This is one of my favorite tournaments to watch because the atmosphere is a little more raucous than most. The field is strong this year and Hideki Matsuyama is going for his 3rd straight win.. something only Arnold Palmer has done. All of these plays are for the whole tournament. The only drawback of this tournament is that if it goes to a playoff on Sunday, the Super Bowl will be on..
Ryan Palmer vs Charley Hoffman for 3 units at -105. Palmer is from Texas and is a good desert golf course player. He had the lead going into the weekend at the Farmers Insurance Open last week. He ended up finishing second while Hoffman finished tied for 35th. Palmer’s wife had a cancer spell last year, but it seems he can now focus on golf again. His form is a lot better than Hoffman so I am taking him with the low juice.
Jordan Spieth vs Jon Rahm for 3 units at -110. Spieth has not been his normal putting self lately and that may be part of the reason for the low juice. Rahm got 29th last week at the Farmers and Spieth did not play in it. Spieth got 9th in this tournament last year and Rahm got 16th. I just think Spieth will hit a gear on Saturday and Sunday that Rahm will not be able to match.
Zach Johnson vs J.B. Holmes for 3 units at -130. Zach finished 12th in this tournament last year and Holmes finished 24th. Johnson is 3rd in scoring average on the season and has been playing solid golf. Holmes finished top 5 last week, but was not playing good golf before that. Johnson is just a far more consistent golfer and had a 66 on this course last year.
Webb Simpson vs Daniel Berger for 2 units at -135. Webb lost the playoff of this tournament last year after shooting a 64 on Sunday. Berger did not do bad himself finishing 7th. Webb has one of the best sand save percentages on the tour and that is an area where Berger has struggled this season. Webb also has a higher greens in regulation percentage than Berger. Berger has been playing well this year, but I like the North Carolina native Webb here.
Byeong-Hun An vs Tony Finau for 2 unit at +175. This line is so good because Byeong-Hun played in Dubai last week. An got 6th in this tournament last year, while Finau did not even make the cut. An is one of the best drivers on the tour, while Finau can drive it far, but not accurately. I just think An is better at courses of this type even with his tough travel schedule.
Scott Piercy vs Harris English for 1 unit at +120. English finished 6 strokes better than Piercy at this tournament last year. English also finished top 10 last week at the Farmers.