Procore Championship Predictions: Conservative/Aggressive Plays for Every Type of Bettor

Welcome to Ryder Cup Preview Week, as the majority of both the United States and European teams will compete on their respective tours just two weeks ahead of the biennial competition.

Preparation for the likes of Scottie Scheffler at the Procore Championship and Rory McIlroy at the BMW PGA Championship will capture the biggest headlines and the most attention, but the inclusion of these players helps lengthen the odds for everyone else – especially at the former, which boasts a much more star-studded field than usual.

That should mean some value, even amongst the top-tier, as those left on the outside of these rosters looking in might be properly motivated to prove what could be missing at Bethpage.

Procore Championship Outright Winner Picks

Conservative: Maverick McNealy (+2800)

Ten of the 11 shortest players on the board in Napa are the 10 players prepping for the U.S. Ryder Cup team this week. The other is McNealy, who had a not-so-outside chance of being named to the squad by captain Keegan Bradley. The world’s 18th-ranked player finished solo third in his penultimate start of the season at the BMW Championship and while the NorCal native missed the cut in his last two starts here, he was runner-up to Max Homa in 2021, so he certainly understands what it takes to contend here.

Aggressive: Byeong-Hun An (+10000)

Hey, if Cameron Young and Tommy Fleetwood can finally break through on the PGA Tour, then maybe it’s finally An’s turn. (He had a great Twitter reply after the latter won the Tour Championship, posting, “So happy for him. It’s like seeing your best friend get married but you are still single.”) The longtime pro is still seeking his first win on U.S. soil, and it’s interesting that the former BMW PGA winner is skipping that event for this one.

That might have something to do with preserving his status, though at 74th on the FedEx Cup points list, it might have more to do with getting a bad taste out of his mouth after he failed to make the playoffs following a trio of missed cuts to conclude the season. If you like form, there’s not much here, but if you like trends, he could follow in those recent footsteps of players getting a long-awaited win. 

Procore Championship Top-5 Picks

Conservative: J.J. Spaun (+400)

I’m very intrigued to see how the U.S. Open champion handles the pressures of playing in his first Ryder Cup, but he’s shown multiple times this year that he’s figured something out when getting into contention. All of that said, the West Coast is his happy place, and he’s been 26th or better in three of his last five starts in Napa. I like the idea of a ceiling play on a guy who’s clearly the most improved player on the PGA Tour this year.

Aggressive: Taylor Montgomery (+2200)

Speaking of ceilings, Montgomery is a guy I like targeting in this type of market because while his floor is extremely low, his best stuff can be very good – especially when he’s got that flatstick working. In his last half-dozen starts on the PGA Tour/KFT, he owns four top-18 finishes. If you’d rather play it safe and take him for a top-10/20, well, I certainly don’t mind that, either.

Procore Championship Top-10 Picks

Conservative: Rico Hoey (+600)

This wasn’t quite the campaign that many expected for the wildly talented Hoey, but he did show once again that his good – like Montgomery – is very good, with five finishes inside the top-12. At 106th on the FedEx Cup points list, he’s got some work to do in the fall, but he can make plenty of progress with a big result at this one.

Aggressive: Victor Perez (+750)

The blurred lines between the PGA Tour and DP World Tour have some playing the Procore who usually play the BMW PGA and vice versa – and Perez fits, as retaining his status on the U.S. circuit is first priority. He was playing some solid golf at the end of the regular season and wouldn’t be a surprise if he peels off a win at some point during this fall portion of the schedule.

Procore Championship Top-20 Picks

Conservative: Austin Eckroat (+400)

It took nearly six full months, but the two-time PGA Tour winner finally started playing just a bit like the guy who’d enjoyed those successes. With an exemption from those wins in his back pocket, he can play more freely than those around his FedEx number who need to maintain status, which should serve him well as he looks to get back to where he was a year ago.

Aggressive: Ethan Fang (+700)

It wasn’t an overall great Walker Cup weekend for Fang, who was 0-2-1 entering Sunday’s singles session, but a 5 and 4 victory in the U.S. rout should have him brimming with confidence entering this week. While Jackson Koivun will get all the amateur headlines in Napa – and deservedly so – I like the idea of taking a chance on the Oklahoma State product at a nice plus-money price in this market.

Procore Championship First-Round Leader Picks

Conservative: Patrick Cantlay (+2800)

I largely refrained from offering up the big names above, as the Ryder Cup prep work is paramount over contending at this one, but it would hardly be a shock to see Cantlay reel off about nine birdies on Thursday to grab an early lead, as he’s been known to do. He posted opening-round scores of 67 or better in three of his last six starts of the season.

Aggressive: Cameron Champ (+8000)

As I often say, I like the idea of playing those with high ceilings and massive volatility in the FRL market – and nobody embodies that more than Champ, who’s had success at this event, including a win in 2019. Also, his last seven Thursday scores on the PGA Tour: 64-72-62-68-65-67-69.