It was another decent week of golf this past weekend as Nick Taylor caught fire at the right time for us to hit the 170-1 longshot in Phoenix. Meanwhile in Qatar, Ugo Coussaud nearly took down the DP World Tour event at 250-1 but ultimately fell a short short to finish second.
Now we'll focus on Tiger's return at Riviera for what's a little bit of a light week on my card.
The Genesis Invitational Predictions
Best Bet: Sahith Theegala +3500 (DraftKings)
I'll go back to Sahith Theegala here after he contended throughout in Phoenix. His game has been in solid shape going back to the fall when he won in Napa. Since then, he's also finished second at The Sentry and fifth last week.
Riviera is also a course where he's had some success, finishing sixth last year. It's a course that tends to reward golfers who are solid around the greens, and Theegala's short game has been a strength since joining the Tour.
Other Genesis Invitational Outright Bets:
- Will Zalatoris +5500
- Jason Day +5500
- Kurt Kitayama +10000
- Charley Hoffman +20000
Chubb Classic Predictions
Best Bet: Scott Parel +12500 (bet365)
The Champions Tour is back this week, and so are the big three of Steve Stricker, Padraig Harrington and Steven Alker. All three are under +500, and it's really tough for anyone else to grab a win when they all show up.
I'll make one longshot stab here with Scott Parel. Parel has been on tour for a while now and can put up results. He was fifth in the season opener and has fifth-place finish here two years ago. With bet365, this is a number we can each way and get that top-five payout at a fourth of the outright odds (+3125).
Saudi Ladies International Predictions
Best Bet: Akaya Furue +2200 (FanDuel)
With the Ladies European Tour featuring some high level LPGA players this week for a Saudi cash grab, I'll be sticking to the top of the board here.
Akaya Furue is a player I've bet a little so far, and she's finished fourth in each of her first two starts to the season.
This is a good number for a player who is no stranger to the winning circle. She won the Scottish Open in 2022 and carded eight victories in Japan from 2019-2022. She's entering this event with probably the best form of any of the LPGA players.
Other Outright Bets:
- Gemma Dryburgh +3300
- Alexa Pano +8000
- Nataliya Guseva +10000
Webex Player Series Hunter Valley Predictions
Best Bet: Kade McBride +3700 (FanDuel)
Australia has been a tough place the last month or so with Kazuma Kobori winning every week. He's notched victories in three of the last four tournaments and is looking to make it four of five this week.
For my bet, I'll go back to Kade McBride. He was on the card last week and played well, finishing 13th. That gave him his third top-15 finish in four starts. He also finished in the top 20 on this course two years ago.
This is a tour where I'll be treading lightly until Kobori moves on to greener pastures, which hopefully won't be long. Elite players here find themselves in Europe fairly quickly, and Kobori is definitely has the talent for that level in the near future.
Other Outright Bets:
- Shae Wools-Cobb +16000
Dimension Data Pro-Am Predictions
Best Bet: Zander Lombard +1000 (bet365)
I have a one-player card for this co-sanctioned event on the Challenge and Sunshine Tours.
Zander Lombard is simply too good to be this price in this field. He's finished in the top 25 in nine straight starts on the DP World Tour. Now he's dropping down a level in competition and heading to his home country.
Since the event became co-sanctioned in 2020, a South African has won in three of the four years, and the betting favorite has won twice with Christiaan Bezuidenhout coming through in 2020 and Oliver Bekker winning last year.
Local knowledge is key here since they'll be playing a three-course rotation like many of the pro-ams on the PGA Tour. Zombard has played here a few times with mediocre results, but he's a much better player today, and the form is as good as we've seen from him.
Malaysian Open Predictions
Best Bet: Gavin Green +2500 (bet365)
The Asian Tour opens its season this week with a stronger field than normal. We have a few DP World Tour and LIV Golf players showing up this week with The Open Championship as an incentive because the top three in this event will earn a spot in the year's final major.
I'll play Gavin Green in a home game here. He's a had rough run on the DP World Tour in the Middle East, but he's played his best golf in Asia. As recently as December, he recorded back-to-back top 15s in South Africa, so I don't think the game is that far off.
When these guys step down a level, we can get some value when they've been a bit out of form. Sometimes just going home is enough to get things back on track, especially on a tour that has so much travel.
Other Bets:
- Sam Horsfield +4000
- Ratchanon Chantananuwat+5000
- Sihwan Kim +15000
- Charlie Lindh +15000
