The FedExCup playoff field has been whittled down to the top 70 in the standings and those left assemble this week at Caves Valley Golf Club in the Baltimore suburb of Owings Mills for the BMW Championship. The second-leg of the playoffs is merely a stepping stone to next week’s Tour Championship, though Tony Finau sent a message by ending a long drought with his win in The Northern Trust to take over the top spot in the standings. Finau is guaranteed a spot among the top-30 but others aren’t, making this week an important one. For the second straight tournament Jon Rahm opened as the betting favorite but any one of the now 69 golfers – Patrick Reed withdrew on Monday – has the potential to win and there is no cut, making for some interesting matchups. Visit BookMaker.eu for a complete list of tournament matchup odds when you’re ready to place a wager.
BMW Championship Matchup Odds
Jon Rahm -250 vs. Dustin Johnson +205
Jon Rahm -225 vs. Collin Morikawa +185
Jon Rahm -197 vs. Xander Schauffele +162
Dustin Johnson +111 vs. Collin Morikawa -133
Dustin Johnson +112 vs. Xander Schauffele -134
Collin Morikawa +105 vs. Xander Schauffele -125
Patrick Cantlay -110 vs. Justin Thomas -110
Patrick Cantlay -120 vs. Bryson DeChambeau +100
Justin Thomas -115 vs. Bryson DeChambeau -105
Brooks Koepka +110 vs. Bryson DeChambeau -132
Brooks Koepka -110 vs. Rory McIlroy -110
Rory McIlroy +106 vs. Jordan Spieth -127
Viktor Hovland -110 vs. Jordan Spieth -110
Viktor Hovland -110 vs. Cameron Smith -110
Scottie Scheffler -129 vs. Cameron Smith +108
Daniel Berger -120 vs. Hideki Matsuyama +100
Paul Casey -127 vs. Webb Simpson +106
Tony Finau -110 vs. Corey Conners -110
Harris English -105 vs. Abraham Ancer -115
Joaquin Niemann -117 vs. Shane Lowry -103
Sam Burns -125 vs. Keegan Bradley +105
Sungjae Im -115 vs. Kevin Na -105
Russell Henley -115 vs. Cameron Tringale -105
Sergio Garcia -129 vs. Charley Hoffman +108
Maverick McNealy -127 vs. Max Homa +106
Alex Noren -110 vs. Brian Harman -110
Jhonattan Vegas -115 vs. Sebastian Munoz -105
Billy Horschel -120 vs. Ryan Palmer +100
Si Woo Kim +100 vs. Erik Van Rooyen -120
Carlos Ortiz -140 vs. Kevin Kisner +117
Harold Varner III -120 vs. Mackenzie Hughes +100
Stewart Cink -160 vs. Phil Mickelson +133
Need to Know
The PGA Tour hasn’t visited Baltimore since before it was the PGA Tour. The last time was in 1962 about three decades before Caves Valley Golf Club opened, so this is about as close to a neutral site as you’re gonna get. At over 7,500 yards the par 72 layout is longer than most with forgiving fairways. That should play into the hands of big hitters. A recent makeover to the course added length, new bunkers and redesigns to existing traps, and more rough. That shouldn’t be a factor, though, since most in the field have never played here. Greens are on the smaller side making approach play another important tool. Also, there is no cut this week meaning a bad early round can be made up over the weekend.
BMW Championship Matchup Picks
Phil Mickelson +133 vs. Stewart Cink
Does Mickelson have anything left? He snuck into the tournament at No. 70 and his MC in The Northern Trust might actually turn out to be a blessing since he got more downtime while the rest of the field was battling into Monday. You have to think Lefty is playing with house money and that makes him dangerous. It’s still hard to believe he won the PGA Championship a few months ago, which was enough to get him in this position. He also fought to a T17 at the WGC earlier this month making him a worthwhile risk in this matchup.
Shane Lowry -103 vs. Joaquin Niemann
Lowry has just continued to play solid golf, which is why I’m looking closely at him in this matchup. He was on a run of fine form before his T11 in The Northern Trust and it doesn’t look like he’s slowing down. Seven top-25s in his last nine starts is pretty good and placing among the top-12 in five of those is even better. I’ll take my chances with the Irishman in this head-to-head.
Webb Simpson +106 vs. Paul Casey
Caves Valley is a course that seems built for Simpson’s game. He’s not the longest hitter on Tour, but he makes up for it in other areas allowing him to rank highly in par 5 scoring. He also has three top-20s in his last four starts with a best of T7 in the Wyndham Classic in that stretch. His all around game should work well on this course and at plus odds I’m all in.
Daniel Berger -120 vs. Hideki Matsuyama
Talk about consistent Berger’s been that for most of the year. He had a tough time putting at Liberty National, which was a bit surprising since that’s been a strength of his all season. That dropped him down to T56. The good news is that he hasn’t gone consecutive starts without a top-20 in close to year, so I’m betting that the trend continues.
Dustin Johnson +205 vs. Jon Rahm
Going against Rahm could be fatal to my bankroll, but seeing Johnson at this price was too good to overlook. First, DJ missed the cut last week which wasn’t good. But, like Lefty, it gave him extra time to rest and prepare while Rahm battled for the lead in a stressful Monday close in The Northern Trust. And we’re not talking about some slouch here. DJ is poised to defend his FedExCup championship and I expect him to be much sharper on a layout that fits his game.
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