PGA Tour Picks: The Memorial Tournament Odds and Expert Betting Predictions
Kevin Na is one of those guys I usually pick to win at least one tournament a year even though as of last week he had just two career victories. Seems to always contend, though, and on Sunday at the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial he added win No. 3 thanks to a final-round 66. Nah finished at 13-under 267, four ahead of Tony Finau.
In addition to a nice check, Na won a 1973 blue Dodge Challenger to commemorate the year the Charles Schwab company was founded. He then gave the car to his caddie, who has been on Na's bag since 2008. Finau, meanwhile, has 22 Top 10s without a win over the past three seasons, by far the most on the PGA Tour. His lone victory came in 2016. My pick to win last week was Spain's Jon Rahm, and he missed the cut following rounds of 75-71.
This week, the Tour heads to Dublin, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus, for Jack Nicklaus' Memorial Tournament. Of course, he grew up in that area and starred at Ohio State. He also designed the spectacular Muirfield Village Golf Club, a par-72 at nearly 7,400 yards. That world-renowned track is the only course in the United States to have hosted a Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup and Solheim Cup. Every year, Nicklaus honors someone at this event, and that person in 2019 is Judy Rankin, a former two-time LPGA Tour Player of the year.
Because this is Jack's tournament and the quality of the course, it's always a good field, and that's again the case even though world No. 1 Brooks Koepka decided not to play as he focuses on the U.S. Open in two weeks, where he's the defending champion. Dustin Johnson also took a pass. With the European Tour's BMW PGA Championship having moved to a fall date, most big-name Europeans are playing.
Because it's an invitational, the field is 120 instead of the usual 156 at a regular PGA Tour event. There's also no Monday qualifying for it. The defending champion is Bryson DeChambeau. He, Kyle Stanley and Byeong Hun An all finished 72 holes at 15-under and DeChambeau - who had bogeyed the 72 nd - won on the second playoff hole. Patrick Cantlay led by two shots Sunday heading to his back nine but didn't make a birdie over his last 10 holes.
Golf Odds: The Memorial Tournament Favorites
Rory McIlroy leads the way at +900 as he looks to win the Memorial for the first time. He has been Top 10 in his past two visits and leads all PGA Tour players with nine Top 10s this season.
Off his missed cut at the PGA Championship, Tiger Woods is +1100 to win this event a sixth time and the first since 2012. Tiger's next win would also be his 82nd on Tour, which would tie Sam Snead's record. You know he'd love to do that in front of Nicklaus.
Justin Rose and Cantlay are +1600, and Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Matt Kuchar each +1800. Rose won here in 2010 and has two seconds. Cantlay was fourth last year and is really playing well right now. Spieth's best result is third here and he is working on back-to-back Top 10s this year. Kuchar has five Top 5s, including a win, at Muirfield since 2009.
Golf Odds: The Memorial Tournament Picks
For a Top 10, go Woods (+105), Kuchar (+180) and Columbus resident Jason Day (+190). Rose at +300 for top European and Hideki Matsuyama at +185 as top Asian - he won here in 2014. No head-to-head props as of this writing, so our winner is Adam Scott at +3300. He was T8 at the PGA Championship and has three Top 10s in 11 career starts at the Memorial.
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