Journeyman Eric Cole has had a terrific rookie season on the PGA Tour.
In 26 starts, he has three top-10 finishes to go along with eight top-25 finishes but is still seeking his first career win.
Could that elusive first win come at this week’s John Deere Classic? Many bettors at the BetMGM online sportsbook think so.
As of Wednesday, Cole is pulling in the most handle (10%) on the second-most tickets (7%). He is currently +3300 to win.
The 35-year-old has had his best finishes at events where plenty of birdies are made. He finished T-5 at the Mexico Open at Vidanta when he shot 16-under over the four rounds and also finished T-6 at the RBC Canadian Open with a total score of 14-under.
This week’s event at TPC Deere Run should be another birdie fest. The winning score has been 20-under par or better in nine of the last 14 editions of the tournament.
After finishing T-24 at the Travelers Championship, Cole took last week off, so will enter the week well-rested and in solid form.
Cole is BetMGM’s biggest liability for the week.
Another player driving a lot of action is Cameron Young (+1800 to win), the highest-ranked player in the field (No. 19 in the Official World Golf Rankings).
He’s pulling in the third-most handle (8.3%) on the third-most tickets (6.9%).
Young is in a bit of a slump and is looking to find something this week ahead of the closing part of the 2022-23 PGA Tour schedule.
The 26-year-old hasn’t finished better than T-32 in seven starts since a T-7 at the Masters.
Current Handle & Tickets
Handle
- Eric Cole – 10%
- Adam Schenk – 9.3%
- Cameron Young – 8.3%
- Emiliano Grillo – 7.4%
- Denny McCarthy – 7%
Tickets
- Adam Hadwin – 7.6%
- Eric Cole – 7%
- Cameron Young – 6.9%
- Adam Schenk – 6.5%
- Denny McCarthy – 5.4%
McCarthy and Russell Henley (both +1400) have the best odds to win. McCarthy is drawing some solid action, while Henley has 2.8% of tickets and 2.1% of the handle. McCarthy has yet to win on the PGA Tour, while Henley has four wins.
Defending champion J.T. Poston (+4500) is drawing just 1.3% of tickets and 1.2% of the handle.
