The PGA Tour will congregate for the final signature event of the campaign this week (Wells Fargo Championship) at Quail Hollow in North Carolina.
In the last tune-up before the second Major of the season, the US PGA Championship at Valhalla, the cream of the crop will tee it up, although there will be no Scottie Scheffler as he awaits the impending birth of his first child, while Ludvig Aberg will sit this one out with a sore knee.
A condensed 69-player field with no cut will have some tricky hurdles to navigate over the week. This includes the much-heralded “Green Mile” stretch that has expanded by 20 yards in the aftermath of course reconfigurations.
A bane for some players, the 16th, 17th, and 18th, are three of the toughest holes at any given PGA Tour tournament, and it will no doubt sort the wheat from the chaff.
Anyway, without Scheffler, the narrative will come into much sharper focus as the American had looked seemingly invincible.
But who will take the spoils this week? I have dived into the betting markets and sourced a couple of juicy tips.
Rory McIlroy to cash in again
After what had been a dismal start to the PGA Tour campaign, Rory McIlroy stepped into the winner’s circle a couple of weeks ago when he teamed up with Shane Lowry, guiding them to success at the Zurich Classic.
As far as Quail Hollow is concerned, it has been something of a home from home for McIlroy.
He has won three of the last 11 editions of the Wells Fargo Championship staged at Quail Hollow, and his maiden PGA Tour title arrived there with a swashbuckling display in 2010.
Moreover, the last time the Ulsterman lifted the US PGA title or a major of any kind for that matter was in 2014, and he had won the preceding PGA Tour event that year. Let’s not forget McIlroy holds the 18-hole record at Quail Hollow, shooting a mesmerising 61 in Round 3 back in 2015.
McIlroy ordinarily carries a huge weight of expectation given his stature, but the long and soft Quail Hollow will suit him to the ground, and he could cash in with the absence of Scheffler.
For my first pick, I’m going with McIlroy to profit and step into the winner’s circle, and he’s available at a tidy 13/2 with Paddy Power.
Wyndham Clark to come out firing on all cylinders
Last year, Wyndham Clark put himself on the golfing map as he romped to a four-shot success at Quail Hollow, marking a significant PGA Tour breakthrough.
The American, who is one of the highest-ranked players in the field, boasts the 72-hole record (265), and he won’t want to give up his title defence without making a fist of it.
While he may come up short this week, he has been trending in the right direction. He was T3 at the RBC Heritage last month and that will surely give him some confidence ahead of the second major.
To wrap things up, I think Clark could fire himself into the first-round lead, and I have sourced enticing odds of 22/1 with Parimatch.
Latest Golf Betting Offers & Free Bets
:quality(70)/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/xlmedia/95b7b397-ec07-49be-9275-53f658255162.jpeg)
