The second half of the season starts with the field heading to Texas for the first playing of LIV Golf Houston. The tournament itself is new but the host venue Golf Club of Houston is familiar to most as a former stop on the PGA Tour from 2003 to 2019. Five golfers – Paul Casey, Anthony Kim, Phil Mickelson, Matt Jones and Ian Poulter – scheduled to compete are former Houston Open winners at the property. Another 10 players are getting tuned up for the third major of the season with the U.S. Open set to start June 13 at Pinehurst. There is work to be done in the meantime and the failure of Jon Rahm to win a tournament has moved him off the top of the outright odds board with Bryson DeChambeau as the favorite. Brooks Koepka won his fourth title last time out in Singapore ending a run of three straight first-time winners. Visit BookMaker.eu for a complete updated list of matchup betting odds when you’re ready to place a wager.
LIV Golf Houston Matchup Odds
Jon Rahm -110 vs. Bryson DeChambeau -110
Joaquin Niemann -144 vs. Tyrrell Hatton +120
Cameron Smith +100 vs. Brooks Koepka -120
Talor Gooch -110 vs. Louis Oosthuizen -110
Dean Burmester -132 vs. Dustin Johnson +110
Abraham Ancer -123 vs. Sergio Garcia +103
Marc Leishman -105 vs. Adrian Meronk -115
Patrick Reed -110 vs. Carlos Ortiz -110
Cameron Tringale -120 vs. Thomas Pieters +100
Lucas Herbert -110 vs. Matthew Wolff -110
Paul Casey -127 vs. Mito Pereira +106
Kevin Na -105 vs. Charles Howell III -115
Peter Uihlein +100 vs. Sebastian Munoz -120
David Puig +103 vs. Richard Bland -123
Brendan Steele -132 vs. Anirban Lahiri +110
Jason Kokrak -134 vs. Harold Varner III +112
Caleb Surratt -157 vs. Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra +130
Henrik Stenson -115 vs. Charl Schwartzel -105
Matt Jones -153 vs. Andy Ogletree +127
Bubba Watson +108 vs. Scott Vincent -129
Martin Kaymer -115 vs. Phil Mickelson -105
Sam Horsfield +115 vs. Branden Grace -138
Ian Poulter +100 vs. Graeme McDowell -120
Pat Perez -127 vs. Lee Westwood +106
Danny Lee -110 vs. Jinichiro Kozuma -110
Need to Know
Brooks Koepka, Cameron Smith, Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau are among the 10 players exempt into next week’s U.S. Open so you have to wonder if that’s going to be a distraction. Fine-tuning the game shouldn’t be a problem on the 7,403-yard, par-72 Golf Club of Houston layout. It’s a straightforward track with wide enough fairways for big hitters to have an edge. However, there are enough bunkers and water hazards that need to be avoided and multi-tiered greens will require precision with the flat stick. A number of players have experience on the layout with Golf Club Houston hosting the Houston Open. In 2011 Phil Mickelson carded the second-best winning score during the venue’s 17-year run winning by three swings at 20-under. Koepka was the first to four LIV wins with his 2-swing margin last time out in Singapore.
LIV Golf Houston Matchup Picks
Jon Rahm -110 vs. Bryson DeChambeau
He’s yet to win in seven LIV starts but at least Rahm has been consistent. He finished T10 in Singapore extending his streak of top 10s to seven and he was more than frustrated following his MC at the PGA Championship. With the season’s third major coming up, it’s imperative that Rahm get his game together. The course doesn’t have many surprises and should allow a player like Rahm to score low. And I’m betting that he goes lower than his matchup opponent.
Dustin Johnson +110 vs. Dean Burmester
I’m also counting on Johnson putting a strong week together. He too struggled in the first two majors and finished outside the top 20 in four LIV starts following his win in Las Vegas. There was a glimmer of hope with his T7 in Singapore and past success in the Houston Open is encouraging. DJ finished third in 2016 and T4 in 2013. Not often are you catching a player of DJ’s caliber at plus odds so I’ll take it.
Patrick Reed -110 vs. Carlos Ortiz
If Reed is going to get his first LIV win it only makes sense that he does it here. This is practically a home game for him and he’s played the Golf Club of Houston countless times. He finished among the top 17 in two of his last three Houston Open starts and recently had a strong run that included a T9 in Miami and T12 at the Masters. The course requires precision on approach and that’s a strong part of Reed’s game giving me confidence to back him in this matchup.
Matthew Wolff -110 vs. Lucas Herbert
Wolff hasn’t been able to consistently put things together, but when he does he’s fighting for the top of the leaderboard. It’s been a trend for him recently with a few poor results followed by a strong outing or two. He finished outside the top 25 in four straight starts then was 2-swings off the lead in fourth in Las Vegas. He went to Miami after a T45 in Hong Kong and missed the playoff by one shot finishing solo third.
Paul Casey -127 vs. Mito Pereira
Of the former winners at Golf Club Houston Casey enters on the best run of form. Along with his victory Casey also has a top 10 at the host venue along with several quality starts in his back pocket. Following his T5 in Vegas Casey lost a three-man playoff in Hong Kong and was sixth at the DP World Tour’s Singapore Classic in late March. Casey isn’t overpowering but makes up for it with accuracy and solid green play, two areas that will allow him to prevail in this matchup.
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