Over the last several weeks on the PGA Tour, there have been some massive favorites ahead of certain events.
At the Zurich Classic, Patrick Cantlay/Xander Schauffele were +300 to win, and the following week at the Mexico Open at Vidanta Jon Rahm was +250. While both generated a ton of betting action, neither went on to win.
A similar situation is playing out at the AT&T Byron Nelson this week with Scottie Scheffler, who is +350 to win. He opened at +450 but dropped once Jordan Spieth withdrew earlier in the week due to a wrist injury.
As of Wednesday at the BetMGM online sportsbook, Scheffler is drawing the most tickets (6.9%) on the most handle (10.4%).
Scheffler, who has taken the last few weeks off, including last week’s designated event at the Wells Fargo Championship, enters the week with his worst finish of the 2023 calendar year being a T-12 at the Genesis Invitational.
The 26-year-old has two wins and five top-five finishes in that span, as well.
He is playing some exceptional golf and at No. 2 in the world, is by far the best player in the field this week. With it being sandwiched between a designated event and the PGA Championship, a lot of stars are taking the week off.
Scheffler, who is a Texas native, will be looking to improve on T-47 and T-15 finishes at TPC Craig Ranch the last two years.
K.H. Lee (+2200) is going for a three-peat at the event and is pulling in the fourth-most tickets (5%) and seventh-most handle (4.8%).
Expect plenty of birdies this week, as Lee has won the last two years with scores of 26-under in 2022 and 25-under in 2021.
Current Handle & Tickets
Handle
- Scottie Scheffler – 10.4%
- Tyrrell Hatton – 6.2%
- Tom Hoge – 5.7%
- Adam Scott – 5.4%
- Hideki Matsuyama – 5.2%
Tickets
- Scottie Scheffler– 6.9%
- Adam Scott – 5.7%
- Hideki Matsuyama– 5.2%
- K.H. Lee – 5%
- Tom Hoge – 4.8%
Hoge (+4000, down from +5000), another Texas native, is a popular play this week. His precise iron play should serve him well at a course that sets up for many shots from 200+ yards.
Hatton (+1200) and Scott (+3300) enter playing some solid golf of late. Hatton finished T-3 at the Wells Fargo Championship last week, while Scott finished T-5.
This will be Matsuyama’s first start since the Masters, as he’s been dealing with a neck injury.
