LIV Golf is set for its first event in the United States, heading out west to the Portland area with a field a little stronger than it had for the opening tournament in London.
The additions of Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed and Bryson DeChambeau have replaced some of the unknown players on the backend of the field, adding more depth at the top of this odds board.
The Course
Pumpkin Ridge is set to host this event and has been a familiar stop on the Korn Ferry Tour from 2014-20.
For the KFT events, it wasn't too difficult most of the time, measuring a little over 7,000 yards for a par-71. Four times in seven years, the winner needed at least 18-under par to win.
The LIV setup will be much different, playing a composite setup of the two courses on the property that will play nearly 7,700 yards as a par-72.
Notable winners include Sungjae Im and new LIV member Carlos Ortiz. Abraham Ancer will also be in the field and was second here in 2017.
Overall, length hasn't been a requirement to contend here. We've also seen strong finishes from shorter PGA pros like Adam Hadwin, Lee Hodges, Chad Ramey and David Lipsky. But as mentioned, with the different setup, those results likely won't be as big of a factor.
The Favorites
Dustin Johnson opens here as a +650 favorite. He finished in 8th in the first LIV event and was the lone player in this field to finish inside the top 25 at the U.S. Open.
I imagine we'll keep seeing him at the top of these boards unless they have another acquisition up their sleeve.
Louis Oosthuizen is next at +900, and he's been on quite the trip the past couple of weeks, flying from the U.S. Open in Boston to Germany last week for the world tour and now out to Portland for this event.
If this was a PGA event, it'd be a prime Louis WD spot, but I imagine he'll suck it up for these 54 holes. He's not someone I'd look at for a wager, though.
Ancer is the top newcomer on the board at +1100, followed by Brooks Koepka and Talor Gooch at +1200. Ancer would be where I'd lean in the range, as he has the Korn Ferry success here on his resume. He's seen the course and was clearly comfortable with it the last time.
Gooch played that same week as Ancer and missed the cut, but he's a better player now and his approach game should make him a good fit.
We've seen nothing from Koepka the past few months to suggest he's going to contend here. His best finish in that time is 55th, but we know he'll top that at least in the 48-man field.
We'll close out this range looking at the +1400 group of DeChambeau and Sergio Garcia.
DeChambeau makes his LIV debut, while Sergio took an uninspiring 22nd to finish in the middle of the pack. Sergio is also on the Louis travel plan, going from the U.S. Open to Germany to Portland. DeChambeau is still working his way back from injury, so I'll stay away at this price.
But for me, it's Patrick Reed who draws the most interest at +1800 on DraftKings. He's also been stringing things together on the PGA Tour quite nicely, making the cut in eight of his last nine starts.
The high-end results haven't been there, but the form is good enough for him to contend in this field.
The Mid-Tier
In this range, we'll go with Hennie Du Plessis at +3500 on DK. Du Plessis was second in the LIV opener, and if the course is stretched to 7,700 yards each day, that should benefit him.
His tee ball has been his best asset on the DP World Tour this season. He also has a pretty solid short game, as well. The irons get spotty at times, but he's still gained strokes overall on that tour, as well.
He should enter fairly confident this week on the back of the strong result in England.
The Longshots
I'll go back to Jinichiro Kozuma here at 175/1 with an each way to five places on BetRivers.
Kozuma was my long-shot play the last time and played solid on his way to 15th.
I think the course should be comfortable for him and play similar to what he would see often in Japan (in respect to the tree-lined fairways).
The LIV Portland Card
- Patrick Reed +1800 (1.83 units)
- Hennie Du Plessis +3500 (.94 units)
- Jinichiro Kozuma +17500 (.19 units)
Total Stake: 2.96 units
