Opinion & Analysis

Helping you make the decision of a lifetime: “Where should I play college golf?”

Published

8 years ago

Oct 19, 2016

During the second week of every November — the early signing period for prospective NCAA golfers — high schoolers can announce to the world where they intend to go to college. Golf Channel wasn’t knocking on my door or anything, but in November 2007 I announced that I was going to Rutgers University to play college golf. I had an awesome experience there, and if I could go back I wouldn’t change a thing. But if we’re being honest, I got lucky with the decision I made, because I had no idea what I was doing as a 17-year-old kid making such an important decision in my life.

Unfortunately, some college golfers don’t get as lucky as I did with their decision, and are left unhappy and dissatisfied, and they seek to make a change.

“By January of my freshman year, I was already looking at where I could transfer,” said one of our survey participants (learn more about the survey below).

As the second week in November approaches each year, I think about all of the high-school golfers who may or may not be making the wrong decision for themselves and their future. This year when the thought crossed my mind, I decided to do something to help. I asked my former teammates, competitors, friends and fellow employees (and their friends) who played college golf to rank the importance of five key factors in choosing a college golf program:

Academics and Job Prospects
Campus Life
Financial Burden
Strength of Team and Schedule
Team Dynamics

In total, 17 former college golfers responded, representing Division I, Division II and Division III universities, and along with their rankings they each also answered four short-answer questions that provided further insight on their decisions. Click here to see the survey they took.

Use these results as a guideline (not the be-all and end-all) to help you and your family in your quest to make the right choice. In the breakdown below, I include quotes taken from the survey, as well as some of my own opinions.

Note: Factors below are in order of importance as decided by voters, starting with the least important (5) and moving to the most important (1).

5) Campus Life

College students play football after a snowstorm on the Harvard University campus.

College is most likely the first time that a young man or woman will be living on their own away from parents. As such, high schoolers may be interested in things that aren’t related to school or golf.

As a common rule, there are three main “S” words for college athletes: school, sports and social life. Most student-athletes can be stars in one or two, but almost none can lead the way in all three. There just aren’t enough hours in the day. According to former college golfers, “social” proved to be the least important S-word, as “Campus Life” was ranked the least important factor of the five in this survey.

Therefore, if you’re a prospective college golfer and you’re choosing a school based on how pretty the campus is, how good the parties are, how attractive the people are, the weather, or whether they have the frat/sorority you want to pledge or not, you may want to reevaluate your priorities.

“You’re going to [play] golf, not play ultimate frisbee,” a survey participant said.

Other comments on “campus life” from survey participants:

“Every university has good people and plenty to do. I really focused on school and athletics. There will always be parties and fun activities, regardless of which uni you choose.”
“All colleges will have athletics, extracurriculars, partying, etc. If you are looking to be an athlete at the collegiate level, anything that comes with campus life is just a bonus.”
“You are there to compete.”

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4) Academics and Job Prospects

CollegeAcademics

Attending a “good” school is important to starting the career you want and to simply gain knowledge; that’s the point of college after all. But maybe a college’s academic programs and prestige aren’t as important as they’re made out to be. That’s at least the conclusion that can be drawn from this particular survey, as “Academics and Job Prospects” of a university ranked fourth in our five key factors.

“Academics and Job prospects [are least important],” a survey participant said. “In my opinion, most schools offer 75 percent of the same courses. The person who takes those courses and makes connections will be a factor in getting hired or not.”

Views on this subject varied greatly in the survey. Some ranked this category as the most important factor, and were vocally supportive of attending a good academic school, while others deemed academics and their degree as relatively less important to their future.

Deciding whether academic prestige of a university is important to you or not will take self reflection. But remember, no matter what school you choose, it’s crucial to expand your knowledge and garner skills that will later be employable. And if you don’t choose a university that will challenge you academically, you may be stunting your intellectual growth.

More thoughts on Academics and Job Prospects from survey participants:

“Academics [were most important]. Pro golf was on my radar, but I knew it was a long shot so golf was my ticket to a great degree.”
“Academics [were most important]. Cash flow from a great job trumps everything.”
“You’re probably going to have to continue to rely on your own swing coach, fitness trainer or mental-game expert if you truly want to be [an elite golfer]. What you can’t provide for yourself, however, is the atmosphere of a great academic school and the exposure to ideas and people you never would have encountered at home. That’s why it’s so important to attend as excellent of a university as you can, whatever that means for you.”

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Top Men’s College Division 1 golf schools (academics and golf combined)
Top degrees for getting hired in 2016
U.S. News: Best Colleges

3) Financial Burden

CollegeDebt

Don’t forget this word: reality. Money will impact your life in one way or another, and debt up to your eye balls is not a myth.

“College golf lasts four years, but student loans can last 10 times that if the scholarship doesn’t cover enough of your tuition,” a survey participant said.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t options to help relieve that burden.

“The listed cost of tuition and board is generally much less than what you read in the magazines,” a survey participant said. “There are so many academic scholarships and financial aid packages available that can bring down the cost. And if you choose the right school and major, your education should more than pay for itself.”

Again, no one can make this decision for you. Figure out what you can afford right now, and what you can afford after college, too. And then decide whether it matters for you. When it doubt, work hard in the classroom and in your sport to score as many scholarships as possible. Then once you’ve uncovered all the scholarships you think you can get, start your research again. There’s more out there.

Other thoughts from survey participants about Financial Burden:

“Financial burden [is the least important factor]. Take loans. Enjoy college. You can’t do it twice.”
“Cost of school determined where I went.”
“Financial (Burden was least important) because that should not influence your decision, although it is a reality.”

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2) Strength of Team and Schedule

Oregon won the 2016 NCAA Men’s golf championship in front of a large hometown crowd.

For this factor, you’ll have to take a hard look at your golf game, and then look equally as hard at a college’s golf team.

By doing some research online*, you’ll be able to find results and tournament schedules for just about any college in America. This will give you a good idea of the strength of the team, what scores its players are shooting and how the team placed in recent tournaments. By doing your research, you’ll be able to estimate if you can play right away and if you’ll be playing in the caliber of tournaments that you desire.

*Don’t forget to look at course yardage and weather to gauge the playing conditions and accurately measure your game. Generally, college tournaments are played on difficult courses, so you can expect your scoring average to rise compared to high school tournaments.

Remember, just as there are prospective college golfers who want to play for a national championship, there are also students who just want to play golf and don’t care how prestigious the tournaments are. Maybe you’re happy with low-pressure college tournaments and aren’t striving to play against stiff competition. Think about what you really want, because it will ultimately have a major impact on your success and happiness in college.

“The strength of the schedule to me is the least important,” a survey participant said. “Whether you are in Division 1 or Division 3, it does not affect the outcome of what you can be. It is up to you as the player to push yourself and see how high the level of your talent can be.”

With avenues like qualifying school, local professional tours and national USGA events, don’t feel pressured if you end up at a less-competitive school than you desired. You can still “make it.”

A club golf program is also be a great alternative for a competitive golfer. Find out more about the NCCGA (National Collegiate Club Golf Association) here.

Other thoughts from survey participants on Strength of Team and Schedule:

“Strength of golf team and schedule (are most important) to play against the best competition.”
“Strength of team (was most important). Regardless of other factors, winning takes top priority.”
“Most important: Can I play right away? Least important: Location. It is important to play and get the experience of college golf. Where you have to go to do that shouldn’t particularly matter.”

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1) Team Dynamics

There are a lot of factors that are involved in golf team dynamics, and all are equally important to not only your personal success and happiness, but the success of the team as whole. You spend a whole lot of time with the people on your team, and the atmosphere and attitude can certainly have an affect on you.

“Team dynamics [are most important],” a survey participant said. “For the next four years you are going to spend so much time with these people. If you can’t get along it will leak into other aspects of college. It’s more or less a family because you eat together, workout together, play together. It’s a necessity to like the people.”

And this is especially true from a competitive standpoint. How competitive are the people around you, and how competitive do you really want to be?

“I played both D3 and D1, and the difference in competition was DRAMATIC,” a survey participant said. “D3 nobody cared. D1 people wanted to win.”

If you’re not looking to put 100 percent into golf and the team, that’s OK. Just make sure your goals aren’t drastically different than your teammates and coaches. High-level college golf requires a serious time commitment including workouts, range time, qualifying rounds, practice rounds, tournaments, study hall, classes — and then finding time to rest and have a semblance of a social life. College golf, or any college sport, is NOT for everyone.

“How do you know the team dynamics before you even get there?” you may be asking. My advice: take full advantage of official and unofficial visits, paying close attention the attitudes, habits and priorities of the players.

Other thoughts from survey participants on Team Dynamics:

“A good group of guys and coach can bring the best of your game and talents out.”
“I ranked the team chemistry the most important because it is what keeps you pushing to better yourself. You need a great connection with your coaches and teammates in order to continue the want to push yourself. In my experience, the lack of connection between coach and player caused a loss of interest in the sport and the will of the team.”

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Opinion & Analysis

The Wedge Guy: What really makes a wedge work? Part 2

Published

2 hours ago

May 9, 2024

Terry Koehler

In my last post, I explained the basic performance dynamics of “smash factor” and “gear effect” as they apply to your wedges and your wedge play success. If you missed that post, you can read it here.

At the end of that post, I promised “part 2” of this discussion of what makes a wedge work the way it does. So, let’s dive into the other two components of any wedge – the shaft and the grip.

It’s long been said that the shaft is “the engine of the golf club.” The shaft (and grip) are your only connection to all the technologies that are packed into the head of any golf club, whether it be a driver, fairway, hybrid, iron, wedge or even putter.

And you cannot ignore those two components of your wedges if your goal is optimizing your performance.

I’ve long been an advocate of what I call a “seamless transition” from your irons into your wedges, so that the feel and performance do not disconnect when you choose a gap wedge, for example, instead of your iron-set-matching “P-club.” In today’s golf equipment marketplace, more and more golfers are making the investment of time and money to experience an iron fitting, going through trial and error and launch monitor measuring to get just the right shaft in their irons.

But then so many of those same golfers just go into a store and choose wedges off the retail display, with no similar science involved at all. And that’s why I see so many golfers with a huge disconnect between their custom-fitted irons, often with lighter and/or softer graphite or light steel shafts . . . and their off-the-rack wedges with the stock stiff steel ‘wedge flex’ shaft common to those stock offerings.

If your wedge shafts are significantly heavier and stiffer than the shafts in your irons, it is physically impossible for you to make the same swing. Period.

To quickly improve your wedge play, one of the first things you can do is have your wedges re-shafted with the same or similar shaft that is in your irons.

There’s another side of that shaft weight equation; if you don’t have the forearm and hand strength of a PGA Tour professional, you simply cannot “handle” the same weight shaft that those guys play to master the myriad of ‘touch shots’ around the greens.

Now, let’s move on to the third and other key component of your wedges – the grips. If those are not similar in shape and feel to the grips on your irons, you have another disconnect. Have your grips checked by a qualified golf club professionals to make sure you are in sync there.

The one caveat to that advice is that I am a proponent of a reduced taper in your wedge grips – putting two to four more layers of tape under the lower hand, or selecting one of the many reduced taper grips on the market. That accomplishes two goals for your scoring.

First, it helps reduce overactive hands in your full and near-full wedge swings. Quiet hands are key to good wedge shots.

And secondly, it provides a more consistent feel of the wedge in your hands as you grip down for those shorter and more delicate shots around the greens. And you should always grip down as you get into those touch shots. I call it “getting closer to your work.”

So, if you will spend as much time selecting the shafts and grips for your wedges as you do choosing the brand, model, and loft of them, your scoring range performance will get better.

Vincenzi’s 2024 Wells Fargo Championship betting preview: Tommy Fleetwood ready to finally land maiden PGA Tour title

Published

3 days ago

May 6, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

The PGA Tour season ramps back up this week for another “signature event,” as golf fans look forward to the year’s second major championship next week.

After two weaker-field events in the Zurich Classic and the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, most of the best players in the world will head to historic Quail Hollow for one of the best non-major tournaments of the year.

Last season, Wyndham Clark won the event by four shots.

Quail Hollow is a par-71 measuring 7,521 yards that features Bermudagrass greens. The tree-lined, parkland style course can play quite difficult and features one of the most difficult three-hole stretches in golf known as “The Green Mile,” which makes up holes 16-18: two mammoth par 4s and a 221-yard par 3. All three holes have an average score over par, and water is in play in each of the last five holes on the course.

The field is excellent this week with 68 golfers teeing it up without a cut. All of the golfers who’ve qualified are set to tee it up, with the exception of Scottie Scheffler, who is expecting the birth of his first child.

Past Winners at Quail Hollow

2023: Wyndham Clark (-19)
2022: Max Homa (-8)
2021: Rory McIlroy (-10)
2019: Max Homa (-15)
2018: Jason Day (-12)
2017: Justin Thomas (-8) (PGA Championship)
2016: James Hahn (-9)
2015: Rory McIlroy (-21)

Key Stats For Quail Hollow

Strokes Gained: Approach

Strokes gained: Approach will be extremely important this week as second shots at Quail Hollow can be very difficult.

Total SG: Approach Over Past 24 Rounds

Akshay Bhatia (+1.16)
Tom Hoge (+1.12)
Corey Conners (+1.01)
Shane Lowry (+0.93)
Austin Eckroat (+0.82)

Strokes Gained: Off the Tee

Quail Hollow is a long course on which it is important to play from the fairway. Both distance and accuracy are important, as shorter tee shots will result in approach shots from 200 or more yards. With most of the holes heavily tree lined, errant drives will create some real trouble for the players.

Strokes Gained: Off the Tee Past 24 Rounds:

Ludvig Aberg (+0.73)
Rory McIlroy (+0.69)
Xander Schauffele (+0.62)
Viktor Hovland (+0.58)
Chris Kirk (+0.52)

Proximity: 175-200

The 175-200 range is key at Quail Hollow. Players who can hit their long irons well will rise to the top of the leaderboard.

Proximity: 175-200+ over past 24 rounds:

Cameron Young (28’2″)
Akshay Bhatia (29’6″)
Ludvig Aberg (+30’6″)
Sam Burns (+30’6″)
Collin Morikawa (+30’9″)

SG: Total on Tom Fazio Designs

Players who thrive on Tom Fazio designs get a bump for me at Quail Hollow this week.

SG: Total on Tom Fazio Designs over past 36 rounds:

Patrick Cantlay (+2.10)
Rory McIlroy (+1.95)
Tommy Fleetwood (+1.68)
Austin Eckroat (+1.60)
Will Zalatoris (+1.57)

Strokes Gained: Putting (Bermudagrass)

Strokes Gained: Putting has historically graded out as the most important statistic at Quail Hollow. While it isn’t always predictable, I do want to have it in the model to bump up golfers who prefer to putt on Bermudagrass.

Strokes Gained: Putting (Bermudagrass) Over Past 24 Rounds:

Taylor Moore (+0.82)
Nick Dunlap (+.76)
Wyndham Clark (+.69)
Emiliano Grillo (+.64)
Cam Davis (+.61)

Course History

This stat will incorporate players that have played well in the past at Quail Hollow.

Course History over past 36 rounds (per round):

Rory McIlroy (+2.50)
Justin Thomas (+1.96)
Jason Day (+1.92)
Rickie Fowler (+1.83)
Viktor Hovland (+1.78)

Wells Fargo Championship Model Rankings

Below, I’ve compiled overall model rankings using a combination of the five key statistical categories previously discussed — SG: Approach (27%), SG: Off the Tee (23%), SG: Total on Fazio designs (12%), Proximity: 175-200 (12%), SG: Putting Bermuda grass (12%), and Course History (14%).

Wyndham Clark
Rory McIlroy
Xander Schauffele
Shane Lowry
Hideki Matsuyama
Viktor Hovland
Cameron Young
Austin Eckroat
Byeong Hun An
Justin Thomas

2024 Wells Fargo Championship Picks

Tommy Fleetwood +2500 (DraftKings)

I know many out there have Tommy fatigue when it comes to betting, which is completely understandable given his lack of ability to win on the PGA Tour thus far in his career. However, history has shown us that players with Fleetwood’s talent eventually break though, and I believe for Tommy, it’s just a matter of time.

Fleetwood has been excellent on Tom Fazio designs. Over his past 36 rounds, he ranks 3rd in the field in Strokes Gained: Total on Fazio tracks. He’s also been incredibly reliable off the tee this season. He’s gained strokes in the category in eight of his past nine starts, including at The Masters, the PLAYERS and the three “signature events” of the season. Tommy is a golfer built for tougher courses and can grind it out in difficult conditions.

Last year, Fleetwood was the first-round leader at this event, firing a Thursday 65. He finished the event in a tie for 5th place.

For those worried about Fleetwood’s disappointing start his last time out at Harbour Town, he’s bounced back nicely after plenty of poor outings this season. His T7 at the Valero Texas Open was after a MC and T35 in his prior two starts and his win at the Dubai Invitational came after a T47 at the Sentry.

I expect Tommy to bounce back this week and contend at Quail Hollow.

Justin Thomas +3000 (DraftKings)

It’s been a rough couple of years for Justin Thomas, but I don’t believe things are quite as bad as they seem for JT. He got caught in the bad side of the draw at Augusta for last month’s Masters and has gained strokes on approach in seven of his nine starts in 2024.

Thomas may have found something in his most recent start at the RBC Heritage. He finished T5 at a course that he isn’t the best fit for on paper. He also finally got the putter working and ranked 15th in Strokes Gained: Putting for the week.

The two-time PGA champion captured the first of his two major championships at Quail Hollow back in 2017, and some good vibes from the course may be enough to get JT out of his slump.

Thomas hasn’t won an event in just about two years. However, I still believe that will change soon as he’s been one of the most prolific winners throughout his PGA Tour career. Since 2015, he has 15 PGA Tour wins.

Course history is pretty sticky at Quail Hollow, with players who like the course playing well there on a regular basis. In addition to JT’s PGA Championship win in 2017, he went 4-1 at the 2022 Presidents Cup and finished T14 at the event last year despite being in poor form. Thomas can return as one of the top players on the PGA Tour with a win at a “signature event” this week.

Cameron Young +3500 (DraftKings)

For many golf bettors, it’s been frustrating backing Cam Young this season. His talent is undeniable, and one of the best and most consistent performers on the PGA Tour. He just hasn’t broken through with a victory yet. Quail Hollow has been a great place for elite players to get their first victory. Rory McIlroy, Anthony Kim, Rickie Fowler and Wyndham Clark all notched their first PGA Tour win at Quail.

Throughout Cam Young’s career, he has thrived at tougher courses with strong fields. This season, he finished T16 at Riviera and T9 at Augusta National, demonstrating his preference of a tough test. His ability to hit the ball long and straight off the tee make him an ideal fit for Quail Hollow, despite playing pretty poorly his first time out in 2023 (T59). Young should be comfortable playing in the region as he played his college golf at Wake Forest, which is about an hour’s drive from Quail Hollow.

The 26-year-old has played well at Tom Fazio designs in the past and ranks 8th in the field in Strokes Gained: Total on those courses in his last 36 rounds. Perhaps most importantly, this season, Young is the best player on the PGA Tour in terms of proximity from 175-200 in the fairway, which is where a plurality and many crucial shots will come from this week.

Young is an elite talent and Quail Hollow has been kind to players of his ilk who’ve yet to win on Tour.

Byeong Hun An +5000 (FanDuel)

Byeong Hun An missed some opportunities last weekend at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. He finished T4 and played some outstanding golf, but a couple of missed short putts prevented him from getting to the winning score of -23. Despite not getting the win, it’s hard to view An’s performance as anything other than an overwhelming success. It was An’s fourth top-ten finish of the season.

Last week, An gained 6.5 strokes ball striking, which was 7th in the field. He also ranked 12th for Strokes Gained: Approach and 13th for Strokes Gained: Off the Tee. The South Korean has been hitting the ball so well from tee to green all season long and he now heads to a golf course that should reward his precision.

An’s driver and long irons are absolute weapons. At Quail Hollow, players will see plenty of approach shots from the 175-200 range as well as some from 200+. In his past 24 rounds, Ben ranks 3rd in the field in proximity from 175-200 and 12th in proximity from 200+. Playing in an event that will not end up being a “birdie” fest should help An, who can separate from the field with his strong tee to green play. The putter may not always cooperate but getting to -15 is much easier than getting to -23 for elite ball strikers who tend to struggle on the greens.

Winning a “signature event” feels like a tall task for An this week with so many elite players in the field. However, he’s finished T16 at the Genesis Invitational, T16 at The Masters and T8 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. The 32-year-old’s game has improved drastically this season and I believe he’s ready to get the biggest win of his career.

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s LIV Golf Singapore betting preview: Course specialist ready to thrive once again

Published

1 week ago

Apr 30, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

After another strong showing in Australia, LIV Golf will head to Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore looking to build off of what was undoubtedly their best event to date.

Sentosa Golf Club sits on the southern tip of Singapore and is one of the most beautiful courses in the world. The course is more than just incredible scenically; it was also rated 55th in Golf Digest’s top-100 courses in 2022-2023 and has been consistently regarded as one of the best courses in Asia. Prior to being part of the LIV rotation, the course hosted the Singapore Open every year since 2005.

Sentosa Golf Club is a par 71 measuring 7,406 yards. The course will require precise ball striking and some length off the tee. It’s possible to go low due to the pristine conditions, but there are also plenty of hazards and difficult spots on the course that can bring double bogey into play in a hurry. The Bermudagrass greens are perfectly manicured, and the course has spent millions on the sub-air system to keep the greens rolling fast. I spoke to Asian Tour player, Travis Smyth, who described the greens as “the best [he’s] ever played.”

Davis Love III, who competed in a Singapore Open in 2019, also gushed over the condition of the golf course.

“I love the greens. They are fabulous,” the 21-time PGA Tour winner said.

Love III also spoke about other aspects of the golf course.

“The greens are great; the fairways are perfect. It is a wonderful course, and it’s tricky off the tee.”

“It’s a long golf course, and you get some long iron shots. It takes somebody hitting it great to hit every green even though they are big.”

As Love III said, the course can be difficult off the tee due to the length of the course and the trouble looming around every corner. It will take a terrific ball striking week to win at Sentosa Golf Club.

In his pre-tournament press conference last season, Phil Mickelson echoed many of the same sentiments.

“To play Sentosa effectively, you’re going to have a lot of shots from 160 to 210, a lot of full 6-, 7-, 8-iron shots, and you need to hit those really well and you need to drive the ball well.”

Golfers who excel from tee to green and can dial in their longer irons will have a massive advantage this week.

Stat Leaders at LIV Golf Adelaide:

Fairways Hit

1.) Louis Oosthuizen

2.) Anirban Lahiri

3.) Jon Rahm

4.) Brendan Steele

5.) Cameron Tringale

Greens in Regulation

1.) Brooks Koepka

2.) Brendan Steele

3.) Dean Burmester

4.) Cameron Tringale

5.) Anirban Lahiri

Birdies Made

1.) Brendan Steele

2.) Dean Burmester

3.) Thomas Pieters

4.) Patrick Reed

5.) Carlos Ortiz

LIV Golf Individual Standings:

1.) Joaquin Niemann

2.) Jon Rahm

3.) Dean Burmester

4.) Louis Oosthuizen

5.) Abraham Ancer

LIV Golf Team Standings:

1.) Crushers

2.) Legion XIII

3.) Torque

4.) Stinger GC

5.) Ripper GC

LIV Golf Singapore Picks

Sergio Garcia +3000 (DraftKings)

Sergio Garcia is no stranger to Sentosa Golf Club. The Spaniard won the Singapore Open in 2018 by five strokes and lost in a playoff at LIV Singapore last year to scorching hot Talor Gooch. Looking at the course setup, it’s no surprise that a player like Sergio has played incredible golf here. He’s long off the tee and is one of the better long iron players in the world when he’s in form. Garcia is also statistically a much better putter on Bermudagrass than he is on other putting surfaces. He’s putt extremely well on Sentosa’s incredibly pure green complexes.

This season, Garcia has two runner-up finishes, both of them being playoff losses. Both El Camaleon and Doral are courses he’s had success at in his career. The Spaniard is a player who plays well at his tracks, and Sentosa is one of them. I believe Sergio will get himself in the mix this week. Hopefully the third time is a charm in Singapore.

Paul Casey +3300 (FanDuel)

Paul Casey is in the midst of one of his best seasons in the five years or so. The results recently have been up and down, but he’s shown that when he’s on a golf course that suits his game, he’s amongst the contenders.

This season, Casey has finishes of T5 (LIV Las Vegas), T2 (LIV Hong Kong), and a 6th at the Singapore Classic on the DP World Tour. At his best, the Englishman is one of the best long iron players in the world, which makes him a strong fit for Sentosa. Despite being in poor form last season, he was able to fire a Sunday 63, which shows he can low here at the course.

It’s been three years since Casey has won a tournament (Omega Dubai Desert Classic in 2021), but he’s been one of the top players on LIV this season and I think he can get it done at some point this season.

Mito Pereira +5000 (Bet365)

Since Mito Pereira’s unfortunate demise at the 2022 PGA Championship, he’s been extremely inconsistent. However, over the past few months, the Chilean has played well on the International Series as well as his most recent LIV start. Mito finished 8th at LIV Adelaide, which was his best LIV finish this season.

Last year, Pereira finished 5th at LIV Singapore, shooting fantastic rounds of 67-66-66. It makes sense why Mito would like Sentosa, as preeminent ball strikers tend to rise to the challenge of the golf course. He’s a great long iron player who is long and straight off the tee.

Mito has some experience playing in Asia and is one of the most talented players on LIV who’s yet to get in the winner’s circle. I have questions about whether or not he can come through once in contention, but if he gets there, I’m happy to roll the dice.

Andy Ogletree +15000 (DraftKings)

Andy Ogletree is a player I expected to have a strong 2024 but struggled early in his first full season on LIV. After failing to crack the top-25 in any LIV event this year, the former U.S. Amateur champion finally figured things out, finished in a tie for 3rd at LIV Adelaide.

Ogletree should be incredible comfortable playing in Singapore. He won the International Series Qatar last year and finished T3 at the International Series Singapore. The 26-year-old was arguably the best player on the Asian Tour in 2023 and has been fantastic in the continent over the past 18 months.

If Ogletree has indeed found form, he looks to be an amazing value at triple-digit odds.

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