Here's everything you need to know about 2024 BMW Championship PrizePicks plays for Thursday.
Castle Pines Golf Club will be the home of a Tour event for the first time since 2006 as it plays host to the BMW Championship. It's a par-72, 8,130-yard track designed by Jack Nicklaus. That distance can be misleading due to Colorado’s altitude as the adjusted course feel will play around 7,350 yards.
With that in mind, accuracy will play a far bigger role than distance this week, both due to the altitude as well as the abundance of hazards lining the course.
Find my 2024 BMW Championship PrizePicks plays for Thursday below.
2024 BMW Championship PrizePicks
Adam Scott More Than 15.5 Pars or Better
Adam Scott is one of the highest-floor golfers in this field. He's made the weekend in 12 of his past 13 tournaments with a third of those resulting in top-15 finishes.
What makes me most impressed about Scott's recent play is his all-around game. He's hitting the ball far, remaining accurate both off the tee and on the approach, sinking putts and also scrambling well when needed.
Scott has typically thrived on Nicklaus courses, finishing inside the top 10 in five of his past 13 appearances at Muirfield.
I think that Muirfield will be a good comparison for play this week, not only because it's another Nicklaus course that rewards accuracy, but also because the Director of Golf Course and Grounds this week is Scott Pavalko, who held the same title at Muirfield for eight years.
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Tony Finau More Than 4.5 Birdies or Better
I wrote about Tony Finau in my first-round-leader article this week, and if I like him to lead after the first round, then I also like him to record five birdies or better in the process.
He ranks sixth on Tour this season in birdies or better percentage, and that success to continue into this week. Finau has made the weekend in 11 of his past 12 tournaments with nine top-18 finishes over that stretch.
That's a remarkable stretch of golf that's likely to continue on Thursday, given that he ranks 14th on Tour this season in Round 1 Scoring Average.
Finau has also fared well on Nicklaus courses, considering that he's made the weekend in seven of his eight career appearances at Muirfield with five top-13 finishes.
Aaron Rai Less Than 70.5 Strokes
Aaron Rai is one of the hottest golfers in this field, making the weekend in 14 of his past 15 events with four top-seven finishes over his past six tournaments, including his win at the Wyndham Championship two weeks ago.
Accuracy has been a staple of his game as Rai is a sniper on the course, remaining more accurate off the tee than the field average in 10 of his past 11 tournaments.
He's also gained true strokes on the approach in 10 of those events. Rai profiles well for this venue, and considering his dominant recent form, I don't think it's out of the question that the Englishman gets off to a hot start once again this week.
For a more in-depth analysis of the BMW Championship, check out the Links + Locks podcast.
