Best bets for PGA Tour’s WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational

Las Vegas Review-Journal

4 years ago

Jon Rahm, of Spain, poses with the trophy after winning the Memorial golf tournament in Dublin, ... — Jon Rahm, of Spain, poses with the trophy after winning the Memorial golf tournament in Dublin, Ohio. The No. 1 player in the world is Rahm. The best player in golf? With this kind of depth, that depends on the week. Rahm begins his new reign hopeful it lasts more than a week. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)

Justin Thomas hits toward the ninth green during the second round of the Memorial golf tournament, Friday, July 17, 2020, in Dublin, Ohio. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, hits from the 14th tee during the second round of the Memorial golf tournament, Friday, July 17, 2020, in Dublin, Ohio. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Bryson DeChambeau hits from the 11th tee during the first round of the Memorial golf tournament, Thursday, July 16, 2020, in Dublin, Ohio. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Matthew Fitzpatrick, of England, hits from the second tee during the second round of the Memorial golf tournament, Friday, July 17, 2020, in Dublin, Ohio. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Billy Horschel hits from the 18th tee during the second round of the Memorial golf tournament, Friday, July 17, 2020, in Dublin, Ohio. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

With the notable exception of Tiger Woods, most of the world’s top golfers are in the 78-player field for the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, which tees off Thursday at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee.

Jon Rahm, who won the Memorial Tournament two weeks ago, leads a quartet of 12-1 favorites at the Westgate sportsbook alongside Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau.

“Out of the top four, I would lean to Thomas as the starting point,” Westgate vice president of risk Jeff Sherman said. “His iron play should do very well here. McIlroy has just been underachieving since the restart. I don’t like to look at guys coming off a win like Rahm. And DeChambeau is coming off a missed cut.”

The Westgate took a $500 wager to win $40,000 on Matthew Wolff at 80-1 and $600 to win $18,000 on Daniel Berger at 30-1.

Here are Sherman’s best bets:

Matthew Fitzpatrick, 39-1 (at Circa)

Billy Horschel, 47-1 (at Circa)

Fitzpatrick tied for fourth at this event last year, and Horschel tied for ninth.

“This is a par-70 course that favors shot-makers who can approach the green well and have accuracy off the tee,” said Sherman (@golfodds). “Fitzpatrick and Horschel are two guys that can do very well here. They both finished in the top 10 last year, and they’re both in solid form right now.”

Handicapper Wes Reynolds, co-host of VSiN’s “Long Shots” golf betting show, shared his best bets:

Xander Schauffele, 20-1 (at Westgate)

“Schauffele started out strong in the restart at Colonial with a third-place finish and very easily could have been the winner. He led the field at Memorial in driving accuracy and greens in regulation in his last start,” said Reynolds (@WesReynolds1). “Four of Schauffele’s five professional wins have come against smaller fields in ‘no-cut’ events.

“Xander also rates third on the tour for greens in regulation and fourth in par-4 performance. His tee-to-green game is also one of the best in the world. I’m already on him for next week’s PGA Championship at 25-1 as well.”

Tyrrell Hatton, 38-1 (at Circa)

“Hatton seems to be finally reaching his potential as a player, as he is now ranked 14th in the world,” Reynolds said. “He already has a win this calendar year at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

“Unlike other higher-end players, he really hasn’t shown much rust since the tour restart in June. He has the look of a player that is primed, ready and focused for bigger events, and this week’s WGC and next week’s PGA Championship certainly qualify.”

Sungjae Im, 77-1 (at Circa)

After tying for 10th in the restart at Colonial, Im has struggled and is coming off a missed cut on the number at the Memorial.

“However, he finally took a much-needed week off, and the price has drifted up enough in a short field on a course that he should like,” Reynolds said.

Scottie Scheffler, 80-1 (at Westgate)

The PGA Tour rookie has mostly struggled on the restart with three missed cuts in five starts, but he tied for 22nd at the Memorial.

“Getting a PGA Tour maiden win against a field of this caliber will be no easy task, but four of the last 10 winners here at Memphis have won on their respective course debuts,” Reynolds said.

Paul Casey, 80-1 (at Westgate)

Casey has missed back-to-back cuts at the Memorial and 3M Open and has dropped from No. 15 to No. 27 this year in the Official World Golf Ranking.

“Nevertheless, I’ll buy on the dip here,” said Reynolds, who pointed to several strong stats. “He also possesses the best combination of driving distance and accuracy, ranking first on the tour in total driving.”

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.