A return stateside has the PGA Tour getting the West Coast swing of the season underway in La Quinta, Calif. with the playing of the Desert Classic. Two weeks in Hawai’i got the field primed for another resort destination, and we are expected to have a large group of golfers with 156 players scheduled to compete. The four-day event gets underway Thursday with the first three rounds played across three different courses. Sunday’s final round will be contested on the Stadium Course at PGA West.
Defending champion Jon Rahm is the betting favorite at BookMaker.eu with odds of +749 with OWGR No. 1 Justin Rose the second favorite at +1058. There is a significant drop in the odds after the top two with Charles Howell III the third favorite at +1639. We will also have a Phil Mickelson sighting with Lefty set to compete for the first time since his battle with Tiger over Thanksgiving weekend. His odds are long at +5050. Below are matchup odds for the first of five straight tournaments in California and Arizona.
Desert Classic Matchup Odds at BookMaker.eu
Jon Rahm -140 vs. Justin Rose +110
Jon Rahm -205 vs. Patrick Cantlay +161
Justin Rose -165 vs. Patrick Cantlay +131
Charles Howell III -171 vs. Adam Hadwin +136
Charles Howell III -167 vs. Andrew Putnam +133
Adam Hadwin -112 vs. Andrew Putnam -118
Aaron Wise -109 vs. Abraham Ancer -121
Aaron Wise +109 vs. Chez Reavie -139
Abraham Ancer +103 vs. Chez Reavie -133
Phil Mickelson -105 vs. Patton Kizzire -125
Scott Piercy -118 vs. Luke List -112
Kevin Kisner +125 vs. Sungjae Im -157
Hudson Swafford -130 vs. Lucas Glover +100
Zach Johnson -186 vs. Charl Schwartzel +147
Peter Uihlein -114 vs. Ryan Palmer -116
Beau Hossler +121 vs. Corey Connors -151
Daniel Berger -159 vs. Harold Varner III +127
Brendan Steele -183 vs. Danny Willett +145
Brian Harman +127 vs. Si Woo Kim -159
Ricky Werenski +108 vs. JJ Spaun -138
Joaquin Niemann -129 vs. Cheng-Tsung Pan -101
Pat Perez -167 vs. Jason Dufner +133
Andrew Landry +137 vs. Brian Gay -172
Dylan Frittelli -123 vs. Russell Knox -107
Bud Cauley -117 vs. Chesson Hadley -113
Need to Know
The entire field will play the first three rounds across three different courses with the cut coming after 54 holes. The Stadium Course at PGA West, Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West and La Quinta Country Club are the three involved and they all play relatively short for Tour standards. Players that make the cut will play Sunday on the Stadium Course, which is considered the toughest of the three. Also, remember this is a pro-am tournament and players familiar with the usual disturbances associated with it have an advantage. Four of the past five winners played this event previously and they know what to expect.
Desert Classic Matchup Picks
Justin Rose +110 vs. Jon Rahm
The two favorites at the top of the odds board dueling head-to-head will make for some must see action on Sunday. while a case can be made for both players, we can also make one against them. Rose is being selective in the events he plays, having skipped the TOC a few weeks back. He took solo third at the Hero Challenge and was T17 at the Indonesian Masters, so he hasn’t been silent. He is breaking in new sticks after agreeing to a deal with a new supplier. Rahm is the defending champ and is as comfortable as any in a desert-style layout, but it’s as if he’s forcing himself to compete simply because he is defending the title, and that’s never good. I’m leaning toward the No. 1 ranked player in this matchup.
Aaron Wise +109 vs. Chez Reavie -139
Another plus-odds pick on the matchups is the reigning PGA Tour rookie of the year Wise. He’s a bit erratic, but when he’s on he can be really good. He has two top-15s in three events this season and he has the required tournament appearance under his belt. Wise scored 69 or lower in three rounds here last season with a third-round 72 preventing him from finishing higher than 17th. He’s quite familiar with the layouts having groomed his game in nearby Lake Elsinore. Plus, he ranks first on the Tour in birdies per round and as long as Reavie doesn’t hole out like he did at the Sony Open, I like Wise’s chances.
Hudson Swafford -130 vs. Lucas Glover +100
A rash of minor injuries put a hex on Swafford’s summer leading to some discouraging results that included seven missed cuts in 11 starts. Now that he’s feeling better we’ve seen major improvements in his game. He’s made the cut in 10 consecutive starts and battled the leaders at the Sony Open last week, settling for a share of third at 17-under. He scored 67 or lower each round at Waialae and six of his last eight rounds have been at 68 or better. Two years ago Swafford rode nice form into this event and came away with a 1-shot win scoring 20-under.
Golf Betting Odds
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