Live Golf Betting: Options For Genesis Scottish Open, More

Plenty of big professional tournaments are being played around the world, so let’s get right to some potential live options entering Friday’s play.

PGA Tour/DP World Tour: Genesis Scottish Open

There’s a logjam atop the leaderboard at the Renaissance Club, with four players tied for the lead and 32 within three shots, which leaves things very wide open with 54 holes to play. If I’m simply picking a winner, then my pre-tourney selection of Viktor Hovland (+1400) is the guy after a 4-under 66, but at about 30 percent of the number he started, it’s difficult to be too bullish at this point.

Ludvig Aberg (+2200) was a favorite of many and he ranked second only to Tom Kim in tee-to-green stats, posting a 3-under 67 without seeing his price move nearly as much as that of Hovland.

Two players I’ll be keeping an eye on during Round 2 are Ryan Fox (+2500) and Maverick McNealy (+4500), who shot 66 and 67, respectively. Both have flashed a massive ceiling when they’re playing their best and we’ve already seen hints that this could be that type of situation.

Really, though, my favorite plays are big-name talents who are only 5-6 shots back, but showing inflated prices right now. The list includes Justin Thomas (+8000), Tommy Fleetwood (+9000), Matt Fitzpatrick (+9000) and Adam Scott (+10000). If you wanted to play a little sprinkle on each of ‘em, I have a feeling at least one or two will be in the mix come Sunday afternoon.

PGA Tour/DP World Tour: ISCO Championship

Chan Kim opened a nice lead with a first-round 61, but there’s no one else better than four shots behind, which suggests value on some chasers.

Earlier this week, I recommended a potential single-bullet play on pre-tourney favorite Michael Thorbjornsen (+2500), who certainly didn’t have his best stuff on Thursday, shooting 1-under 69, but his price has doubled and he can make birdies in bunches. If the number had you skittish previously, it should be more palatable now.

There’s really not much else that has me excited, but if you missed S.H. Kim (+2500) pre-tourney at 40/1, he makes some sense at about 15 points shorter after an opening 67.

LIV Golf: Andalucia

Entering the opening round, perhaps the smart play is to just keep loading up on Jon Rahm for a top-10, albeit at an extremely short -250 price, considering the dude just doesn’t ever finish outside that range and he’s the defending champion at Valderrama this week.

Maybe this means nothing, but Joaquin Niemann (+850) has an every-other-tournament winning streak going this season and he didn’t win his last one, so you know what that means. He finished tied for second behind Rahm here last year.

When last we saw Brooks Koepka (+2800), he was smashing a tee marker, playing terrible golf and withdrawing due to “illness.” If we know anything about Koepka, though, he’s prone to giving us the ol’ okey-doke and playing the kind of golf he’s capable of when we least expect it.

In the same range, Paul Casey (+3000) has been showing some signs of life recently and might make some sense here.

And if you like burning money, I still have a hard time seeing Dustin Johnson (+4500) at this price and not wanting to fire away. Admittedly, though, you probably shouldn’t tail this one.

LPGA: Amundi Evian Championship

The LPGA’s fourth of five majors this season is underway and has a leaderboard similar in bunching to the Scottish, with five players tied for the lead and 22 within three shots.

It’s tough to recommend Nelly Korda (+650), Minjee Lee (+750) or Jeeno Thitikul (+900) at single-digit prices, but the game’s top three players are in contention and any of them could win this one. I’d lean Thitikul, who has top-10 results here in three of the last four years, which is a more consistent record than most others have.

Lottie Woad (+2800) is the No. 1-ranked amateur in the world and she’s the real deal, winning on the LET last week by a half-dozen strokes. She needs a top-25 to gain LPGA status, but it wouldn’t shock me if she just goes and wins the whole thing.

At four back, Rio Takeda (+3500) can make a run at this, too, as she’s having an excellent rookie season on the LPGA.

If you want a total longshot, Ruoning Yin (+10000) has some offensive firepower, but trails by seven. Instead, I’d rather a small play on A Lim Kim (+17500), who is six back and already has a win this season.

PGA Tour Champions: Dicks Open

Without the likes of Stewart Cink, Padraig Harrington, Steven Alker or Steve Stricker in the field, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Ernie Els are the biggest names, but this could be a tourney where we find a longshot – or something close to it – in the winner’s circle.

I’ve taken a stab at Mark Hensby, Robert Karlsson and Ken Tanigawa in the outright market, but only for a very small stake.