Alright, let's run it back. Just this time with 100% more Tiger.
The 2020 Memorial Tournament features an absolutely loaded field. In fact, this tournament is so stacked that the best golfer of all-time, who has won this event five times by the way, is sitting above 25-1 at plenty of sportsbooks.
Tiger will garner plenty of action at that number, but none of our golf analysts are taking the bait.
Here's who they're backing instead:
Jason Sobel
Xander Schauffele +3100
A big-boy field this week should bring out the best of the best and few elevate their games to a higher level against the stiffest competition than Schauffele, who’s had some of his best results in the biggest events.
When X-man doesn’t have his best results is right before he wins, with finishes of 35-20-48-8 in the starts before each of his four victories, which should have those fretting about a T-14 result during which he never contended feeling better about his prospects this week.
This wasn’t an easy choice – and if your pre-tourney pick to win is named Bryson or Rory or Justin, I have no problem with it – but Schauffele has been gradually trending toward his first win in a year-and-a-half, and it’s certainly within reason to think it could happen this week.
Josh Perry
Abraham Ancer +4500
I’m sticking with ball-striking this week and few players have struck the ball better than Ancer recently.
Given his improvement over the past year, I think Muirfield Village should suit him better than his past results here suggest. Ancer will just need the putter to cooperate and he can contend with a stacked field.
Bryan Mears
Jon Rahm +2200
Rahm has been up and down lately, but the long-term talent is undeniable. And remember, Rahm is just 25 years old. We’re rightfully getting excited about a lot of the young talent on tour right now after seeing Collin Morikawa, Viktor Hovland and others play so well, but Rahm is in that camp. He’s actually younger than Bryson.
This is a tougher field, but this number is just too low on Rahm, who is definitely one of the top-three or so golfers in the world, but he’s priced as the 7/8th right now at FanDuel.
A lot of people will be jumping on the hot names who have played really well since the COVID-19 return, but I’ll take this time to buy one of the world’s best golfers at a price I wasn’t expecting to see.
For what it’s worth, I think there’s some more value in this top range with two more golfers right now in Rory McIlroy and Hideki Matsuyama. All three of those guys are fine bets at their current prices.
Collin Wilson
Webb Simpson +2500
There were five statistical metrics that led me towards Collin Morikawa at the 2020 Workday Charity Open. I'm sticking with those stats again this week, but I'm also going to weigh driving accuracy and fatigue.
The rough will be grown an extra inch for The Memorial, so hitting fairways will become even more important. I usually wouldn't buy into a fatigue narrative, but there are some players like Viktor Hovland, Bubba Watson and Emiliano Grillo, who are playing their sixth tournament in a row.
Webb Simpson took last week off, so I expect him to be fresh, and he ticks all the statistical boxes I'm looking for this week. Simpson ranks inside the top-10 this season in ball-striking, Strokes Gained: Approach and Greens in Regulation (GIR) and he sits inside the top-20 in driving accuracy.
