Weather cut the second round short on Friday in Houston, but it wasn't enough to stop Tony Finau, who took control of this event with an 8-under 62. He holds a four-shot edge over Patrick Rodgers, but much of the afternoon wave is still on the course.
It all sets up for a long day of golf on Saturday as the players on the course will look to finish their round early in the morning, then Round 3 will start as they continue in threesomes off of both tees.
I'll get back to best bets going into the third round as there isn't a ton of new information and we don't have a cut line just yet. The current strokes gained data, combined from the first two rounds, is posted at the bottom of this article.
Let's see who stands out as we head into the weekend looking for someone who can give Finau a challenge before Sunday.
Best Bets
Adam Hadwin Top 10 +275 (BetMGM)
I really like what I am seeing from Adam Hadwin through the first two rounds. He's T14 at 5-under and has gained more than four shots on the field with his irons, including 3.55 strokes gained on Friday.
It doesn't seem as if he's peaked in any way yet this week as he has struggled to find his stroke on the greens. However, I expect that to bounce back over the weekend as he ranks 20th in SG: Putting so far this season. He has consistently done well with the flat stick in his career and that always has me interested in buying on the Canadian during the weeks he brings his ball striking.
Denny McCarthy Top 10 +600 (BetMGM)
If we were able to eliminate the 15th hole from this event, Denny McCarthy would be right in the mix at the top of the leaderboard. Unfortunately, they won't let him do that, so he has to live with the six (yes SIX!) shots over par he has posted in two rounds on that hole. McCarthy doubled the 15th when he was cruising through his opening round on Thursday and somehow made that score look good when he quadruple bogeyed it without any penalty strokes on Friday. He managed to keep his cool better than I would have as he quickly bounced back with an eagle on the par-5 16th.
McCarthy is one of the many players still on the course and he still has eight holes to play, so there is a scenario where this bet is completely dead and he heads home on Saturday morning.
I don't see that happening though as he's playing quite well outside of those issues and is 1-under, despite those six lost shots. He has just made the turn to the front nine and has two par 5s left in his second round to continue climbing his way toward the top 10. With all of that factored in, I really like these long odds. He certainly has the upside to find a top 10 before this one finishes.
