Justin Thomas using unique Titleist prototype irons

PGA TOUR bettors have jumped on Muirfield Village specialist Jon Rahm ahead of the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday but Ireland’s Shane Lowry leads the handle tally at BetMGM in the leadup to the elevated invitational event hosted by Jack Nicklaus. Rahm has shown recent dominance in the event, winning in 2020 by three shots and then fashioning a six-shot lead through three rounds in 2021 only to be forced to withdraw following a positive COVID-19 test result. Course history is a proven trend at Muirfield Village which also places a premium on finding the fairway and hitting good iron shots, more so than putting. Rahm ranks No. 1 on the PGA TOUR in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and is second in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green this season. Because of this, and being ranked No. 2 in the world, it’s no surprise the Spaniard has the best golf odds to win this week at +1000. At BetMGM as of Tuesday, Rahm was pulling in the most tickets at 6.3% but the fourth-most handle at 7.8%. Regarding handle, Lowry (+2500) and Hideki Matsuyama (+2800) were pulling in the most money, with Lowry at 12% and Matsuyama right behind at 10.3%. Lowry enters in great form – three top-3 finishes in his last 11 worldwide starts as well as a T-6 finish at the tournament last year – while Matsuyama won the event in 2014 and has three finishes of T-13 or better since. Japan’s superstar has been up-and-down this year, though, which may scare away some bettors. Current Handle & Tickets Handle 1. Shane Lowry – 12% 2. Hideki Matsuyama – 10.3% 3. Collin Morikawa – 8.8% 4. Jon Rahm – 7.8% 5. Patrick Cantlay – 7.3% Tickets 1. Jon Rahm – 6.3% 2. Collin Morikawa – 5.6% 3. Cameron Smith – 5.1% 4. Jordan Spieth – 5.1% 5. Patrick Cantlay – 4.6% According to the odds, Rory McIlroy is the second favorite at +1100 but he was only pulling in 3.8% of the tickets and 3.1% of the handle. Collin Morikawa (+2000) is BetMGM’s biggest liability. He’s had some success at Muirfield Village as a runner-up last year while he also won the Workday Charity Open, which was held at the course in 2020 during the COVID-19 affected schedule. Last year’s winner, Patrick Cantlay, has tightened from +1800 to +1600, but the FedExCup champion is coming off a missed cut at the PGA Championship. * 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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Branden Grace came up clutch on Sunday to win the Puerto Rico Open. It’s his second PGA TOUR title and first since 2016. Take a look at what’s in his bag. RELATED: Final leaderboard Driver: Callaway Epic Speed Triple Diamond (9 degrees) Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana TB 60 X 3-wood: Callaway Mavrik Sub Zero (16.5 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 7 TX Irons: Callaway Apex UT (3), Callaway X-Forged CB (4-PW) Shafts: Fujikura Ventus Blue Hybrid 9 TX (3), Project X 6.5 Wedges: Callaway Jaws MD5 (52, 56, 60) Shafts: True Temper Project X 6.5 Putter: Odyssey 2-Ball Ten Ball: Titleist Pro V1

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Ryo Ishikawa … Life inside and outside the ropes grew complicated in 2016 for the former wunderkind. Right around the time he got married, he was dealing with lumbar discopathy, so he shut it down for a few months. Still fully exempt on the PGA TOUR at the time, he then prevailed in his second start post-injury. The victory occurred in his native Japan in late August of that year. A T2 and a solo third followed immediately. After returning to the TOUR early in the 2016-17 season, his form didn’t translate and he lost his status despite 20 starts on a medical extension. The veteran of 145 TOUR starts hasn’t played on the circuit since until the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP. Now 28 years of age, he’s third on the Japan Golf Tour’s money list with two wins among eight top 20s this season. He’s also second in putts per GIR and third in scoring. Nate Lashley … It’s been a remarkable year for the 36-year-old who started last season on a Minor Medical Extension. After securing conditional status with strong play early, he was outside the top 125 in the FedExCup when he broke through at the Rocket Mortgage Classic where he got in as the last man in the 156-man field. He did OK the rest of the way but he’s back to his noise-making ways. He opened this season with a T3 at Greenbrier and just finished T20 at Nine Bridges where he co-led the field in par-5 scoring. Vaughn Taylor … It’s possible that he’s still pinching himself for how the value of one victory, and an unlikely one at that, continues to pay it forward. It was in February of 2016 when he gained entry as the sixth-to-last man in the field of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, via Past Champion status no less, and prevailed for his first PGA TOUR title in 11 years. That not only regained him fully exempt status for the first time since 2012, it’s also granted him time and space to stretch his career. In his age-43 season of 2018-19, he finished 49th in the FedExCup with four top 10s among 20 cuts made. That’s yielded appearances in his first two events in Asia. Although he placed T60 at Nine Bridges last week, he’s a better fit for cozier Narashino CC this week. Kevin Streelman … He’s hung up seven top 15s since February, but with a T4 at the Sanderson Farms Championship and a T12 at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES as his only cuts made in his last seven starts, he’s been a tease of late. It’s also possible that his early success this season reflects but a spike with his putter. The flat stick usually is his nemesis, but he ranked third in putts per GIR at Nine Bridges and sits 24th in Strokes Gained: Putting with 10 measured rounds contributing. The 40-year-old also co-led the field in South Korea in par-5 scoring. Shaun Norris … The South African was a long-time regular on his native Sunshine Tour before joining the Japan Golf Tour in 2016. Since, he’s won exactly once in each of the last four seasons on the JGTO, most recently in the first weekend of this month. He also placed T2 in last week’s Japan Open to give him five top 10s in his last six starts. He finished seventh on the circuit’s money list in 2017, second in 2018 and sits fifth in this season’s chase. The 37-year-old also ranks eighth in greens in regulation and seventh in putts per GIR. NOTE: Sleeper is a relative term, so Rob uses unofficial criteria to determine who qualifies. Each of the following usually is determined to be ineligible for this weekly staple: Winners of the tournament on the current host course; winners in the same season; recent major champions; top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking; recent participants of team competitions.

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