PGA Betting Guide for The Palmetto Championship at Congaree
Picking winners of a golf tournament is hard. Doing it consistently is downright impossible. But finding value is something all bettors must practice in order to give themselves the best chance to make hay when the day finally comes that they ping a champion.
Below, we will cover the best bets for the Palmetto Championship at Congaree based on current form, course fit, and -- of course -- the value of their odds over at Golf odds.
While the U.S. Open looms next weekend, we first stop in Ridgeland, South Carolina for a brand new course filling in for the RBC Canadian Open. Congaree Golf Club is a beast of a course, with three par 5s longer than 580 yards and three more par 4s longer than 500. Designed by Tom Fazio in 2018, Congaree features oak tree-lined fairways that will make for tricky approach shots whether the drive ends up in the fairway or the rough.
We'll focus our targets on the best drivers of the golf ball, as the course demands distance. That starts with the world's top golfer looking to get right before a major championship and ends with some of the longest odds we'll speculate all year.
For more info on Congaree Golf Club along with this week's key stats and comparable courses, check out the course primer.
At the Top
Dustin Johnson (+800) - If Johnson were in form, it's likely this number would start with a 5 or a 6. Alas, no top 10s this season since California for the world No. 1 actually makes him an intriguing value name. With multiple wins every year since 2015 and three or more in all but 2019, DJ is bound to get back to the winner's circle soon. A soft field the weak before the U.S. Open calls to mind Johnson's 2018 win at TPC Southwind, before the St. Jude event was the WGC field. Johnson is here with one goal in mind -- find form before the major championship.
Value Spots
Keith Mitchell (+4500) - Mitchell has a well-documented affinity for bermuda greens, and the form of late had been solid before missing the cut at Colonial. He was 26th at the AT&T Byron Nelson, 3rd at the Wells Fargo Championship, 69th at the Valspar Championship in the worst putting performance of the year -- negative 12(!) strokes putting -- and 17th at the Valero Texas Open. He's 19th this season in strokes gained: off the tee and 31st in driving distance on the entire PGA Tour.
Patton Kizzire (+4500) - Kizzire showed his best is good enough to win on the PGA Tour with two victories in four starts at the end of 2017 to the beginning of 2018. He's failed to flash that form with any consistency, but recently he's posted top 10s in three of his last seven starts, including consecutive third-place finishes at the Charles Schwab Challenge and the AT&T Byron Nelson. While not known for his driving, he's respectable at 63rd on Tour in distance and just two yards shy of a top-50 mark.
Long Shot
Jhonattan Vegas (+7500) - Vegas is 5th in strokes gained: off the tee and 19th in distance this year, two elite marks in this field. He's shown some flashes this season, with a 9th place finish at the AT&T Byron Nelson, an 18th at the recent Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship, and a runner up at the Puerto Rico Open. He's one of the best values on the board at 75/1.
Tyler McCumber (+20000) - McCumber is 16th on Tour in driving distance this season and has shown enough flashes to warrant investment at 200/1. He was runner up and 18th in the two editions of the Corales Puntacana, 6th at the Sanderson Farms Championship, and 33rd at the Honda Classic. Each event had a weak field this season, and without Johnson and a few others, this field would be right in line with those. McCumber managed a T22 at THE PLAYERS as well which is notable that there is a higher level of talent here over many in this field that he can contend and put up respectable results against the world's best.
Grayson Murray (+35000) - Murray is worthy of this number, with four missed cuts in his last five events. Before that stretch, he was third at the Puerto Rico Open and had gained off the tee in eight straight measured events. He has some ballstriking talent, as he ranks 23rd in driving distance. At a nearly 7,700-yard course where distance will absolutely play a factor, finding a bomber this deep in the market is worth a sprinkle.
