2024 ISCO Championship Betting Preview
Alternate-field events happen a few times a year and are played the same weeks of some bigger PGA Tour tournaments, like this week's Genesis Scottish Open. These alternate-field tournaments are a great opportunity for some of the golfers without access to Signature Events or major championships to shine.
As of last season, some of these alternate events are now labeled as "co-sanctioned events" between the PGA Tour and DP World Tour. Both this week's ISCO Championship and next week's Barracuda Championship will hold these labels and will combine both the PGA Tour and DP World Tour players who do not qualify for the Genesis Scottish Open and The Open Championship.
Find my 2024 ISCO Championship Picks & Betting Preview below.
Course Preview: Keene Trace Golf Club
Keene Trace Golf Club (Champions Course) in Nicholasville, Kenturcky is the host of the 2024 ISCO Championship. Since 2018, this course has hosted same tournament as it was previously known as the Barbasol Championship until the title sponsor changed this year.
This par-72 plays at 7,328 yards and will feature tons of birdies and low scores. Every year, the winner has eclipsed the 20-under-par mark, which is a great barometer to measure a pure birdie-fest. The average winning score of 23.2-under par shows golfers cannot be afraid to take it deep.
Winners of this event have gotten the job done in a variety of ways at Keene Trace. Some have taken the bomb-and-gouge route like Vincent Norrman last year. Others have laid back and focused on hitting fairways to lean on their iron game, like Trey Mullinax in 2022.
Key Metrics
With multiple ways to succeed around here. I am keying in on one of two ways to generate birdies this week in Kentucky. I created a model that rewards golfers who either (1) play from the fairway consistently and make birdies by stuffing iron shots or (2) send it off the tee and find a hot putter.
Find my model results in the tweet (or X) below for my top-eight rated players ahead of the 2024 ISCO Championship, without odds considered:
isco model
1. mike t (pseudo denmark flag)
2. d woooo🐱
T3. chesson🫰
T3. luke from so flo🌴
T3. benny silvs🇨🇦
T6. carson y🥸
T6. hayd springs🐸
T6. jj😎stats / info -> @RickRunGood
how i make models -> https://t.co/7IvkK0JnME
model results -> https://t.co/Q4J4ivVcWf
— Matt Gannon (@matt_gannon_) July 8, 2024
Building a Golf Betting Card
There's no question that the two young studs at the top of the odds board are on a real heater and very intriguing to bet. Luke Clanton is the betting favorite at 16-1, and Michael Thorbjornsen is right behind him at 20-1, but I don't believe the juice is worth the squeeze at those steep prices this week.
Betting on favorites in birdie-fests like the ISCO Championship this week is volatile because any player with a pulse is live to find a hot putter to will him to success.
Consequently, the 7X ROI Card Construction Structure is the single best way to win money on golf all season long, no matter the tour. With that being said, we will build a card of medium to long shots who give us enough bullets to diversify and find contention.
For reference purposes, let's say our budget for the week is $100. Here is how I would divvy that up.
2024 ISCO Championship Picks
Ben Silverman +4000
$17.5 to win $700
Silverman is coming off a great week at the John Deere Classic where he tied for 18th and gained strokes throughout the bag. Over his last five starts, Silverman has made all of his cuts and gained strokes on the field in Putting all five times and in Driving Accuracy four of five times.
His irons have been up and down with some upside, but he has gained on approach in three straight weeks. If Silverman can have a plus approach week, I really trust him on the greens to heat up and roll in a ton of birdie putts.
J.J. Spaun +4500
$15.5 to win $700
Birdie-fests are J.J. Spaun's jam. His calling card is playing from the fairway, gaining on approach and capitalizing with his streaky putter.
His iron play has been elite and trending in the right direction since March. He just got himself in the mix over the weekend at the John Deere Classic but did not have his best stuff on Sunday.
Spaun is one of the few gofers who knows how to win in this field and is really finding his game of late.
Dylan Wu +5000
$14 to win $700
Dylan Wu is coming off of his best two-week ball-striking run of 2024. He played well in this event in his only appearance in 2022 when he tied for 21st and hit the ball very well.
Wu is a streaky putter and is really good at going on quick birdie runs within rounds. If he can avoid the loose swings between these runs, he can keep the momentum going and find his way to the top this week by hitting fairways and knocking his approaches close.
Rico Hoey +5000
$14 to win $700
PGA Tour rookie Rico Hoey has shown brilliant signs of ball-striking both off the tee and on approach, although his putter has held him back this year. His putter for most of the season hasn't been bad — it has been downright awful.
However, Hoey has gained strokes putting in three straight events for the first time in his PGA Tour career as he may have turned a corner recently. If he remains one of the elite ball-strikers in this weak field while gaining with the flat stick, we may just be in business.
Jacob Bridgeman +5500
$12.7 to win $700
Jacob Bridgeman has shown some ups and downs in his young PGA Tour career. Although the 24-year-old rookie does not have the ball-striking upside of the top two names on the board, he has plenty more reps and has been very consistent on the greens.
Bridgeman is one of the young studs I want to get ahead of before he inevitably pops for all 72 holes, and 55-1 is a great price in this field.
Joseph Bramlett +5500
$12.7 to win $700
Joseph Bramlett will look to bomb and gouge his way around Keene Trace this week. He has not been amazing of late, but I love the style of golf he brings to the table.
The Stanford Cardinal ranks 19th on the entire PGA Tour in Driving Distance, which will rate out far better in this field. The only time he played this event in 2021, Bramlett finished in a tie for 11th and gained strokes in every category.
That is the only time he has ever accomplished that feat in a PGA Tour event, and he should feel comfortable this week.
Hayden Buckley +6600
$10.6 to win $700
Hayden Buckley has gained strokes ball-striking in four straight events for the first time in over a year. He finally looks healthy after dealing with a nagging rib injury.
He is an extremely accurate driver and can pop with the irons or the putter, like when he nearly won the 2023 Sony Open in Hawaii, which gives him multiple avenues to succeed this week in Kentucky.
