The start of a new season on the PGA Tour brings about some changes. One thing that remains the same, however, is the opener. A full field assembles in California wine country for the Fortinet Championship to jumpstart the 2022-23 season. Typical of fall events the field is less than stellar, though some big names are hovering around the top of the odds board. We could see more high-profile players in coming tournaments with the cutoff line for the FedExCup playoffs sliced down to the top-70, making points even more important wherever you can get them. Defending champ Max Homa emerged as the betting favorite in the outright market with former Masters champ Hideki Matsuyama not far behind. We also get a first glimpse at some new blood with several Korn Ferry Tour graduates pegging it up at Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa. Visit BookMaker.eu for a complete list of matchup odds when you’re ready to place a wager.
Fortinet Championship Matchup Odds
Corey Conners -150 vs. Hideki Matsuyama +120
Corey Conners -128 vs. Max Homa -102
Hideki Matsuyama +105 vs. Max Homa -135
Taylor Pendrith -129 vs. Cameron Davis -101
Taylor Pendrith -133 vs. Emiliano Grillo +103
Sahith Theegala +127 vs. Maverick McNealy -160
Davis Riley +108 vs. Maverick McNealy -138
Brendan Steele -140 vs. Denny McCarthy +110
Denny McCarthy -110 vs. Troy Merritt -120
Webb Simpson -111 vs. Gary Woodland -119
Chris Kirk -123 vs. Matt Kuchar -107
Taylor Montgomery -122 vs. Taylor Moore -108
Chez Reavie -114 vs. Kevin Streelman -116
Brandon Wu -108 vs. John Huh -122
Russell Knox -137 vs. Stewart Cink +107
Michael Gligic -153 vs. Chesson Hadley +122
Lucas Glover +116 vs. Luke List -146
Danny Willett -124 vs. Matt Wallace -106
Rickie Fowler -128 vs. Joel Dahmen -102
Alex Noren -114 vs. Justin Suh -116
Alex Smalley +103 vs. Wyndham Clark -133
Brendan Steele -143 vs. Sahith Theegala +113
Brendan Steele -101 vs. Taylor Pendrith -129
Emiliano Grillo -125 vs. Davis Riley -105
Gary Woodland -122 vs. Taylor Montgomery -108
Hideki Matsuyama -133 vs. Maverick Mcnealy +103
Justin Suh -125 vs. Sahith Theegala -105
Kevin Streelman -111 vs. Nick Hardy -119
Matt Kuchar -108 vs. Gary Woodland -122
Taylor Moore -124 vs. Cameron Champ -106
Taylor Pendrith -165 vs. Sahith Theegala +131
Webb Simpson -139 vs. Rickie Fowler +109
Need to Know
The North Course at Silverado has hosted since 2014 with many of the same faces pegging it up. The layout isn’t difficult to navigate playing at 7,123 yards and par 72. We’re likely to see a lot of wedges on the course with tree-lined fairways of modest width. However, going long off the tee is an option since the rough is forgiving. Big hitters have traditionally done well here, but reaching the winner’s circle requires every stick in the bag. The par 5s aren’t long allowing players to make up strokes, but one poor round will doom you. The average winning score over the last three editions is 19-under with Stewart Cink establishing a record at 21-under in 2020. Since Silverado became host no player has won by more than two strokes with two playoffs tossed in.
Fortinet Championship Matchup Picks
Sahith Theegala +127 vs. Maverick McNealy
These two youngsters have the Tour in good hands for the foreseeable future. Theegala just finished his first season making a run at Rookie of the Year honors. I was a bit surprised at the price in this matchup but given McNealy’s play around his neck of the woods it makes sense. He had a solid last season that included a runner-up here and it could be a mistake to bet against him. But Theegala finished strong and he also has the weapons to cut up Silverado, and at his price I think he’s worth the investment.
Brandon Wu -108 vs. John Huh
Another NorCal product who finished his rookie season on Tour, Wu did a lot of things right getting better results toward the end of last season. He missed the cut in nine of his first 10 starts, which easily could’ve eroded his confidence. But it didn’t, and Wu ended with four top-10s in his final 16 starts. He completed his first year on Tour ranked 19th in GIR and among the top-25 in par-5 scoring, which will certainly help at Silverado.
Brendan Steele -101 vs. Taylor Pendrith
I had a good run on matchup picks with Pendrith a big part of that success. I wanted to back him here but I can’t deny what Steele has done at Silverado during his career. He’s never missed a cut in eight starts and is the only player with multiple wins going back-to-back in 2016 and 2017. Even when the rest of the season spins out of control you can count on Steele hanging around in Napa.
Taylor Montgomery -108 vs. Gary Woodland
This is a good tournament to go a little off the grid on the matchup picks. Montgomery proved he can play as the scoring leader on the Korn Ferry Tour. That helped him close with four straight top-10s and 13 top-15s over his last 18 starts on the KFT. And don’t think the stage is going to be too big for him. He finished T11 at the Farmers Insurance Open in January and narrowly missed the cut at the U.S. Open a few months ago.
Cameron Champ -106 vs. Taylor Moore
Champ burst onto the scene in 2018 with a top-25 at Silverado following by a win at the Sanderson Farms Championship. He returned to Napa the next year winning at Silverado with a score of 17-under. There were some struggles this past season, though, with Champ missing the cut more times than making it. His metrics are strong and a return to familiar surroundings, both personally and professionally, should help him. In fact, I’m betting on it.
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