Connect with us

19th Hole

2021 World Wide Technology Championship: Best prop bets

Published

on

The PGA Tour makes its way to El Camaleon Golf Club this week for the World Wide Technology Classic at Mayakoba, with plenty of big names, including Justin Thomas, returning to action.

Away from Matt Vincenzo’s outright preview, let’s take a look at the best prop bets this week, some that may be of use to back up your top-heavy fantasy line-ups.

Russell Knox Top 20 Finish +300 (DraftKings, Bet365)

Suitable conditions lead to returns to form, and after a 12th place finish last week, the 36-year old has just become the second Scot to break the $15 million barrier on the PGA tour and can celebrate with another good finish in Mexico.

Whether in or out of form, Knox seems to turn up and perform at El Camaleon, following a pair of T16 (including Bermuda) and a missed-cut with a top-25 here last season. Previously, 2019 saw a solid run of figures through Houston, Bermuda, here and at the RSM, whilst previous course finishes of 9/3/2 confirm all we know – if it’s short and requires a solid greens-in-regulation figure, Knox will show up.

Overall sixth in driving accuracy last week with a worst of 17th in the second round, he led the green-finding stat with an average of over 80% for the final three rounds and anything approaching that, on a course he enjoys and back in good form and health, should see him land his second consecutive top-20.

Danny Lee Top 20 Finish +400 (DraftKings), +500 (UniBet UK)

Both Graeme McDowell and Patrick Reed caught the eye last week, and whilst both are at opposite ends of the odds scale, they thrived in the tougher conditions in Bermuds. Sadly, it looks like being the opposite throughout this week’s event and not to their advantage.

Instead, if Danny Lee is ‘back’, then get on Danny Lee.

Runner-up here behind Matt Kuchar in 2018 (a book-ending pair of 65s sandwiching 66/67), the youngest ever winner of the U.S Amateur has had some long-term injury issues. However, having changed club manufacturer and showing snippets of form on the KFT (best of 19th at coastal South Carolina) it was only a mind-numbing decision at his 66th hole at Bermuda that cost him his first title for six years.

Of course, we can’t speculate what would have happened without that bizarre double-bogey, but, for sure, it affected his play for the next hour or so, and it was to his credit that he was able to fight back with three consecutive birdies down the stretch.

As we’ve seen with many players, form on the greens at Bermuda and efforts at Puerto Rico carries weight here, and therefore his runner-up at Rio Grande (scene of Hovland’s first win) carries some weight.

First in putting average, first in birdie count and no worse than eighth across the ranking for pars three, four and five last week, Lee can be yet another player that follows on through this most suitable set of tournaments.

Davis Riley Top 20 Finish +700 (DraftKings)

The 24-year-old Korn Ferry graduate has been on most long-term radars for a while, and for bettors, if not Riley himself, it may be a blessing in disguise that he had to endure a Covid-induced extra year at the graduate level.

Speculatively backed at large prices for his first trio of events, there was a glimmer of promise at Shriners when he couldn’t quite kick-on from the end of third round 31st place, but it was at Bermuda last week where he showed he could compete in difficult conditions.

Despite a final round 67, his fairway-finding was at its lowest ebb of the week, but by finishing third in birdie-count tells a story of a player happy on the coastal Bermuda greens, and it’s this clear ability on similar tracks that make me believe it’s now the time to cash in before he ‘does a Will Zalatoris’ and gets silly short in a few months.

Eighth in Bermuda and winner on the KFT at coastal Panama, but it’s his victory at the Greg Norman-designed San Antonio at The Oaks that gives the most impetus behind the wager. He’s also a player clearly at home in the South America region.

Tied-second for the Bermudan par-fours fits in well with recent winners Matt Kuchar, Brendan Todd and Hovland, and as his good friend Zalatoris says, “it’s a matter of time before he’s gonna be a top-10 player in the world…it’s not if, it’s when”.

I’m not sure the outright +20000 takes into account his improvement and course suitability, and it’s a tough field, but this may be another step up the ladder, and the top-20 is the play of the week.

Your Reaction?
  • 0
  • LEGIT0
  • WOW0
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB1
  • SHANK2

19th Hole

Butch Harmon reveals what he worked on with Rory McIlroy during visit earlier this year

Published

on

While speaking on the “Son of a Butch” Podcast, legendary swing coach Butch Harmon revealed what he worked on with Rory McIlroy when the four-time major champion went to visit him after the Players Championship this season.

“The work I did with him wasn’t a tremendous amount of changing what he did, it was his attitude and the way he played certain shots. From 150 yards and in he made a full swing like he was hitting a driver and I wanted him to make more 3 quarter swings and chop the follow through off a little. He’s a very high ball hitter, but with short irons high balls aren’t good, it’s hard to control, we wanted to bring the ball flight down.”

The work certainly seemed to help McIlroy, as he went on to win the Zurich Classic alongside Shane Lowry and the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow in back-to-back starts.

Rory will now tee it up at Valhalla for the PGA Championship, which is the site of his most recent major victory in 2014.

More from the 19th Hole

Your Reaction?
  • 9
  • LEGIT2
  • WOW0
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK2

Continue Reading

19th Hole

Brandel Chamblee says this technological development was key to Phil Mickelson winning major championships

Published

on

While speaking with GolfWRX, Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee shared that he believes the solid core golf ball helped Phil Mickelson win major championships.

“One of the consequences of the solid core golf ball coming around was it put the straightest of hitters in the rough.

“Phil started winning majors in 2004, I don’t think that’s any coincidence. I think he started winning majors after the solid core golf ball came along and put everybody in the rough.

“And so [Phil] is like ‘I got you in the rough, I’m going to kick your a**. This is my game. I’ve been in the rough my whole career. I can go over trees, through trees, around trees.’

“Because he’s got that amazing creativity and Phil is an underrated iron player, phenomenal iron player. Great, great great out of the trouble. If you put the top-40 players on a list and ranked them in terms of accuracy, he would be 40th.

“So, I think that was one of the consequences of the solid core golf balls was it allowed Phil to win major championships.”

Mickelson went on to win the Masters in 2004 as well as five additional majors from 2004-2021 including three total Masters, two PGA Championships, and an Open Championship.

Check out the full interview with Chamblee below:

More from the 19th Hole

Your Reaction?
  • 7
  • LEGIT4
  • WOW2
  • LOL1
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP3
  • OB1
  • SHANK14

Continue Reading

19th Hole

Former Augusta National employee pleads guilty to transporting stolen Masters memorabilia; Arnold Palmer’s green jacket among stolen items

Published

on

According to a report from the Chicago Tribune, a man was charged in Chicago with stealing millions of dollars’ worth of memorabilia from Augusta National last month.

The man, Robert Globensky, was charged with transporting the memorabilia across state lines.

The report states that between 2009 and 2022, Globensky allegedly transported “millions of dollars’ worth of Masters golf tournament merchandise and historical memorabilia” from Augusta National “and transported to Tampa, Florida, knowing the same had been stolen, converted and taken by fraud.”

The document was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Since then, more details have emerged about the case.

According to Darren Rovell of Cllct, one of the items that was stolen was Arnold Palmer’s green jacket.

The Chicago Tribune also reported that Globensky was able to steal the merchandise due to his role as a former warehouse coordinator at Augusta National who oversaw the Masters merchandise that was sold.

Rovell states that “A source with intimate knowledge of the case said an Augusta National member, who knew the jacket was missing, contacted a well-known collector who had gained a reputation for tracking down rare items. The member’s goal was to return the jacket to Augusta under the guise of purchasing it in a private sale.”

The plan worked, and the man agreed to sell the jacket for an agreed upon price of $3.6 million. After the sale was complete, the FBI swarmed the house of the thief.

Cllct also reported that Globensky pled guilty in a federal court in Chicago on Wednesday and now faces up to 10 years in prison.

The Chicago Tribune adds that Globensky’s plea deal includes an agreement to provide the government a cashier’s check for $1.5 million in the next few days.

More from the 19th Hole

Your Reaction?
  • 1
  • LEGIT0
  • WOW1
  • LOL1
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK1

Continue Reading

WITB

Facebook

Trending