The global golf schedule is beginning to pick up steam with four events this week. The Champions Tour and LPGA get under way this week, so we'll highlight those as well. The Korn Ferry Tour is also underway, but on a Sunday-Wednesday schedule until February, so will start adding it here next month.
First, let's start with The American Express as the PGA Tour heads to La Quinta, California for the third event of the season.
2024 The American Express Picks
Best Bet: Min Woo Lee +3300 (BetRivers)
The AmEx is always a difficult tournament because of the pro/am aspect and bouncing between three courses. At least Jon Rahm is gone now so we don't have to deal with him, but Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele at the top of the board will still make this tough.
Min Woo Lee is the guy I'll target near the top here. He's a player many are expecting to have a breakthrough season because he played very well all fall and won his third DP World Tour title in November back in his native Australia at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship.
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He can hit the ball a mile and tends to putt really well. He didn't play in Hawaii, which is normally a requirement to win here, but his form to end the year was good enough that I'm going to look past it.
Other Bets:
- Wyndham Clark +5000
- Cameron Davis +6600
- Taylor Montgomery +6600
- Harry Hall +25000
- Zac Blair +42000
Global Golf Bets
Dubai Desert Classic Picks
Best Bet: Thorbjorn Olesen +3300 (BetRivers)
With Tommy Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy fresh off a 1-2 finish last week in Dubai, trying to find someone to overtake them in this field won't be easy. McIlroy has played especially well here with two wins.
I'm going with Thorbjorn Olesen, who has four top 10s on this course and is coming off a top-10 finish last week. His form has been consistent as well. Dating back to September, he's finished in the top 10 in five of his last eight starts on the DP World Tour.
Other Bets:
- Yannik Paul +4500
- Francesco Molinari +11000
- Sean Crocker +12500
- Guido Migliozzi +15000
Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai Picks
Best Bet: Darren Clarke +3500 (DraftKings)
The Champions Tour gets underway in Hawaii this week. We get a break from Padraig Harrington to start the year, but there's still Steve Stricker, Steven Alker and Stewart Cink all at +500 or lower.
Stricker is the defending champ and terrifying to go up against each week. In 16 starts last year, he won six times and finished second on five other occasions.
It's a limited card for me here, but I'll try Clarke as my lone play at this price. He's played here three times, winning in 2021 and finishing second to Stricker last year. So at that price, he seems worth a try.
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Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions Picks
Best Bet: Nasa Hataoka +1200 (BetMGM)
There's a limited field of 36 players to start the LPGA season in Orlando. We haven't seen most of the LPGA golfers for a few months outside of the team event with the PGA Tour in December. The odds are pretty balanced at the top with Lilia Vu and Nelly Korda at +700 leading the odds board.
I'll go down to that next range for my only play this week. Nasa Hataoka is a consistent player who closed the year with a second in the Tour Championship, and she was also fifth here last year.
Early on, I'm just looking at golfers who were playing well the last time we saw them and also have a good result on this course. At these short odds, there's not room for anything else on the card, so we'll stick with her this week and see how the season progresses.
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