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2014 PGA Memorial Tournament Betting Odds Preview | Picks

Memorial Betting

The PGA pros will tee it up from Muirfield in Dublin, Ohio – the site of the Memorial Tournament since 1976. Muirfield Village has been the hardest par 72 in a non-major two years running.

2014 Memorial Tournament
Location: Dublin, Ohio, United States
Course: Muirfield Village Golf Club
Date: May 29 – Jun 1, 2014
Total Purse: US $ 6,200,000
Winner’s Share: US $ 1,116,000 (18% of total purse)
Golf Odds from Bovada

Defending Champion: Matt Kuchar ($1,116,000)

Last year’s scoring average was 73.256 – no joke for the contenders in the field.

Muirfield will play as a 7,352-yard par 72, featuring the regular amount of par 3s/4s/5. Distance and driving accuracy aren’t as crucial this week as proved by winner Matt Kuchar last year – he was T37 in fairways hit and ranked 23rd in distance for the week. He did lead the field in greens in regulation and he was second in strokes gained putting – his work on the greens really won him the tournament.

So who should we keep our eye on this week? Let’s break it down.

The Favorites:

Rory McIlroy 8/1

The single life seems to be agreeing with Rory – he won his first tournament in seemingly forever last week – a come from behind win in the BMW PGA Championship. He finally got a win after eight previous starts yielded seven top 10s. McIlroy played well here a few years back – a T10 and a fifth in his first two Memorials, but followed that with a missed cut in 2012 and T57 last year. He is on fire but his recent history on this track scares me off here.

Adam Scott 10/1

Big win last week at Colonial, cementing his World #1 Ranking. He has made seven of eight cuts here with three top 15s, including a T13 last year. A couple of stats jump out here – fourth in par 4 scoring average and first in par 5 scoring average on a track with a host of par 4s and 5s should give Scott plenty of chances to score. Scott’s putter is coming on meaning a good showing this week.

Matt Kuchar 14/1

Defending champion actually missed the cut last week! Kuch has finished inside the top five here in three of his last four starts – a second in 2012 and the win last year. Kuchar will be out to prove last week was an extreme exception – a little motivation should serve him well.

The Contenders:

Justin Rose 16/1

Rose is yet another guy that is certainly trending upward. He has finished T8 or better in his last three PGA TOUR starts overall and has six top 15s in nine starts in this tournament including a win in 2010. He has consecutive eighth place finishes in this event and looks awfully dangerous heading into this week.

Dustin Johnson 25/1

Finished T14 last week after a terrible third round took him out of contention. Otherwise he was very solid on a track that didn’t exactly suit his game. On a course that should give him plenty of opportunities on the par 4s and 5s, Johnson could be a contender this week. He has three top 20s in six starts at Muirfield Village, including a solo fourth in 2011.

Jim Furyk 25/1

Wasn’t great last week – a T51 but he had finished inside the top 20 in his six previous starts (two straight runner-up finishes). Furyk is 17/18 with 13 top 25s, 6 top 10s a win and two runners-up at Muirfield Village but his 51st last week has me a tad concerned.

Jordan Spieth 25/1

Finished a rather quiet T14 at Colonial – that makes a T4, T37, and T14 in his last three PGA TOUR starts. He was T63 at Muirfield last year and he didn’t look all that comfortable during the President’s Cup when it took place here. He will do well for sure – just not sure a win here is in the cards this week.

Luke Donald 25/1

Finished T3 last week at the BMW PGA Championship and recently finished second in the RBC Heritage – we know his present form is good. He had four consecutive top 15s in this event before a T21 at Muirfield last year.
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Phil Mickelson 28/1

Not sure what to make of Phil who makes his first start since a missed cut at THE PLAYERS. He will either fail to fire or he will blow away the field! My thought is the latter. He has top 20s in three of last four trips to Muirfield Village but enters in sketchy form.

Bubba Watson 33/1

Can we really ever count out Bubba?

Gary Woodland 33/1

Has been quietly consistent on TOUR – he hasn’t been worse than T26 since the Masters and has gone T18, T11, T7 in his last three events. He has played Memorial three times and has finished inside the top 20 two times.

Jason Day 33/1

Has been injured again but will tee it up for the first time since at T20 at the Masters. I love this guy but would like to see a bit more of him before trusting him with my $.

Jason Dufner 33/1

Duf appears to be back! He lost in a playoff to Adam Scott last week – no shame in that! He was T5 in GIR and T6 in proximity at Colonial but certainly has had his troubles at Muirfield – he has yet to make a cut in two tries and last played here in 2010.

The Sleepers (50/1 or higher):

Charl Schwartzel 50/1

May be the best value on the board at 50/1. He has finished inside the top 12 in two of his last three PGA starts and has gone T22, T19 and a T8 in his last three trips to Muirfield. Schwartzel is definitely trending upward and is an intriguing name this week.

Brendon Todd 66/1

In his last two starts on TOUR Todd has a win and a T5 – not too shabby at all! He makes his Muirfield debut this week inside the top 20 in SGP, Sand Save %, Scrambling, Par 3 and Par 4 Scoring average.

Rory Sabbatini 80/1

I keep pumping this guy’s tires – he will reward me some day! He finished T2 here in his last appearance in 2012 and has finished inside the top 20 in his last five appearances at Muirfield. Sabbatini has two top 10s in six starts this year.

The Pick:

The pick this week is Justin Rose at 16/1. The reigning U.S. Open champ has top-10s in four of his last six starts at Muirfield Village, including a win in 2010 and runner-up in ’08 and has also finished in the top 10 in each of his last three starts on TOUR.

The sleeper shouldn’t really be a sleeper but a missed cut at the BMW Championship last week has him off the radar a tad. Charl Schwartzel at 50/1 should bounce back this week on a track that he has finished top 22 in the last three years.

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By DaveB

Dave B has been a Fantasy Football writer for us for 10 years. A couch potato wannabe, Dave’s insights have been read by 10’s of people for years. He hope’s for world peace + global relaxation. Enjoy and remember only smoke things that are completely natural.