The Australian PGA Championship may be going under the radar a bit this week because of the Hero World Challenge, which features the return of Tiger Woods. There are a few big names that will be competing in Australia, as Marc Leishman, Sergio Garcia and Adam Scott will be in action. Leishman is listed as the favorite at odds of +650, while Garcia is the second choice at +750 and Scott is the co-third choice at odds of +850. Let’s look at the event and predictions.
Australian PGA Championship Odds
Marc Leishman +650
Sergio Garcia +750
Cameron Smith +850
Adam Scott +850
Matt Jones +1850
Harold Varner III +2050
Jonas Blixt +2250
Ryan Fox +2550
Wade Ormsby +2850
Jason Scrivener +3050
Brett Rumford +3250
Kramer Hickok +3250
Lucas Herbert +3250
Curtis Luck +3250
Rhein Gibson +3550
Michael Hendry +4050
Rod Pampling +4050
Travis Smyth +5050
Ben Eccles +5550
Michael Sim +5550
Mikko Ilonen +5550
Thomas Detry +5550
Jarryd Felton +7550
Joakim Lagergren +6550
Chris Hanson +6550
Oliver Goss +6550
James Marchesani +6550
Andrew Dodt +6550
Talor Gooch +7550
Greg Chalmers +7550
Odds Analysis
Marc Leishman +650
You can definitely make a case that Leishman deserves to be favored, as he has a win, a second and a third in his last five starts. In his three starts in this event at Royal Pines he has a tie for 11th, a tie for 11th and a tie for 21stt.
Sergio Garcia +750
Sergio has played in Australia just once since 2003 and he finished tied for 28th in 2010. He played well at the DP World Tour Championship, finishing in a tie for 4th and he was okay at the Hong Kong Open with a tie for 19th. I am still a little leery about taking him at this price, as he is still not comfortable with his new clubs.
Cameron Smith +850
The oddsmakers really like the chances of Smith this week, as he is at +850. He is sure playing well, with top five finishes in two PGA Tour events and a tie for 4th last week at the Australian Open. I think he is a bit overvalued, but beyond the top two, this field is weak.
Adam Scott +850
Scott has been great in his home country in his career with four wins. He has top five finishes in 13 of his last 15 Australia tournaments. He won at Royal Pines in 2013 and he also has a second and a third place finish. The concern with backing Scott is that he has one top 20 finish in his last eight starts.
Matt Jones +1850
Jones nearly won the Australian Open last week, as he tied for second. He has never played this event at Royal Pines but based on how he played last week he could be in the mix on Sunday.
Harold Varner III +2050
The defending champ is playing well with six finishes of tied for 26th or better in his last 11 starts. He is not without a chance to defend his title and the odds of +2050 are attractive.
Brett Rumford +3250
My longshot this week is an Aussie who won the World Super 6 Perth in Western Australia earlier this year. Rumford almost always plays well in his home country and he is definitely a threat at longshot odds.
Course: It is all about the wind at RACV Royal Pines Resort, as when it is calm the scores are good but when it blows the players really struggle. Last year it was Harold Varner III shooting 19-under par to win, but five years ago the winning score was just 10-under par. The course is a par 72 that measures 7,364 yards. The course features narrow fairways with a lot of trees and water hazards. Scrambling has been the key statistic to consider when picking winners on this course.
TV Coverage: Golf Channel
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