Two rounds of golf are complete from the lovely course at Le Golf National. It's a shame we don't see this course more often as it's truly special. All of the water hazards, bunkers and thick rough force an emphasis on precision and accuracy. We have seen a ton of volatility through 36 holes and will see more of that over the weekend. Below, we will take a look at both the odds and leaders to find some action for the weekend. Being in the fairway off the tee and being able to spike with the irons is a must, so let's dig into the Round 3 odds, picks and best bets.
Olympic Golf Leaders and Odds:
Xander Schauffele -11 (+180)
Tommy Fleetwood -11 (+400)
Hideki Matsuyama -11 (+550)
Jon Rahm -9 (+500)
Tom Kim -8 (+1800)
Thomas Detry -8 (+3000)
CT Pan -8 (+6500)
Olympic Golf Round 3 Picks and Best Bets
Rory McIlroy Top 5 (+230)
When you go to the stat page and sort the field by ball striking, you see Rory McIlroy at the top. He's an elite and well-rounded golfer who has accomplished a lot, but generally doesn't lead events in ball striking. He makes a majority of his hay with elite driving and elite putting. This week, McIlroy is also striping the irons and woods, which tells me that he's very close to posting a low round over the weekend.
His putter is holding him back as he's losing 2.5 strokes on the greens. McIlroy is a more than capable putter and I expect him to turn that around over the weekend. Plus money on McIlroy to simply finish inside the top five is a no brainer.
Collin Morikawa Top 10 (+120)
To no one's surprise, Collin Morikawa is hitting the irons very well and losing strokes on the putting greens. Over the past few months, Morikawa has really figured out the putter. Heading into the week, he was a very popular bet as he fits this golf course to a tee. He likes to play out of the fairway and hit a ton of irons close. Through 36 holes, that's exactly what he's doing. Look for Morikawa to keep up the great ball striking and make a few more putts. Even if he doesn't heat up on the greens — after all, he's not a great putter — the ball striking alone should get the job done.
Abraham Ancer Top 10 (+1800)
Heading into this week, I thought this was a perfect golf course for Abraham Ancer. Tee to green, that has been true as Ancer is ninth in the field, gaining over four strokes with his ball striking. However, he's making a mess around and on the greens. Generally, Ancer is a wizard at that part of the game, but that hasn't been the case this week. He's in some solid form as he played well at both The Open and LIV UK, so I'm not worried about the short game heating up as he can shoot 63 in a moment's notice.
