Golf is hard: Francesco Molinari hits a ground ball off the first tee at Pebble Beach

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BetMGM Sportsbook is looking out for Webb Simpson and Sahith Theegala fans by offering some interesting viewing companion markets for the tournament favorite and young star in Thursday’s opening round of the John Deere Classic. If a bettor fancies either player to make five or more birdies/eagles in their round; to shoot 67 or lower; to make an eagle; to go bogey free; or to birdie the first hole, then this could certainly be up their alley. Simpson, the highest world ranked player in the field, is favorite to win the tournament at +1400 coming off a T13 last week at The Travelers Championship. He also tops Rob Bolton’s Power Rankings. Theegala finished T2 at the Travelers and looked set to win his first PGA TOUR event at TPC River Highlands before an expensive final hole double bogey saw him give up the lead to Xander Schauffele. Now the 24-year-old looks to bounce back quickly. Simpson starts his tilt at 1:43p.m. eastern off the first tee with Theegala a group behind at 1:54p.m. This slots inside the viewing/listening windows for PGA TOUR LIVE, Golf Channel, and PGA TOUR Radio. Let’s break down the numbers to see if value can be found. TO MAKE 5 OR MORE BIRDIES/EAGLES: Webb Simpson Odds -135; Sahith Theegala Odds -125 At the above odds, if you outlaid $10 you would win $7.41 ($17.41 returned) on Simpson or $8 on Theegala should they make five or more birdies/eagles. In the first round of the 2021 John Deere Classic 60 of 156 players had five or more birdies/eagles. So too did 75 players in round two. Round three saw 29 of 72 players meet the threshold and 22 did so in round four. Simpson has 10 rounds at TPC Deere Run (none since 2010), with four of those yielding five or more birdies/eagles. Since his last visit he has seven TOUR wins, including the 2012 U.S. Open and 2018 PLAYERS Championship. In his last 14 rounds this season, he has five or more par breakers just three times BUT two of those came in opening rounds, including a six-birdie effort on the opening day last week. Theegala is on debut at TPC Deere Run. He ranks T71st in birdies in his rookie season at 3.77 a round. Last week he passed the five or more mark in ALL FOUR rounds. He had seven par breakers in round one, then five, six and five again the next three days. TO SHOOT 67 OR LOWER: Webb Simpson Odds -120; Sahith Theegala Odds +100 * Note: TPC Deere Run is a par-71. At the above odds, if you outlaid $10 you would win $8.33 ($18.33 returned) on Simpson or $10 on Theegala should they shoot 67 or lower. In 2021’s first round 28 players shot 67 or better. A massive 52 did so in round two while 16 and 11 rounds of 67 or better came over the final two rounds. Simpson averages 69.0 in round one and has 15 rounds of 67 or better on TOUR this season, two of which came last week. Two of his 10 rounds at TPC Deere Run, over a decade ago, were 67 or better. Theegala’s round one scoring average is 69.63. Last week, all four of his rounds were 67 or better as he shot 67-65-64-67 at TPC River Highlands however the 67s represent three under at that par-70 layout. In terms of rounds of four under or better this season – Theegala sits at 23. TO BIRDIE THE FIRST HOLE: Webb Simpson Odds +225; Sahith Theegala Odds +240 At the above odds, if you outlaid $10 you would win $22.50 ($32.50 returned) on Simpson or $24 on Theegala should they birdie the first hole. The first is a 417-yard par 4 dogleg left with a tee shot over a valley to a generous fairway surrounded by bunkers. The green is blind from most of the landing area and guarded by huge bunkers. In 2021’s first round 37 of 156 players birdied the first hole, 14 of those played it as their opening hole of the round. It ranked the sixth easiest for the week averaging 3.815. There were 113 birdies there in the tournament. Simpson has one birdie, eight pars and one bogey from 10 attempts at the hole. Theegala has yet to play the hole but he did show a propensity to start fast last week, making birdie on his opening hole three of four days. TO BE BOGEY FREE: Webb Simpson Odds +300; Sahith Theegala Odds +350 At the above odds, if you outlaid $10 you would win $30 ($40 returned) on Simpson or $35 on Theegala should they be bogey free. In 2021’s first round 11 players were bogey free. There were 42 bogey free rounds in the tournament with 18 in round two and six each in rounds three and four. Simpson has never been bogey-free at TPC Deere Run but had just one bogey on two occasions. His most recent bogey free rounds were last week in rounds one and three. Theegala’s last bogey free round was also last week (round three) at TPC River Highlands. Prior to that you need to harken back to his second round at the Valero Texas Open on April 1. TO MAKE AN EAGLE: Webb Simpson Odds +600; Sahith Theegala Odds +600 At the above odds, if you outlaid $10 you would win $60 ($70 returned) on either Simpson or Theegala should they make an eagle. In 2021’s first round players posted 11 of 47 eagles for the tournament. Of those, 17 came at the 561-yard par-5 second, 12 at the 569-yard par-5 17th and five at the 596-yard par-5 10th. Further eagles came via hole-outs on the par-4 13th and 15th holes (one each) and via two hole-in-ones! One on the par-3 third and one on the par-3 12th. Simpson has zero TPC Deere Run eagles but he ranks T14 in eagles per hole this season at one every 108 holes and has eight total eagles (T35). His last eagle came on the eighth hole of his opening round in the U.S. Open, meaning he has played 100 holes since. Theegala ranks 40th in eagles per hole at one every 130.5 holes but his 12 total eagles ranks him T4 on TOUR. His most recent eagle was on the 13th hole in the third-round last week. He has played 23 holes since. * Visit BetMGM.com for terms and conditions. 21+ years of age or older to wager. BetMGM is available in AZ, CO, DC, IA, IN, IL, LA, MI, MS, NJ, NV, NY, PA, TN, VA, WV, or WY only. All promotions are subject to qualification and eligibility requirements. Paid in free bets. Free bets expire in 7 days from issuance. Minimum deposit required. Excludes Michigan Disassociated Persons. Please Gamble Responsibly. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-NEXT-STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO, DC, LA, NV, WY, VA), 1-800-270-7117 for confidential help (MI), 1-800-GAMBLER (IN, NJ, PA & WV), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA) or call (877-8-HOPENY) or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), call or text the Tennessee REDLINE: 800-889-9789 (TN) or call 1-888-777-9696 (MS). Sports betting is void where prohibited. Promotional offers not available in Nevada.

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NAPA, Calif. – World No. 1 Jon Rahm shot an even-par 72 in the first round of the Fortinet Championship on Thursday, one day after having to withdraw from the pro-am with a stomach ailment. The recent FedExCup runner-up said he wasn’t moving well after spending so much time in bed. He didn’t eat anything during his round, which he said was uncharacteristic of him, and took 30 putts, losing shots to the field. “I didn’t have the mental clarity I usually have,” Rahm said. “It was a bit of a battle in that sense, that’s why probably on the greens it wasn’t my best day, but again, it is what it is. I’ve dealt with worse. I think a lot of people out there have played with worse. “Tiger Woods won a U.S. Open with a broken knee, so I’m OK. Like I said, get a good meal now and try to fix a little bit of the feel that I have on the greens.” Rahm’s wife and son, who are here with him, are feeling fine, he added. He said he didn’t sleep well Monday night and wasn’t feeling great during his nine-hole practice round Tuesday. Then the wear and tear of a long season seemed to hit him all at once. “Just a little run down from the season,” he said. “That’s my best guess. Maybe having a little bit too much good rich food Monday and Tuesday just did it for my stomach. That could be the case. “I don’t know what it is,” he continued. “I heard there’s a stomach virus going on, but I feel OK today, so feels like it would have been too quick of a turnaround.” Rahm said he will be motivated by missing out on Player of the Year honors to FedExCup champion Patrick Cantlay, whom he couldn’t quite chase down at East Lake. Had he won two weeks ago, or been cleared to close out the victory at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday (where he seemed to be cruising toward certain victory), or played in the Tokyo Olympics, he might have tipped the scales in his favor for POY honors, he added. Alas, he had to withdraw from the Memorial after the third round and missed the Olympics, both times after testing positive for COVID-19, for which he was asymptomatic. His non-COVID-related struggles in Napa, he said, have been a different story. “God, I feel worse now than when I tested positive,” he said. “Way worse, way worse.” A physically compromised Rahm hit just six of 14 fairways Thursday, and 13 greens in regulation. But it was his performance on the greens that was most problematic. “It could have been a better putting day and that would have made it an OK round,” he said. “I’m not feeling too bad, honestly. It’s not that bad. I think I’m just a little run down, a little tired. A good meal tonight and a good night’s sleep and I’ll be OK.”

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