Best bets for PGA Tour’s WGC-Workday Championship

Las Vegas Review-Journal

4 years ago

Jon Rahm tees off on the second hole during the final round of the Genesis Invitational golf to ... — Jon Rahm tees off on the second hole during the final round of the Genesis Invitational golf tournament at Riviera Country Club, Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021, in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Kang)

Jon Rahm tees off on the fourth hole during the second round of the Genesis Invitational golf tournament at Riviera Country Club, Friday, Feb. 19, 2021, in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Kang)

Patrick Cantlay tees off on the seventh hole during the final round of the Genesis Invitational golf tournament at Riviera Country Club, Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021, in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Kang)

Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, hits his second shot on the 17th hole during the second round of the Genesis Invitational golf tournament at Riviera Country Club, Friday, Feb. 19, 2021, in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Kang)

Forty-eight of the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking will tee off Thursday at the WGC-Workday Championship at the Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Florida.

Dustin Johnson is the +725 favorite at Circa sportsbook, Jon Rahm is the +925 second choice and the rest of the field is in double digits.

Handicapper Wes Reynolds, co-host of VSiN’s “Long Shots” golf betting show, likes Rahm as one of his best bets to win the PGA Tour event.

“Rahm shot 66 last Sunday at Riviera to backdoor a top-five finish,” said Reynolds (@WesReynolds1). “This week could be reminiscent of last year at the Workday Championship, where Rahm tied for 27th, but found something in his final round to carry over to the following week and won the Memorial Tournament, on a Jack Nicklaus design at Muirfield Village, his next time out.”

Here are Reynolds’ other best bets, with comments on each:

Rory McIlroy, 17-1

“McIlroy, like Justin Thomas and Bryson DeChambeau, missed the cut badly at Riviera last weekend. … Nevertheless, McIlroy has two wins in four starts over the past three seasons playing the week after he missed the cut.”

Patrick Cantlay, 18-1

“Cantlay usually skips much of the Florida swing, but comes here for the WGC event played on a Nicklaus-designed layout. He won the Zozo Championship last fall at Sherwood and is a former champion at the Memorial Tournament, both on Nicklaus courses.

“He fell to a tie for 15th at Riviera, but was in contention for three rounds.”

Viktor Hovland, 22-1

“Hovland is not defending his Puerto Rico Open title this week because he is here playing against the world’s elite, and the No. 14 player in the world is showing that he very much belongs.

“Over his last three starts, Hovland finished tied for second in San Diego, sixth in Saudi Arabia and tied for fifth last week in Los Angeles.”

Sungjae Im, 40-1

“Im took the last two weeks off after tying for 17th in Phoenix. Now he returns to Florida on the Bermuda greens, where he is at his best.

“Im has been Mr. Florida over the past couple seasons, with a win at the Honda Classic and two third-place finishes at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.”

Cameron Smith, 55-1

“Smith finished fourth at Riviera, and the Aussie tends to follow up good finishes with more good finishes. Last fall, he finished fourth at the Zozo at Sherwood, a Nicklaus design, and then followed it up with a tie for second at the Masters.”

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