PGA Tour Picks: Canadian Open Odds and Expert Betting Predictions
Being honest, I'm not a Tiger Woods fan. He's arrogant and whiny and a terrible role model. All he put his ex-wife through is ridiculous.
But, there's no question that golf is much more interesting with Tiger contending - especially in a major tournament. I didn't give Woods much of a chance to win a fourth British Open title even though he was only four shots off the lead entering his final round. Did you know that Woods held at least a share of the 54-hole lead in all 14 of his major victories? So, he doesn't rally in majors.
However, Tiger did briefly take sole possession of the lead on Sunday, and I honestly thought Twitter was going to break. It was the first time he held an outright on a Sunday in a major since the 2009 PGA Championship when Tiger finished second behind Y.E. Yang. Alas, Woods faded a bit down the stretch and Francesco Molinari made history as the first Italian to win one of golf's four major championships.
Frankly, not much of a surprise if you have been paying attention to how well Molinari has been playing for about six weeks - both in the PGA and European Tours. He's the best player in the world at the moment, and I'm looking forward to seeing him in the Ryder Cup - he leads the European points standings and is a lock now.
Molinari played his final 37 holes at ultra-tough Carnoustie in Scotland without a bogey or worse to finish at 8-under and two ahead of Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Kevin Kisner and Justin Rose. Molinari is the first major champion since Steve Elkington at the 1995 PGA Championship to play the final two rounds without a hole over par. Tiger finished T6 and that moved him to No. 50 in the world rankings. That's important because it qualifies him for next week's WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, which Tiger has won eight times.
My winning pick for the Claret Jug was Tommy Fleetwood to end the English drought in the Open Championship. I was liking my chances after Fleetwood shot a second-round 65, but he went 71-73 on the weekend to finish at 3 under, one shot from a Top 10.
Most guys take the week after a major off, and that's largely the case here with a few big-name Americans staying in Europe and playing the European Tour event in Germany. On the PGA Tour, it's the Canadian Open, the oldest non-major event on the Tour. The good news is this will be the last year it's played after the British Open. In 2019, it's moving to Hamilton Golf and Country Club (last played there in 2012) and will be scheduled the week before the U.S. Open - I'm not sure that's any better in terms of landing a better field - to take the spot of the St. Jude Classic. That tournament in Memphis is shifting to later in the year and becoming a WGC event.
The Canadian Open has been played since 1904 and it's often referred to as part of the Triple Crown of the PGA Tour along with the U.S. and British Opens. Only Lee Trevino and Tiger Woods have won all three. It's the fourth year in a row it's held at Glen Abbey Golf Course in Oakville, Ontario.
The two-time defending champion of his tournament is Venezuelan Jhonattan Vegas. Two years ago, he prevailed by a shot over three others and then last year beat Charley Hoffman in a playoff as Vegas birdied the first extra hole. He hasn't done much since then. Hoffman had forced a playoff with birdie on his 72nd hole. Vegas is +6600 to become the first player to win this event three straight years and can't say I recommend that wager.
Golf Odds: Canadian Open Favorites
At Bovada , world No. 1 Dustin Johnson is the +650 favorite. He'd probably be among the big names off this week but has a business relationship with RBC, the primary Canadian Open sponsor. DJ might benefit from missing the cut last week and getting back to American soil early. He was second here in 2013 & '16 and eighth last year.
Two-time U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka is +1100 with Fleetwood at +1600. Koepka was T39 last week and T18 here his only visit in 2015. Fleetwood makes his debut. Tony Finau is +1600 and Bubba Watson +2000. Finau was T9 last week and T5 here in 2017. Watson was a runner-up in 2015 and 42 nd last year. He missed the cut last week as well.
Golf Odds: Canadian Open Picks
PGA Tour odds were a bit delayed this week with the Barbasol Championship opposite-field event going to a Monday finish, so not a ton of props out yet. I do think Johnson finishes in the Top 10, although that price of -240 is ridiculous. Also like Hoffman (+170) and Matt Kuchar (+200) for one. Go Johnson (-140) over Koepka (+110), Sergio Garcia (-125) over Billy Horschel (-105), and Finau (-115) over Fleetwood (-115).
Let's go with Hoffman as the winner at +2500. He has improved his finish here each of the past three years, capped by that 2017 playoff loss. He's also working on four straight Top 20s this year on Tour.
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