Action Report: Bettors Love Patrick Cantlay, Rory McIlroy Ahead of BMW Championship

Ryan Hannable Aug 16, 2023, 12:37 PM

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Patrick Cantlay hits from the bunker on the first hole during the final round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Los Angeles Country Club on Sunday, June 18, 2023, in Los Angeles.

(AP Photo/Marcio J. Sanchez)

A number of players on the PGA Tour are playing exceptional golf heading into the second FedEx Playoff event, the BMW Championship, Aug. 17-20 from Olympia Fields just outside Chicago.

Of course, Lucas Glover tops the list following winning two straight weeks, but right behind him are Patrick Cantlay and Rory McIlroy.

Cantlay lost in a playoff to Glover last week at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, while McIlroy finished T-3 and has logged eight straight top-10 finishes since the PGA Championship.

So, it’s no surprise these two are the most popular golfers this week at the BetMGM online sportsbook.

As of Wednesday, Cantlay has the highest handle (12.58%) on the second-most tickets (6.2%), while McIlroy has the second-highest handle (12.55%) on the most tickets (8.3%).

Cantlay is +1000 to win, while McIlroy is +700 after opening at +750.

Specific to Olympia Fields, there isn’t much course history to go on since the course has only hosted one PGA Tour event since 2003 – the 2020 BMW Championship. It has hosted two PGA Championships and two U.S. Open’s in its history, so it will have a major championship-like feel.

Both players finished T-12 in 2020.

It is worth noting that Cantlay has won this event the last two years, although it was at a different course each time. He won last year at Wilmington Country Club and two years ago at Caves Valley.

Meanwhile, Jon Rahm won that event, so he has course history on his side. He’s another popular play, drawing the third-highest handle (10.9%) on the third-most tickets (6%).

Rahm is +1000 to win this week.