Sony Open Betting Preview: Expert picks

Now that we’re past the midpoint of the fall portion of the last wraparound season, it’s a good time to remind you that the stand-alone PGA TOUR Fantasy app will be discontinuing at some point after the conclusion of Segment 1. I first relayed the news in this space for the Fortinet Championship, and then an email with timing of the change was distributed on Oct. 11. RELATED: Horses for Courses, Statistically Speaking You’ll still be able to navigate to PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf via the PGA TOUR app, via the PGA TOUR’s website or directly at FantasyGolf.PGATOUR.com. Unlike how many rookie gamers think about what decides league titles, the Butterfield Bermuda Championship is the kind of event that can have a greater impact than the no-cut invitationals and majors. This is because there’s so much more of a learning curve for gamers in the absence of household names than when we can throw a handful of darts and hit chalk with confidence. It’s a week in which the preview material that Mike Glasscott and I contribute is more valuable. I’ve used the comparison before because it applies: This is like a position week in a bowling league. No, our season-ending tournament – in our lingo, the FedExCup Playoffs – isn’t imminent, but it’s the kind of experience that tends to separate the contenders from the pretenders. We’re presented with a few of these throughout every season, and they can add up. Unless cornered and at the buzzer, I always play conservatively. PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf rewards the approach because it’s a season-long contest. So, my roster in Bermuda reflects a blend of consistent success at Port Royal and my confidence in others just to make the cut. As much as it is an easy week to generate distance from your opposition, that operates in the wrong direction, too. Note that Bermuda is an hour ahead of Eastern Time in the United States, so if you navigate to Tee Times or the Leaderboard, and either page defaults to “Event” time, it could fool those of you living in Eastern Time into thinking that it’s your local time, which would be a reasonable time to begin, when, in fact, you’ll be an hour late. POWER RANKINGS WILD CARD Seamus Power (-120 for a Top 20) … The Irishman presents a worthy exercise in what matters more – recency or course success. Had he been cruising along as he has so often since the spring of 2021, he’d have a prominent spot in the Power Rankings proper, but it’s been four months since his last top 25, a drought that includes a couple of limited-field, no-cut competitions. Even this lowest Top-X finish offered at BetMGM is aggressive given that, while he’s 3-for-3 at Port Royal, he’s connected for only one top 30. However, and even the most ardent of cynics must cite this, he didn’t elevate in earnest until after his second appearance in 2020, but he had been tracking for last year’s T12 for months. DRAWS C.T. Pan (+300 for a Top 20) … Not that there haven’t been other opportunities for him to rekindle form, but Port Royal is right up his alley. He’s making his debut, but he won’t be overwhelmed off the tee, so he’ll be finding the shortest grass more often than others. This target is a reach, but it’s worth a fraction of a unit. Stephan Jaeger … Including his flourish of a fortnight at the finish line to qualify for his first FedExCup Playoffs, he’s cashed in seven consecutive starts. He also placed T20 in his debut at Port Royal last year. Solid DFS complement. Brian Gay … He turned 50 a few weeks after a T12 in his title defense here last year, but don’t let that stop you from fractional plays in DFS. His scoring average in 12 rounds at Port Royal is 67.42. He’s also done well as a rookie on the PGA TOUR Champions where two of his last three starts resulted in a top 10. Bottom line, he remains a great fit. Will Gordon Harry Hall Adam Long Cameron Percy Nick Taylor Kevin Yu Odds sourced on Tuesday, October 25th at 6 p.m. ET. For live odds visit betmgm. FADES Erik van Rooyen … To recap, two weeks ago, he returned from a three-month absence due to the injured neck that forced him out of The Open Championship at the 11th hour. In the swing through Spain, he finished T61 and missed the cut. Suffice it to say that he’s rarin’ to get back after it. With his second child due in a couple of months, it’s fair to consider that his game will sharpen back into form, but the dynamics of the timing now are very different than how the Nappy Factor seemed to be in play when his first child was born in the summer of 2021. So, while on name value alone, he cannot be ignored, be choosy and cautiously optimistic. Charley Hoffman … Sure, he had a T10 in Detroit three months ago, but it’s his only top-30 finish of the last 12 months. And in his only appearance at Port Royal, he shot 73 and 84 in 2020. Doug Ghim … Form over fit here. Finished T14 in his last trip in 2020 but he’s scuffled since hanging up a pair of T16s in a three-week stretch in July. Perhaps utilize in exactly one aggressive DFS build. Scott Gutschewski … The 46-year-old was omitted from my full-membership fantasy ranking, but he was granted one start on a Minor Medical Extension after I filed. To fulfill its terms (130.629 FedExCup points), he needs to finish alone in fourth in Bermuda. It’d be a career-best but perhaps not out of the realm of fair possibilities. Consider that it was just three months ago that his solo fifth at the Barracuda Championship set a personal-best on the PGA TOUR, albeit with Modified Stableford scoring measuring performance. However, the more realistic goal is a two-way T38. That’d yield 17.500 FedExCup points and clear the threshold (17.041) required for conditional status for the remainder of the season. If he falls short, he’ll lose his card and, who knows when/if he’ll ever play another TOUR event. You wouldn’t be reading this if you weren’t a gamer, but if you were just a fan, this is one of the most compelling narratives to follow this week. MJ Daffue Lucas Glover Harry Higgs Michael Kim Matthias Schwab Brian Stuard RETURNING TO COMPETITION n/a NOTABLE WDs Peter Malnati … This is a bummer because he’s gone for a T21 (2020) and a T7 (2021) in his two tries at Port Royal. As he’s proven, it’s an ideal layout and challenge for his skill set. Vince Whaley … Meanwhile, course-history buffs appreciate this decision. He had been in contention throughout last year’s edition en route to a T7, but his form has been off since a burst this past summer. That burst is the exception to his norm, so stick with full-season considerations, if at all. Davis Thompson … The rookie opened at 28th in the Korn Ferry Tour graduate reshuffle and currently stands to rise 24 spots when the category reorders for the first time at the conclusion of the fall portion. Whenever the value of getting off to a hot start is referenced in the context of the grads, this is how it’s done. Not only is he positioned not to be concerned about playing time for the foreseeable future, but he also can rest now and pivot to the invaluable less-is-more gameplan. RECAP – THE CJ CUP at South Carolina POWER RANKINGS Power Ranking Golfer Result 1 Rory McIlroy Win 2 Jon Rahm T4 3 Justin Thomas T40 4 Viktor Hovland T21 5 Scottie Scheffler T45 6 Shane Lowry T23 7 Tom Kim T11 8 Max Homa T23 9 Jordan Spieth T52 10 Keegan Bradley T21 11 Sahith Theegala T67 12 Sungjae Im T34 13 Sam Burns T7 14 Matt Fitzpatrick T13 15 Emiliano Grillo T45 Wild Card Collin Morikawa T29 SLEEPERS Golfer (Bet, if applicable) Result Byeong Hun An (+400 for a Top 20) T62 Luke List (+275 for a Top 20) T58 J.J. Spaun (+350 for a Top 20) T58 Keith Mitchell T40 Alex Smalley T52 GOLFBET Bet: Rory McIlroy (Top 5), Scottie Scheffler (Top 10) and Sungjae Im (Top 20) – +1200 Result: McIlroy (Win), Scheffler (T45), Im (T34) BIRTHDAYS AMONG ACTIVE MEMBERS OF THE PGA TOUR October 25 … Troy Merritt (37); Xander Schauffele (29) October 26 … none October 27 … Fabián Gómez (44) October 28 … none October 29 … none October 30 … none October 31 … Mark Wilson (48) 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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Missing the cut immediately after your first top 10 on the PGA TOUR in 11 months is not usually a recipe for success, but for Rickie Fowler a weekend off in Las Vegas was a blessing in disguise. Fowler was unable to continue his momentum at the Shriners Children’s Open from his season opening T6 at the Fortinet Championship last week but missing out on weekend play at TPC Summerlin allowed the 33-year-old to spend more time with coach Butch Harmon as they rekindle their relationship. The results were on show in Japan as Fowler backed up his opening 67 with a bogey free 7-under 63 in the second round to join a share of the lead at 10 under with Andrew Putnam. It’s the 11th 36-hole lead of his career and first since The American Express in January of 2020. Fowler recently returned to Harmon, the man who helped him from an early age with his swing, after a three-year run with John Tillery. While he was unable to contend for the Shriners title last week, the 2015 PLAYERS champion was able to get some much-needed personal time with the veteran coach in Las Vegas as a result of his free weekend. The two have been working on a steeper left arm plane to get Fowler’s hands higher at the top and the club in a better position which gives him more room and space and makes his swing more efficient. “The last two days I wouldn’t say I had my best swing wise. I kind of did a good job of managing my way around,” Fowler said. “But I’ll get some work in tomorrow before the round and try and exaggerate a few things where I’m a little bit tighter in lines and flights that I want. But I can’t complain about a 63. “I’m very happy with where we’re at. Obviously didn’t have the week we wanted last week, drove it poorly, but with some of the changes we’ve made and to have the finish that we did at Napa and kind of seeing a lot of good things, I’m definitely happy about it and excited to be here and off to a good start.” In Japan on a sponsor invite after missing the FedExCup Playoffs in 2021 and barely scraping in in 2022, Fowler has eaten Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club’s five par 3’s alive, playing them six under par through two rounds with seven birdies and one bogey. While Fowler is popular everywhere around the globe, his Japanese heritage via his grandfather certainly helped elevate his support. “I definitely enjoy myself over here and the people are awesome. It is really cool to play in front of the Japanese fans,” he said. “Hoping we can give them more good golf over the weekend.”

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The iconic lighthouse is wrapped in plaid as this week’s RBC Heritage celebrates its 50th year on the PGA TOUR. The field includes 14 of the top 30 in the FedExCup, highlighted by No. 2 Patton Kizzire; No. 7 Dustin Johnson, who returns to Harbour Town for the first time since 2009; and No. 13 Paul Casey. Although the relatively relaxed RBC is a welcome reprieve after the Masters, low stress can turn into high stakes in a hurry. Jim Furyk won at Harbour Town and went on to win the entire FedExCup in 2010. (Furyk also won the RBC in 2015.) Dustin Johnson (T10), Marc Leishman (9) and Cameron Smith (5) are among the hot players in the field after posting top-10s at the Masters. Dru Love is playing on a sponsor’s exemption, while his dad, Davis, is a five-time winner here. Luke Donald, meanwhile, has done just about everything but wear the plaid jacket, with five runner-up finishes, two thirds and a T15 since 2009. John Senden makes his first TOUR start since his son started cancer treatments last year, while Wesley Bryan is the defending champ, having edged Donald by a shot. Patrick Cantlay, Ollie Schniederjans and William McGirt tied for third, two back. Harbour Town Golf Links is a 7,099-yard, par-71 Pete Dye design that rewards pinpoint accuracy. Its relatively modest length, small greens, and low-key vibe give the tournament its identity. The RBC Heritage is also the largest professional sporting event in South Carolina. PGA TOUR LIVE Thursday-Friday broadcasts will begin at 7:30 a.m. and end at 6 p.m., with a Twitter window of 7:30-approximately 8:30 a.m. each day. We will move to featured hole coverage at 3 p.m. Featured holes will consist of the 192-yard, par-3 14th, which plays over water and to a green guarded in part by overhanging trees and a pot bunker; and the 174-yard, par-3 17th, where the wind can blow tee shots into the 90-yard bunker on the left, or into the lagoon left of it. Here are the Featured Groups: (Note: All times Eastern; FedExCup ranking in parentheses.) THURSDAY Kevin Kisner (30), Graeme McDowell (121), Jim Furyk (151) Kisner made his Presidents Cup debut last fall, and in his last two starts he’s been T28 at the Masters and runner-up at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play. That makes him the hottest player in the group, especially given that McDowell and Furyk play at Augusta National last week. Be that as it may, they have something he doesn’t; McDowell (2013) and Furyk (2015, 2010) are past champions at Harbour Town. Tee time: 8 a.m. off 10. Dustin Johnson (7), Wesley Bryan (150), Matt Kuchar (60) Bryan is looking to recapture the form that saw him capture his first victory a year ago. Kuchar, meanwhile, has been a model of consistency with 10 made cuts in 10 starts, his best a T5 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and a T8 at the Houston Open two weeks ago. Johnson has yet to distinguish himself at Harbour Town, where he hasn’t played since 2009 (MC), but the world No. 1 seems to be rounding into form after a top-10 finish at the Masters. Tee time: 8:10 a.m. off 10. FRIDAY Ian Poulter (25), Paul Casey (10), Davis Love III (192) Love says he’s “got a lot of new parts� after hip-replacement surgery last year and injuring his neck snowboarding before that. He is 30 years removed from his first victory at the RBC Heritage, but his institutional knowledge is off the charts after four additional victories at Harbour Town, giving him five total. Casey picked up his first TOUR victory since 2009 at the Valspar Championship, and is coming off a T15 at the Masters in which he threatened the course record. Poulter, meanwhile, is also hot after capturing the Houston Open in a playoff two week ago. Tee time: 8 a.m. off 10. Xander Schauffele (46), Cameron Smith (22), Brandt Snedeker (132) Reigning Rookie of the Year Schauffele has had an uneven sophomore season, while Smith seems to be knocking on the door for his first individual TOUR win after T5 finishes at the Masters and WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. Both players are just 24 years old. The veteran of the group is Snedeker, 37, who is coming off an injury-plagued season but proved he has what it takes at Harbour Town with a victory in 2011. He’s also a former FedExCup champion (2012). Tee time: 8:10 a.m. off 10.  

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