Golf Live Betting: Are Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry Worth a Shot at Zurich Classic?

Welcome to a new feature here at BetMGM, as I’m going to delve into the live markets on (most) Thursday nights, with a look at tournaments around the world in professional golf.

Let’s get right to ‘em, starting with the PGA Tour.

Zurich Classic

If you really liked the defending champion team of Rory McIlroy/Shane Lowry pre-tourney, but didn’t want to bite on the short +350 price tag, then consider grabbing them at twice that number after an opening-round 64 in the best-ball format, after which they conceded that they didn’t play their best golf. The alternate shot format – which will be used both Friday and Sunday – tends to separate the contenders from the pretenders and it would hardly be a shock to see Rory and Shane zoom past a handful of inexperienced duos which are already ahead of them on the board.

My early-week selection of Sahith Theegala/Aaron Rai at +2500 was largely hinged on the fact that I think they’ll excel in alternate shot. They opened with a 63, just five shots behind the leaders, but remain at that same exact price, which feels like a mulligan for those who didn’t buy the first time around.

Another team I had pre-tourney was Max McGreevy/Sam Stevens, who like Theegala/Rai shot 63, but their number actually drifted from 45/1 to 50/1. That’s likely due to it being such a jam-packed leaderboard, but I like targeting teams where both players fared well and McGreevy and Stevens each posted a half-dozen birdies on Thursday.

The Chevron Championship

At the LPGA’s first major of the season, Haeran Ryu and Yan Liu are co-leaders after the first round with matching scores of 7-under 65. Of the two, Ryu is the better candidate to close, as she posted three top-10s in majors last year, but our value is further down the board. With the likes of Nelly Korda and Lydia Ko over par already, I love the idea of chasing Jeeno Thitikul (+1100), who’s been the best player on the LPGA this year. How good has she been? Well, total strokes gained is the greatest barometer of performance at the professional level. Rory McIlroy leads this category on the PGA Tour, but Thitikul’s number is even better on the LPGA. She opened with a 1-under 71, which is just fine to start.

Also at 1-under is A Lim Kim (+3000), the surprise U.S. Women’s Open champion from a half-decade ago who’s turning into a world-beater this year. She already has a win and nothing worse than 17th place in six starts on the season. I love the idea of playing her at this elevated price.

Hainan Classic

The opening round on the DP World Tour in China was suspended due to lightning, but a solid leaderboard is already emerging, with the rejuvenated Haotong Li among three early leaders. There’s so much golf left to play, but I really like Eugenio Chacarra (+4000), who’s seeking his second win of the season. His price has gotten longer even though he’s even par with four holes left to play in the opening round.

And if you want an even bigger chase, my buddy Eric Cohen on CBS’ Early Wedge podcast with me offered up Jacob Skov Olesen, the young phenom who’s posted three straight top-20s. He shot 1-under 71, yet his price dipped to +10000.

LIV Mexico City

This week’s LIV event hasn’t yet started, of course – not sure if you’ve heard, but they only play 54 holes – but there’s at least some course history at Club de Golf Chapultepec, which hosted the WGC-Mexico event from 2017 through 2020. Ironically enough, every winner of that tournament is playing this week, as Dustin Johnson took it twice, and once each for Phil Mickelson and Patrick Reed.

I have a funny feeling that Jon Rahm could turn his usual strong result on LIV into an elusive victory, but I’ll go just a little deeper with a few outrights. Tyrrell Hatton (+1000) is coming off a T-14 result at the Masters and has been playing like a top-10 player in the world for a couple of years now, whether it’s reflected in the actual ranking or not.

And if you’d prefer to go with a narrative play, Carlos Ortiz (+2200) and Abraham Ancer (+3300) are each playing in their home country of Mexico and could have a little extra motivation after posting some solid results already this year.

Mitsubishi Electric Classic

Stephen Ames is the defending champion at this event, but with the tourney set to begin on Friday, I’m going with a couple of players who have a special relationship with host venue TPC Sugarloaf.

Stewart Cink (+750) is a longtime member here and serving in the host role this week, which has been advantageous on PGA Tour Champions for the likes of Steve Stricker and Jerry Kelly in the past. In five starts this season, Cink has four finishes of eighth or better, but you know he’d love to win one in front of the home crowd.

Speaking of winning here, of course, you remember the 2002 BellSouth Classic, which was won by the reigning U.S. Open champion, Retief Goosen (+2200). He was third in his most recent start and finished T-6 here last year.