-and-Done record in 2023: $9,443,650.65 (Corey Conners at BMW, $480,600)

PGA Tour expert picks for TOUR Championship: Winner, Top 5, One and Done

Top 5 pick for the TOUR Championship: Xander Schauffele (+300)

Schauffele begins this week at -3, which is good for T11 on the starting leaderboard at East Lake. But the fact of the matter is that he hasn’t finished worse than T5 in any of the past four trips to the TOUR Championship. He plays this golf course extremely well and his form started to show again at the end of last week with a T8 finish. I love for him to make his way up the leaderboard and cash a big one for us this week.

Pick to Win the BMW Championship (1 Unit): Viktor Hovland (+550)

This will make three straight weeks that Hovland has been the outright pick but I’m not backing down. He’s playing tremendous golf and his win last week vaulted him up to second on the starting leaderboard at East Lake. He disappointed at the TOUR Championship last year but had a T5 here in 2021. More importantly, he’s wholly elevated his game. Getting him with the third-best odds on the board despite starting in second is too good to pass up.

One and Done Pick for the TOUR Championship: Max Homa

Full disclosure, Homa was essentially the only player who is starting well up the leaderboard that I haven’t used for the One and Done this year. That’s why he’s the pick, but the fact that he showed some real flashes of form the past couple of weeks makes me more confident in the pick than I would’ve been otherwise.

TOUR Championship picks and best bets

Lucas Glover to finish Top 10 (+120)

Lucas Glover, though he was a pedestrian T22 last week, has won two of the last three tournaments to now start in fifth at the TOUR Championship at -5. When you then look at his accuracy and ball striking, two things that play here beautifully, I love for him to end up staying at least in the Top 10 and get a big finish and payday to his credit to end the year.

Viktor Hovland to win Group A – Scheffler, Rory, Hovland, Rahm, Cantlay (+450)

We’re doubling down on Hovland again but the odds are enticing. This bet includes starting strokes but I’m more confident in his game than Scheffler, Rory and Rahm with their various issues with putting (Scheffler) or driving accuracy of late (Rory and Rahm). Cantlay has been on point but I also still doubt his big-game hunting abilities. Hovland has no such worries for me, so I’m all about this wager.

Sungjae Im to finish Top Asian (+150)

Sungjae Im, Si Woo Kim and Tom Kim are all starting at East Lake at -2, or T21 on the leaderboard. But Sungjae has some great recent history here, climbing up to second place at the TOUR Championship last year. Moreover, he’s been trending with his play recently in these playoffs too. I love for him to outpace his fellow Asian competitors pretty comfortably, which makes the plus odds too good to overlook.

Next. Best golfer from every U.S. state. dark

RBC Heritage

Harbour Town Golf Links

Betting Analysis

RBC Heritage picks 2024: It's time for Tommy Fleetwood to get the monkey off his back

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 14: Tommy Fleetwood of England smiles as he walks up the 18th hole during the final round of  Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 14, 2024 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)

Historically, Harbour Town was a nice "come down" week after the Masters, for the players, for the fans, for the bettors. Sadly, those days are over in the new signature event world.

We're not really complaining, though. Any time we can get a great field on a compelling golf course is a plus, and that's exactly what we have this week in the RBC Heritage on Hilton Head Island, which never disappoints.

RELATED: RBC Heritage DFS picks 2024: Why I’m concerned about Rory McIlroy

Best and Worst Value Bets for the 2024 RBC Heritage

Our betting panel is comprised of a caddie reporting anonymously from the grounds of Memorial Park, Pat Mayo of Underdog/Mayo Media Network, Brandon Gdula of numberFire/FanDuel, Andy Lack of RunPureSports.com, your two authors and Keith Stewart, the CEO of Read The Line. Stewart, our newest member of the panel, is our new betting content partner as well. His insights will help our betting content immensely, though Mayo remains on a bit of a heater—going on a 12-3-0 run on matchup bets, plus hitting Akshay Bhatia (66-1) two weeks ago (as did Hennessey and our tour caddie).

Scroll down to see who we like this week at the 2024 RBC Heritage.

RBC Heritage picks 2024: Our Experts’ Outright Predictions  

Anonymous Caddie Picker of the week : Tommy Fleetwood (20-1, Bet365) — All the hard work Tommy has put into his golf game continues to pay off—with a T-3 at the Masters and a T-7 at the Valero. He’s got all the shots at the moment, and I think he finally gets that elusive first PGA Tour win this week.

Pat Mayo, Underdog/Fantasy National, Mayo Media Network analyst : Shane Lowry (45-1, BetMGM) — Another week, another sacrifice to the money pit known as Shane Lowry. The Irishman saved his worst for Augusta National, losing an unfathomable eight strokes with his putter. For perspective, that’s 16 strokes worse on the greens than Ludvig Aberg. In classic Lowry fashion he led all players who saw the weekend in approach, and even when you take out his two hole-outs and normalize those numbers, he still finished top 10. In theory, the smaller greens should help mitigate his putting woes, which it looks like has been accomplished in the past. In six starts at Harbour Town, Lowry as only dropped strokes to the field one time which has led to top-10 finishes in three of his past five appearances.

Brandon Gdula, FanDuel/numberFire managing editor : Si Woo Kim (35-1, FanDuel) — Kim had gained strokes from approach play in nine straight starts until a modest showing last week at the Masters when he finished T-30 and lost on approach. But he’s the most accurate driver in the field, and his wedge play can help him a lot at a course with tiny greens.

Keith Stewart, Read The Line: Tommy Fleetwood (20-1, Bet365) — Tommy Fleetwood looked very comfortable on the practice tee at Harbour Town. Why wouldn’t he, Fleetwood just finished third at the Masters with an Augusta National caddie. Tenth at the Genesis and seventh at Valero just a couple of weeks ago, Tommy takes advantage of precision layouts. In four trips to Sea Pines, he has three top 25s and a top 10. With seven DP World Tour wins, I know Tommy can close on the PGA Tour.

Stephen Hennessey, Golf Digest dep. managing editor : Max Homa (28-1, Bet365) — I loved Max Homa’s comments on Sunday at the Masters—he didn’t think the week was a disappointment. He was ripping tight fairway woods around Augusta all week, which will suit him well at Harbour Town, and should set him up for win No. 7 on the PGA Tour.

Christopher Powers, Golf Digest staff writer : Cameron Davis (66-1, BetRivers) — Davis briefly held the clubhouse lead last Friday at Augusta National, and he didn’t wilt on the weekend. His T-12 finish is his third inside the top 18 in his last four starts on tour. He’s trending nicely and he loves Harbour Town, where he’s made three career starts, made all three cuts, and finished inside the top seven twice. This feels like a wild misprice for the 29-year-old Aussie.

Andy Lack, Run Pure Sports and Inside Golf podcast : Xander Schauffele (12-1, BetMGM) — This spot for Xander Schauffele feels eerily like what we encountered in 2022. Schauffele was an incredibly popular selection at the 2022 US Open at Brookline, and he did what Xander does: play great, finish top 15, but ultimately never play a factor in the outcome of the tournament. The following week, the ‘Xander isn’t a winner’ narrative persisted, and he proceeded to win the Travelers Championship on a short, positional Pete Dye course. History will repeat itself.

Past results: The boys are officially HOT. Following Andy Lack’s correct prediction of Stephan Jager’s victory at the Houston Open (50-1), three of our experts—Stephen Hennessey, Pat Mayo and our anonymous caddie—hit on Akshay Bhatia (65-1) at the Valero Texas Open. That’s now our biggest hit of 2024, and it gives Mayo and our anonymous caddie their second wins of the year. Let’s keep it rolling at Harbour Town.

Listen to Golf Digest's weekly betting podcast, "The Loop," (below) where we interview the industry's leading experts (and sometimes tour pros) to help you make your bets and pick your fantasy lineups. And be sure to subscribe to "The Loop" wherever you get your podcasts!  

RBC Heritage picks 2024: Sleepers/Dark Horses Who Could Win  

Caddie: Byeong Hun An (66-1, Bet365) — Benny continued his resurgence with a solid week at Augusta. His well-balanced game should be nicely suited for Harbour Town. I think the price is off on Benny here.

Mayo : Tom Hoge (90-1, FanDuel) — You should always examine the rolling stats on a micro level before drawing conclusions. On the surface, Hoge ranks 55th in this field over the past 24 rounds off-the-tee. That has greatly been impacted by his career-worst driving performance at Sawgrass. In reality, Hoge’s actually gaining off-the-tee in five of his past six starts while being one of the premier iron players and putters on tour in 2024. If he doesn’t chip himself out of the tournament this is the perfect course to take advantage of his skill set.

Gdula: Harris English (60-1, FanDuel) — English is doing a lot with the short game in recent weeks, which is a bit of a concern, but the odds remain long, and the putting splits are great. With accurate driving and a sound short game, he can get in the mix this week.

Stewart: Cameron Davis (66-1, BetRivers) — Three trips to Hilton Head Island and three top-25 results. The last two starts were a third and a seventh. Cam Davis gained an average of six strokes (!) on the field in those three events tee-to-green. Davis excels at driving the ball accurately and thrives on wedge approach play. He finished T-12 at Augusta with an average Sunday afternoon. Eighteenth at API, 21st at Houston and now he’s returning to a place he loves.

Hennessey, Golf Digest: Chris Kirk (66-1, BetRivers) — The round of the day on Saturday at Augusta National came from Chris Kirk, carding an impressive 68 with total control of his ball-striking. We know Kirk plays his best golf on tight, positional golf courses, and he already has a win in 2024 at a signature event.

Powers, Golf Digest: Tom Hoge (90-1, FanDuel) — Like Pat wrote, Hoge is COOKING with his irons of late. He’s gained on approach in 13 (!!!) straight measured starts, and both his driving and putting have been solid over that stretch, too. Oddly enough, he hasn’t been good at Harbour Town, even though it should suit him perfectly. Given how well he’s playing, and the fact he will be well-rested since he didn’t make it to Augusta, I can see him flipping that script this week.

Lack: Corey Conners (50-1, FanDuel) — If I was designing a golf course perfect for Corey Conners’ skill set, it would look an awfully lot like Harbour Town. Conners is one of the most accurate drivers of the ball in this field, an elite middle-iron player, and he possesses a strong resume of success on other short, less-than-driver courses. The short game and putting is always a concern, but the Canadian significantly raises his short-game level on over-seeded Bermuda greens. Expect Conners to play a major factor come Sunday afternoon in Hilton Head.

RELATED: Jon Rahm noticed ‘hostile attitudes’ from former PGA Tour acquaintances at Augusta National

RBC Heritage picks 2024: Players We’re Fading  

Caddie: Patrick Cantlay (10-1, Caesars Sportsbook) —  He’s going to be exhausted coming off the Masters. Cantlay plays well at Harbour Town, but he didn’t show me a ton at Augusta National.

Mayo : Tommy Fleetwood (18-1, FanDuel) — Tommy to win on the PGA Tour? It’ll happen someday, but you won’t find me anywhere near this outright winner number.

Gdula: Rory McIlroy (12-1, FanDuel) — Rory isn’t an ideal fit for Harbour Town and has finished just T-58 (back in 2009) and T-41 (in 2020) at this course. His recent form is solid, but the odds still consider him a co–favorite, and he should be a tick below that based on the fit and form.

Stewart: Collin Morikawa (15-1, Caesars Sportsbook) — Collin Morikawa continues to tinker on the range. At the Masters, Morikawa was on the practice green testing putters with an iPad, and now he’s experimenting with different full-swing equipment options. I love Collin, but while he continues the road back to consistent major champion contender, we should all deflect our recency bias from Augusta and look elsewhere on the island.

Hennessey, Golf Digest: Rory McIlroy (12-1, FanDuel) — This is probably the anti-Rory McIlroy course, removing driver out of his hands on most holes.

Powers, Golf Digest: Rory McIlroy (12-1, FanDuel) — No thank you.

Lack: Max Homa (22-1, DraftKings) — I was just as impressed with Max Homa’s Masters performance as anyone, but this feels like a natural letdown spot. In two appearances at Harbour Town, Homa has yet to finish in the top 40, and his resume on short, positional golf courses leaves a lot to be desired. Homa has his courses, and I’m not sure this is one of them.

RELATED: Rory McIlroy squashes LIV Golf rumors: ‘I will play the PGA Tour the rest of my career’

RBC Heritage picks 2024: Matchups  

Caddie: Ludvig Aberg (-110) over Rory McIlroy (DraftKings) — I’ll gladly fade Rory on a less than a driver course with the state of his approach play.

Mayo : Matt Fitzpatrick (+115) over Patrick Cantlay (Bet365) — Cantlay holes out twice at Augusta and all of a sudden HE’S BACK!!!! Pump the brakes. Sure, his history at this course is great, but he’s still the guy who has lost strokes tee-to-green in four of his past six starts. Meanwhile Fitz is the defending champion with four top 25s in his past five starts. Basically, once golf left the West Coast, everything that was wrong with Fitz disappeared.

Gdula: Corey Conners (-110) over Tom Kim (FanDuel) — Neither Conners nor Kim are putting particularly well this season, so we can bank on a big tee-to-green edge for Conners, who has played well at Harbour Town. Conners has four straight top 35s here. Kim MC’d in his lone start.

Stewart: Cameron Young (-120) over Jordan Spieth (BetMGM) — In his last eight major championships, Cameron Young has five top-10 finishes. Just an incredible ball-striker, as evidenced by his third-place finish at Harbour Town two years ago. Jordan Spieth was searching on the range last week at the Masters and has been incredibly inconsistent in 2024. The pundits praise his results at Sea Pines, but how did that trip down Magnolia Lane go where he also has a great career record? Young is getting better as a ball-striker and on these small greens he will make more putts than usual.

Hennessey, Golf Digest: Max Homa (-120) over Jordan Spieth (Bet365) — Spieth is clearly searching right now. Homa’s game was in total control last week ... this feels like an easy one.

Powers, Golf Digest: Tom Kim (+100) over Akshay Bhatia (DraftKings) — I’ve always been a sucker for these even-money bets and this is one of those you just can’t resist. Bhatia had a solid first Masters start, but he must be mentally and physically gassed. Kim is coming in off a six-under 66 that he desperately needed to flip the momentum, as this hasn’t been a very good start to 2024. He missed the cut in his lone RBC Heritage appearance last year, but that was only because he lost three strokes on the greens. This course should fit his eye.

Lack: Chris Kirk (-120) over Jason Day (DraftKings) — Coming off a sneaky top-20 finish at the Masters, I see no reason to hop off the Chris Kirk train now that we are returning to a golf course that fits his skill set to a tee. With victories at Sea Island, Colonial and multiple top-five finishes at Waialae, Kirk always raises his baseline on shorter, middle-iron tests, which is unsurprising given his strong tee-to-green game. Day, on the other hand, is a far less trustworthy ball-striker, and he’s been struggling greatly to hit his irons with any real consistency of late.

Matchup Results from the Masters: Mayo: 1 for 1 (Zalatoris (+100) over Cantlay); Lack: 1 for 1 (Finau (-120) over Clark); Caddie: 1 for 1 (Aberg (-120) over DeChambeau); Stewart: 1 for 1 (Koepka (-120) over Hovland); Gdula: 0 for 1; Hennessey: 0 for 1; Powers: 0 for 1

Matchup Results from this season (Wins-Losses-Pushes): Mayo: 12-3-0 (up 8.74 units); Lack 9-5-1 (up 3.23 units); Caddie: 9-5-0 (up 2.57 units); Gdula: 8-5-2 (up 2 units); Hennessey: 7-5-3 (up 1.08 units); Stewart: 8-7-0 (up 0.28 units); Powers: 7-7-1 (down 0.12 units)

RELATED:  Masters 2024: What it's like sweating a big bet at Augusta National with no phones

RBC Heritage picks 2024: Top 10s  

Caddie: Ludvig Aberg (+140, DraftKings) — Aberg has proven his game translates to any course—as he did with his victory at Sea Island.

Mayo : Lucas Glover (+400, Bet365) — The Glove has reeled off three straight top 25s following his T-20 at Augusta while gaining on approach in 16 of his past 17 measured starts. The putting, horrendous. However, each of the past two times he’s gained more than one stroke on the greens he’s won the tournament. One of those being last year’s Wyndham Championship, the course with the strongest crossover to Harbour Town.

Gdula: Russell Henley (+300, FanDuel) — Henley has played here a lot (10 times) and has missed five cuts but also has five top-26 results and two top-10 finishes. Henley has finished top five in two of his last four starts thanks to good accuracy, irons and putting. That’s what he needs this week.

Stewart: Patrick Cantlay (+175, BetRivers) — Six trips to the RBC Heritage for Patrick Cantlay, and five top-seven finishes. On this par 71 scorecard, Cantlay’s career scoring average is 68.3. That places him first for any player with four starts or more at Sea Pines in this elite field. We didn’t overthink it at the Masters with Xander and let’s continue that strategy in the low country. Patrick looked much better at Augusta and now he’s heading to a safe place. Let’s cash another top 10.

Hennessey, Golf Digest: Cam Davis (+400, FanDuel) — I liked CP’s and Keith’s handicaps on Davis, who has proven his propensity for Harbour Town and is coming off a great finish at Augusta.

Powers, Golf Digest: Christiaan Bezuidenhout (+550, DraftKings) — Bez missed out on the Masters but had been on a run of three straight top 25s leading in. Putting and chipping remains the strength of his game but he’s starting to play consistently well tee-to-green, too.

Lack: Patrick Cantlay (+175, BetRivers) — The formula is simple: play Patrick Cantlay at Pete Dye courses. In six appearances at Harbour Town, Cantlay has recorded five top-seven finishes, including a second and third in his last two appearances. Only a win is missing from Cantlay’s resume at the iconic Hilton Head venue, and while I’m not sure the ball-striking is in tip-top enough shape to win, I would be fairly surprised if he isn’t in the mix.

Top-10 results from the Masters: Hennessey: 1 for 1 (Cameron Young +340); Powers: 1 for 1 (Will Zalatoris +320); Stewart: 1 for 1 (Xander Schauffele +150); Everybody else: 0 for 1

Top-10 results from this season: Mayo: 3 for 15 (up 1 units); Hennessey: 4 for 15 (up 4.65 units); Caddie: 3 for 15 (down 0.5 units); Lack: 3 for 15 (down 3.2 units); Gdula: 2 for 15 (down 4.5 units); Powers: 3 for 15 (down 4.4 units); Stewart: 2 for 15 (down 8.17 units)

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About our experts  

Pat Mayo is an award-winning video host and producer of long and short-form content, and the host of The Pat Mayo Experience daily talk show. Mayo helped create the golf stats and research website Fantasy National along with the Race for the Mayo Cup One and Done contest. Mayo won the 2022 Fantasy Sports Writing Association Daily Fantasy Writer of the Year and is a finalist for three FSWA Awards in 2023 (Best Podcast, Daily Fantasy Writer of the Year, Golf Writer of the Year). His 27 FSWA nominations lead all writers this decade and are second-most all-time. Follow him on Twitter: @ThePME . 

Brandon Gdula , managing editor and analyst for numberFire, a FanDuel daily-fantasy analysis company, recently won the 2018 FSWA Golf Writer of the Year. Gdula also co-hosts the DFS Heat Check podcast. Follow him on Twitter: @gdula13 . 

Keith Stewart is a five-time award-winning PGA professional, a betting contributor for Golf Digest and founder of Read The Line, the premier on-site live golf betting insights service covering the LPGA and PGA TOUR. Subscribe to Read The Line’s weekly newsletter here and raise your golf betting acumen. Keith's winning content can also be found on Sports Grid, Bleacher Report and The Sporting News. Follow him on Twitter @readtheline_ .

Andy Lack is a PGA Tour writer and podcaster from New York City who now resides in Los Angeles. He hosts Inside Golf, a twice weekly podcast focused on the PGA Tour, betting, daily fantasy, golf course architecture, and interviews, as part of the BlueWire podcast network. As well as contributing to Golf Digest, Andy is also the head of golf content for Run Pure Sports, where he covers PGA Tour betting and daily fantasy. He came to Golf Digest’s betting panel after previously writing for RickRunGood.com, the Score and GolfWRX. In his free time, Andy can likely be found on a golf course. Follow him on Twitter: @adplacksports  

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Last call for the ultimate Pinehurst trip

Players Championship betting guide: 8 picks our expert loves at TPC Sawgrass

Might this week bring Jason Day's return to glory?

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Welcome to our weekly PGA Tour gambling-tips column, featuring picks from G OLF.com’s expert prognosticator, Brady Kannon. You can follow Kannon on Twitter at @LasVegasGolfer and you can read below to see his favorite plays for the Players Championship, which kicks off Thursday at TPC Sawgrass , in Ponte Vedra, Fla. Keep scrolling past Kannon’s picks, and you’ll also see data from Chirp, a free-to-play mobile platform — and GOLF.com affiliate — that features a range of games with enticing prizes, giving fans all kinds of ways to engage in the action without risking any money.

This has been the year of “the elevated event.” In just three months, we’ve already had four such tournaments and each has been a treat. The Players Championship has always been elevated, if you will. It carries the largest purse on Tour and arguably assembles the game’s most competitive field. Kurt Kitayama earned $3.6 million at Bay Hill last week , holding off Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, and Jordan Spieth for his first PGA Tour victory. This week we head north to Ponte Vedra Beach, where a $4.5-million winner’s check awaits.

The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass , a Pete Dye design, has been hosting The Players Championship since 1982. It is commonly referred to as “the 5th major.” The governing body at Augusta National Golf Club puts on the Masters . The PGA of America conducts the PGA Championship. The USGA plays host to the U.S. Open and the R&A runs the Open Championship. The Players Championship is the Tour’s baby and its crown jewel event. The 17th hole, a par 3 with an island green, is part of a three-hole finish that ranks among the most dramatic closing stretches in the world.

At less than 7,200 yards, the course is short by Tour standards, but we have seen both bombers and short knockers win here in the past. Jason Day, Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Fred Couples, Davis Love III fit the bomber mold, but they’re offset by former champions, Si Woo Kim, Webb Simpson, Matt Kuchar, Tim Clark and Fred Funk. I favor Driving Accuracy over Driving Distance this week. But at Sawgrass, it is really about positioning. Many players will play 3-woods and long irons off the tee to avoid water hazards and other trouble. The rough is not as brutal as what we saw last week at Bay Hill, and the greens, which are also Bermuda grass, are smaller than Tour average. Ball Striking will be paramount this week. The forecast calls for 10-15 mph winds. Nothing fierce. But given that no two holes run in the same direction, players will be tested from all possible angles and will have to be able to work some shots.

That said, the most important statistics this week are Good Drives Gained and/or Fairways Gained (Total Driving is not a bad place to look either), Strokes Gained: Approach, Par 4 Scoring (or SG: Par 4’s) and Scrambling. Work around the greens has proven crucial at the Players, with the top tier of past leaderboards loaded with players who scrambled best. It makes sense with the undulations on and around the greens, the quirky bunkering, and the small putting surfaces. Other areas I looked at this week were Bogey Avoidance, Strokes Gained: Putting (Bermuda Grass), and how these players have fared on other Pete Dye courses and/or the comp courses. For comps, I considered Sedgefield (Wyndam), Innisbrook (Valspar), The Concession (WGC-Workday), Muirfield Village (The Memorial), and Sea Island (RSM Classic). The Pete Dye designs I used were Harbour Town (RBC Heritage), TPC RIver Highlands (Travelers), TPC Louisiana (Zurich Classic) and the Stadium Course at PGA West (American Express).

Picks to win the Players Championship (and finish Top 20)

Patrick Cantlay (16-1)

Cantlay is getting a lot of betting attention this week. I could have taken 18-1 but got greedy and waited, thinking I might get something a tad higher. Ultimately, I had to settle for 16-1 but I’ve seen as low as 13-1. This is our third time in four weeks backing the UCLA Bruin and while we have cashed Top 20 finishes, the outright win still eludes us. He was 3rd at the Genesis and 4th last week in his first ever trip to Bay Hill. Cantlay fits our criteria this week. He’s 4th in Total Driving, 19th in Scrambling, 2nd in Bogey Avoidance, and 1st in Par 4 Scoring. He is also 22nd in this field over the last 36 rounds in SG Approach. He’s been tremendous on some of the comp courses with 2nd, 7th, and two 3rd place finishes at Harbour Town, a win at TPC Louisiana, and three Top 10 finishes, including a runner-up at the American Express. In his last five trips to TPC River Highlands, Cantlay hasn’t finished worse than 15th and shot a 60 on that course back in 2011. I feel like he’s primed and ready to put it all together this week at TPC Sawgrass.

Collin Morikawa (27-1)

I like it when it seems like one of the best players is being ignored or there isn’t much buzz in the betting world about that player. That feels like the case this week with Morikawa, the 10th ranked player in the world. He stumbled mightily in the final round at Kapalua to kick off 2023 (I remember it well as I was on him that week) and his stock has drifted downward ever since. He missed the cut last week at Bay Hill and did so in Phoenix, too — but he also recorded a 3rd at Torrey Pines and finished 6th at the Genesis. He is a Top 5 player in the field for Good Drives Gained, Fairways Gained, and SG Approach over the last 36 rounds. He also won the WGC-Workday at The Concession in 2021. The problem is the short game as it has been off recently. Over the course of the 2022-23 season, his Scrambling is solid, but it will need to return to form if he’s going to win here this week. With everything else he does so well, I believe he has a real shot and at close to 30-1, he’s almost an auto-play in my opinion.

Collin Morikawa is hoping to finish 2022 on a high note.

Jason Day (32-1)

As with Cantlay, we took a shot with Jason Day to both win and finish in the Top 20. He delivered for us by recording his 4th straight Top 10 finish on Tour. I wrote about how he has sneaked up on us in the last five months. It has been an incredible return to form for the Australian and I’m going to back him again this week, on another course, like Bay Hill, where he has won. Day ranks No.1 in this field for Bogey Avoidance over the last 36 rounds, 2nd for Scrambling, and 1st in SG Par 4’s. In addition to his win here, Day has also finished 8th, 5th, 19th, and 6th. He has a Top 10 in his career at Harbour Town, a 20th at the Valspar, and was 18th in 2021 at The Concession. Though Whistling Straits is a far cry from a clone of Sawgrass, it’s also worth nothing that Day one the 2015 PGA Championship on that Dye design. As we noted last week, we’ve always known about his short game – but now the driver and the irons are working too. I have to take another shot with him as it appears he is destined to win again soon.

Tyrrell Hatton (35-1)

The Englishman has really been playing great golf with two Top 10 finishes and a Top 15 in his last four starts. He is 2nd on Tour in Total Driving, 40th in Scrambling, and 4th in this field over the last 36 rounds for SG Putting on Bermuda. He has Top 10 finishes at Harbour Town and Sedgefield and Top 25 finishes at Innisbrook and The Concession. He was 13th here at The Players last year. His iron play can sometimes get away from him despite ranking 28th on Tour in SG Approach. With his work off the tee and around the greens however – combined with his comp course history and current form, I think he’s in the mix again here roughly 140 miles from his Florida home.

Corey Conners catches golf ball during PGA Tour tournament

This Canadian long shot could help you win BIG at TPC Sawgrass: 2023 Players Championship odds

Sungjae Im (40-1)

As is the case with Cantlay, we are backing Im for the third time in four weeks. Unfortunately, he missed a Top 20 finish for us last week by one shot. But we can’t ignore his consistency in all areas of the game while still getting juicy prices on him to win. Im ranks Top 21 in this field over the last 36 rounds in SG Off the Tee, Bogey Avoidance, Scrambling, and Fairways Gained. He hasfinished as high as 13th at the RBC Heritage and 17th here at Sawgrass. He has a 4th place finish at the Valspar, a runner-up, a 6th, and a 9th place finish at the Wyndham, and has never finished worse than 18th in five trips to the American Express. If you also look at what Im has done on courses that measure less than 7200 yards, he ranks 10th in this field over the last 36 rounds on such courses for SG Ball Striking. I believe he’s worth another shot at 40-1 or better.

Si Woo Kim (90-1)

Yes, 90-1 appears to be an outlier that I came across, but I am okay with anything at 65-1 or better. Si Woo is a former Players champ and along with Webb Simpson, he is probably the “co-owner” of the Wyndham Championship with finishes of 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 1st in his career. He checks in with a runner-up finish at the RBC Heritage as well. To illustrate his prowess on these types of courses, Kim ranks 12th in this field over the last 36 rounds for SG Tee to Green on Pete Dye designed courses. He is also 5th for Bogey Avoidance and 12th in Fairways Gained. He’s extremely accurate off the tee and ranks 15th on Tour in Scrambling. I did not use Wailae Country Club as a correlated course this week but there are some ties – narrow fairways, Bermuda grass, wind – and Si Woo won the Sony Open there just three months ago.

Full tournament head-to-head matchups

Tyrrell Hatton (-135) over Jordan Spieth

Jason Day (-120) over Matt Fitzpatrick

Kannon’s season-long head-to-head picks record: 11-7-1

Who Chirp users think will win

Jon Rahm – 22.86%

Rory McIlroy – 21.65%

Scottie Scheffler – 20.30%

Click here to download the Chirp app and win amazing prizes.

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2023 Butterfield Bermuda Championship expert picks, betting rankings and fantasy golf tips

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The 2023 Butterfield Bermuda Championship is here, and we're back with our PGA Tour expert picks and betting tips for the PGA Tour event at Port Royal Golf Course in Southampton, Bermuda.

Every week, we share our PGA Tour player rankings, and they are agnostic of competition. Whether you're betting on golf, playing in a fantasy golf leagues or competing in a DFS (DraftKings, FanDuel) event, our picks highlight the top players to watch this week.

Here are our 2023 Butterfield Bermuda Championship rankings and expert picks, as we do each week of the PGA Tour season.

2023 Butterfield Bermuda Championship preview

The Butterfield Bermuda Championship is this week, and the FedEx Fall moves to Bermuda for the penultimate event of the seven-tournament slate. This is the weakest field of the fall, but Port Royal Golf Course is a fun, testing track that is dramatically tougher than last week's El Cardonal.

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2023 Butterfield Bermuda Championship rankings: Top 10 expert picks

1. Adam Scott : Scott has been playing faily well, albeit under the radar, the last couple of months. He's been globetrotting, so the travel may be the reason for the mixture of T-7s and MCs.

2. Lucas Glover: Glover made his first fall start last week in Mexico, and he played marginally, which is fine. He should fare better in Bermuda.

3. Erik van Rooyen: EVR shot a back-nine 28 to win in Mexico in honor of his best friend, who is battling cancer.

4. Akshay Bhatia : Bhatia finished T-10 last week in Mexico, and he was T-21 in Japan, so he's been in good form.

5. Brendon Todd: Todd hasn't played since the Fortinet Championship, when he finished sixth. He's a strong performer against weaker fields.

6. Taylor Pendrith: Pendrith finished T-15 in Mexico after a great start in Vegas, and he's found form after a pretty brutal run to end the FedEx Cup season.

7. Luke List: List already won this fall, and he played OK at Mexico, where his skill set was mitigated by wide open fairways and greens.

8. Alex Noren : Noren finished T-3 in Vegas, which offers a somewhat tighter look off the tee that should be somewhat similar (in a way) to Bermuda.

9. Thomas Detry: Detry almost won here last year, so he'll get a lot of attention, and he's also an ATM in terms of making cuts. He's made nine in a row.

10. Matti Schmid: The German is going to get a fair amount of attention this week, especially after finishing runner-up at the windy Andalucia Masters.

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Expert Picks: Travelers Championship

Expert Picks

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 16: Harris English of the United States plays his shot from the ninth tee during the second round of the 123rd U.S. Open Championship at The Los Angeles Country Club on June 16, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 16: Harris English of the United States plays his shot from the ninth tee during the second round of the 123rd U.S. Open Championship at The Los Angeles Country Club on June 16, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

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Aside from the experts below, Golfbet Insider Rob Bolton breaks down the field at the Travelers Championship in this week's edition of the Power Rankings .

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2024 Corales Puntacana Championship expert picks, betting rankings and fantasy golf tips

T he 2024 Corales Puntacana Championship is here, and we're back with our PGA Tour expert picks and betting tips for the PGA Tour event at Corales Golf Club in the Dominican Republic.

Every week, we share our PGA Tour player rankings, and they are agnostic of competition. Whether you're betting on golf, playing in a fantasy golf leagues or competing in a DFS (DraftKings, FanDuel) event, our picks highlight the top players to watch this week.

Here are our 2024 Corales Puntacana Championship Tournament rankings and expert picks, as we do each week of the PGA Tour season.

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2024 Corales Puntacana Championship Tournament preview

The Corales Puntacana Championship Tournament is this week, and the PGA Tour is in the D.R. for an opposite-field event while the RBC Heritage unfolds. This golf course is long but plenty gettable for players of various lengths off the tee.

2024 Corales Puntacana Championship Tournament rankings: Top 10 expert picks

1. Nicolai Hojgaard: Hojgaard had a taste of the Masters lead and then fell down quickly. Here's hoping he's a quick learner.

2. Alex Noren : Noren is such a consistent ballstriker that it makes sense for him to hold up well this week.

3. Billy Horschel : Horschel isn't the longest player, but he does embrace tougher conditions when they come. He's been playing better lately.

4. Mark Hubbard: Hubbard has been consistently good all year, and he's having a strong year in the FedEx Cup. He beats up on weaker fields.

5. Victor Perez: The Frenchman has thrived on the DP World Tour in tougher weather conditions, and he can here, too.

6. Aaron Rai: Rai isn't the longest hitter, but I love him in windy conditions. He fared well at the Mexico Open.

7. Ben Griffin: Griffin isn't playing as well this year as last season, but he has made three cuts in a row, including a T-17 at the Valspar.

8. Bud Cauley: Cauley has been playing really well in his return to the PGA Tour, missing just a cut this season. Contended at PGA National.

9. Davis Thompson: DT has been playing pretty well, missing one cut in his last five PGA Tour starts.

10. Matti Schmid: A high-variable player, Schmid hasn't missed a PGA Tour cut since the Cognizant Classic and has sprinkled in some good finishes.

The post 2024 Corales Puntacana Championship expert picks, betting rankings and fantasy golf tips first appeared on Golf News Net: What you need to know about golf .

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2024 PGA Championship odds, field: Surprising PGA picks from golf model that called 11 majors

Sportsline's proven model simulated the pga championship 2024 10,000 times and revealed its pga golf picks for valhalla golf club.

golf digest tour championship expert picks

Although Ludvig Aberg wasn't able to become just the seventh golfer in the last 100 years to win his first career major appearance, the 24-year-old performed better than everyone besides the No. 1 golfer in the world at the Masters. Aberg, who finished second behind Scottie Scheffler and three strokes better than the third-place finishers, will try to carry that success into his second major at the 2024 PGA Championship on Thursday, May 16 at Valhalla Golf Club Louisville, Ky. Aberg, who is 16-1 odds in the 2024 PGA Championship odds, has made the cut in his first nine tournaments in the 2024 PGA Tour schedule as one of the top golfers in his first full-time season on the PGA Tour. Scheffler is the 4-1 favorite in the latest PGA Championship odds 2024, followed by Jon Rahm (9-1) and Rory McIlroy (10-1).

Before locking in any 2024 PGA Championship picks of your own, entering picks on sites like DraftKings or FanDuel, or finalizing PGA Championship props and PGA Championship Pick Six entries, be sure to see the 2024 PGA Championship golf predictions and projected leaderboard from the proven computer model at SportsLine .

Our proprietary model, built by DFS pro Mike McClure, has been red-hot since the PGA Tour resumed in June of 2020. In fact, the model is up almost $10,000 on its best bets since the restart, nailing tournament after tournament.

McClure's model correctly predicted Scottie Scheffler would finish on top of the leaderboard at the 2024 Masters, the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and The Players Championship this season. McClure also included Hideki Matsuyama in his best bets to win the 2024 Genesis Invitational. That bet hit at +9000, and for the entire tournament, McClure's best bets returned nearly $1,000.

The model also predicted Jon Rahm would be victorious at the 2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions and The American Express. At the 2023 Masters, the model was all over Rahm's second career major victory heading into the weekend. Rahm was two strokes off the lead heading into the third round, but the model still projected him as the winner. It was the second straight Masters win for the model, which also nailed Scheffler winning in 2022.

In addition, McClure's best bets included Nick Taylor (70-1) winning the 2023 RBC Canadian Open, Jason Day (17-1) winning outright at the 2023 AT&T Byron Nelson, and Rickie Fowler (14-1) finishing on top of the leaderboard at the 2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic.

This same model has also nailed a whopping 11 majors entering the weekend and hit the Masters three straight years. Anyone who has followed it has seen massive returns.

Now with the PGA Championship 2024 field taking shape, SportsLine simulated the tournament 10,000 times, and the results were surprising. Head to SportsLine now to see the projected leaderboard.

Top 2024 PGA Championship predictions 

One major surprise the model is calling for at the 2024 PGA Championship: Brooks Koepka, a three-time PGA champion and one of the favorites, stumbles and doesn't even crack the top 10. Koepka has five major tournament wins on his resume and a reputation for elevating his level of play in big events. However, his last two major starts haven't gone well as he was 45th at the Masters, which followed a 64th-place finish at last year's Open Championship. He's failed to shoot par in each of his last seven rounds at major tournaments.

After notching three tournament wins in 2023, including last year's PGA Championship, it has been tough sledding for Koepka in 2024. He has no victories, or even top-fives, and across his six starts, he has three times as many finishes outside the top 25 (three) as he has inside the top 10 (one). He played Valhalla at the 2014 PGA Championship and finished in a tie for 15th place, but that placement ranks just eighth out of his 11 career PGA Championship starts.

Another surprise: Collin Morikawa, a 25-1 longshot, makes a strong run at the title. He's a target for anyone looking for a huge payday. Morikawa finished third at the Masters at 4-under-par, as the 27-year-old continues to have  his best performances at major events. He is already a two-time major champion, including winning the PGA Championship in 2020 and has four top-five finishes over his last 10 majors.

Morikawa has six career PGA Tour victories and two top-10 finishes over his first eight PGA Tour events this season. What he lacks in driving power he makes up for in accuracy, ranking fifth in driving accuracy, so he rarely has to take his second shot from anywhere but the fairway. He's a top-30 putter on the PGA Tour, ranking inside the top 30 in birdie average, one-putt percentage and putting average.  See who else to pick here .

How to make 2024 PGA Championship picks

The model is also targeting three other golfers with odds of 25-1 or longer to make a strong run at the title. Anyone who backs these longshots could hit it big. You can only see the model's picks here .

Who will win the 2024 PGA Championship, and which longshots will stun the golfing world? Check out the PGA Championship 2024 odds below and then visit SportsLine to see the projected PGA Championship leaderboard, all from the model that's nailed 11 golf majors, including the last three Masters .

2024 PGA Championship odds, field

Get full 2024 PGA Championship picks, best bets, and predictions here.

Scottie Scheffler 4-1 Jon Rahm 9-1 Rory McIlroy 10-1 Ludvig Aberg 16-1 Brooks Koepka 16-1 Xander Schauffele 18-1 Viktor Hovland 20-1 Patrick Cantlay 20-1 Wyndham Clark 20-1 Cameron Smith 22-1 Joaquin Niemann 22-1 Collin Morikawa 25-1 Sam Burns 25-1 Max Homa 25-1 Matt Fitzpatrick 28-1 Tom Kim 28-1 Jordan Spieth 30-1 Bryson DeChambeau 30-1 Tony Finau 30-1 Dustin Johnson 30-1 Justin Thomas 33-1 Hideki Matsuyama 35-1 Jason Day 35-1 Cameron Young 35-1 Tommy Fleetwood 40-1 Rickie Fowler 45-1 Min Woo Lee 50-1 Sungjae Im 50-1 Shane Lowry 50-1 Tyrrell Hatton 50-1 Brian Harman 55-1 Corey Conners 60-1 Patrick Reed 65-1 Justin Rose 65-1 Russell Henley 65-1 Sahith Theegala 65-1 Keegan Bradley 75-1 Adam Scott 80-1 Talor Gooch 90-1 Gary Woodland 100-1 Kurt Kitayama 100-1 Daniel Berger 100-1 Louis Oosthuizen 125-1 Tiger Woods 125-1 Si Woo Kim 125-1 Keith Mitchell 125-1 Thomas Pieters 125-1 Abraham Ancer 125-1 J.T. Poston 125-1 Sepp Straka 125-1 Mito Pereira 150-1 Harris English 150-1 Phil Mickelson 150-1 Ryan Fox 150-1 Adam Hadwin 150-1 Sergio Garcia 150-1 Seamus Power 175-1 Denny McCarthy 175-1 Robert MacIntyre 175-1 Christiaan Bezuidenhout 175-1 Davis Riley 175-1 Aaron Wise 175-1 Marc Leishman 175-1 Billy Horschel 200-1 Harold Varner III 200-1 Jason Kokrak 200-1 Mackenzie Hughes 225-1 Francisco Molinari 225-1 Joel Dahmen 250-1

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