Mad Bets: Charles Schwab Challenge odds

Brandon Wu (+170 for a Top 20) … As a rookie in his debut at Port Royal last year, it was the site of his only cut made in his first 11 PGA TOUR starts, and he sat inside the top 25 before backpedaling into a T34 in the finale. Of course, he righted the ship and qualified for the FedExCup Playoffs, but it was a surprising launch into his career at this level for a talent with his pedigree. Already 3-for-4 this season with a T29 at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP, but he’s still learning on how to make the most of his chances on a consistent basis. At Narashino, he ranked T7 in greens hit and fourth in scrambling, so he squandered his latest golden opportunity to break through, but the ingredients are mixing. Patrick Rodgers (+200 for a Top 20) … He’s gone 219 starts as a professional on the PGA TOUR and he’s still chasing his first victory, but he’s only 30 years of age, so by no means is the sunset within view; well, at least not as it concerns his career. An actual sunset at Port Royal must be a thing of beauty, so maybe his career-defining experience will preface Sunday’s. He hasn’t missed an edition of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship and he recorded a personal-best fourth here last year. He’s also on a patented run of form upon arrival with a T16 at Narashino as the nearest object in the rearview mirror. Chesson Hadley … Although he’s tended to do his best work very late in the season, he placed T16 here in his only prior trip in 2020. So, while I’m not endorsing extending a unit into his direction for a top 20, it wouldn’t be unprecedented for him to deliver on the investment. That aside, supporting his mental adjustment to get the job done under the pressure of qualifying for the FedExCup Playoffs and keeping his card is the fact that he’s executed the plan reliably, and glimmers of that form are still fresh. After all, he connected for four top 10s in a seven-start stretch within just the last four months. Callum Tarren … The 32-year-old Englishman is fresh off one of the most unsung, in-season comeback stories of 2021-22. Consider that he opened his rookie campaign by going 0-for-8 and didn’t cash for the first time in 2022 until the third week of February … on the Korn Ferry Tour (playing time needed because he had plummeted in the KFT graduate reshuffle category on the PGA TOUR). But he battled until he crashed the Playoffs. That opening skid included a disqualification at Port Royal where he signed for an incorrect scorecard following his second round, but he wasn’t going to make the cut, anyway. He’s cashed just once in three tries this season, but that means that he’s way ahead of last year’s, uh, successful pace, and it was for a T13 at the Sanderson Farms Championship. All of his last six cuts made (spanning 10 starts) yielded a top 30, so that’s the target market if you can find it. Austin Eckroat … He’s one of five rookies with as many as three cuts made already this season, but he’s the only among the group without at least one top 10. In fact, his best finish is but a T54 at the Sanderson Farms. Consistency is a marvelous mechanism on which to build, but it wouldn’t be surprising if he rattles a few flagsticks this week especially. He debuted at Port Royal last year and placed T22. (NOTE: I’m managing my coverage of the rookies a little differently this season. For an explanation and the latest Rookie Ranking, please click or tap here. Odds were sourced on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2022. For live odds, visit BetMGM. Responsible sports betting starts with a game plan. Set a budget. Keep it social. Play with friends. Learn the game and know the odds. Play with trusted, licensed operators. CLICK HERE to learn more at HaveAGamePlan.org.

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Tiger Woods thought he “was done” with golf at the ’17 Masters champions dinner — prior to spinal fusion surgery. Said Woods: “I had no golf in my future at that time.”

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THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Patrick Cantlay rallied from four shots behind and got far enough ahead that Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas couldn’t quite catch him Sunday in the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP @ SHERWOOD. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Winner’s Bag: Patrick Cantlay Cantlay closed with a 7-under 65 for a one-shot victory, the third of his career, and first in his home state of California. All three required making up a deficit of three shots or more. As much as Cantlay celebrated a victory he felt was overdue, Rahm and Thomas were left to rue their mistakes. Rahm took the lead with a birdie on the par-5 11th, only to drop shots on each of the next two holes, including the par-5 13th. The Spaniard had a chance to force a playoff, but narrowly missed from 15 feet on the par-3 17th and from 20 feet on the final hole. He shot 68. Thomas, who started the round with a one-shot lead, had to scramble for par on the last two par 5s, and hit into hazards on consecutive holes down the stretch. His tee shot to a front pin on the par-3 15th plugged into thick grass, and Thomas did remarkably well to hack out to 30 feet and make bogey. Cantlay, in the group ahead of Thomas and Rahm, bungled the par-5 16th by missing the green from 114 yards and making only his second bogey of the round, and the tournament. That reduced his lead to two shots. Thomas drilled a drive and was in perfect position with a 4-iron. But he sent that out to the right, trying to avoid a shot left of the green, and it bounced off a tree and into the creek. After the penalty drop, he had to play a marvelous pitch-and-run off hard pan to get up-and-down for par. But he needed birdies, and that didn’t come for Thomas until he needed to hole out from the 18th fairway for eagle. His approach landed 4 feet next to the hole. The birdie gave him a 69. Cantlay has no weakness in his game except for the victory tally. He’d gone more than a year since his last victory, when he rallied from three behind at Muirfield Village to win the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. His other win was in Las Vegas in 2017 when he came from four shots back and won in a playoff. At a tournament with low scoring, he had no choice but to produce his best of the week. Cantlay opened with four birdies in six holes to get in the mix, and he surged into the lead with four birdies in a five-hole stretch on the back nine. The final birdie was the toughest, a 7-iron he hit at three-quarter speed that landed right next to the hole and rolled out to 10 feet for his third straight birdie. Thomas and Rahm provided some help on the par-5 13th. Thomas went from thick rough to more thick rough and still had 189 yards for his third shot, and he ended up making a tough par save from the collection area behind the green. Rahm was in the fairway and in range, but he came up well short into a bunker, left that short of the green and missed an 8-foot par. No one else was within four shots of Cantlay. The other show at Sherwood was on the opposite side of the course with Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson playing together in the final round with no fans. Woods closed with a 74 and still beat Mickelson by four shots. Mickelson, coming off a victory last week on the PGA TOUR Champions, had five 6s on his card. Both finished out of the top 70 against a 78-man field.

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