Hola, friends and degenerate wagerers! Good to see you again. If you’re wondering why I’m so happy, it’s because it’s finally above freezing in my neck of the woods and the PGA Tour’s Florida swing is just one week away. Before we get too excited, however, there’s one last leg of the west coast swing before we can start counting down the days ’til spring.
The PGA Tour heads to Los Angeles and Riviera Country Club for the Northern Trust Open. There are plenty of big names in the field this week and a couple guys who could surprise. If you’re looking to make some money on this week’s action, you’ve come to the right place. Get your pencils ready:
Northern Trust Open
Riviera Country Club — Pacific Palisades, Calif.
February 19-22
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ODDS to Win:
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| Bubba Watson | 10/1 |
| Dustin Johnson | 12/1 |
| Jordan Spieth | 12/1 |
| Jimmy Walker | 15/1 |
| Brandt Snedeker | 20/1 |
| Hideki Matsuyama | 25/1 |
| Sergio Garcia | 30/1 |
| Jim Furyk | 30/1 |
| Bill Haas | 30/1 |
| Nick Watney | 30/1 |
| Charl Schwartzel | 30/1 |
| J.B. Holmes | 30/1 |
| Harris English | 30/1 |
| Keegan Bradley | 40/1 |
| Webb Simpson | 40/1 |
| Hunter Mahan | 40/1 |
| Justin Thomas | 50/1 |
| Ryan Moore | 50/1 |
| Graham DeLaet | 50/1 |
| Gary Woodland | 50/1 |
| Bernd Wiesberger | 60/1 |
| Russell Henley | 60/1 |
| Brendon Todd | 60/1 |
| Charley Hoffman | 60/1 |
| Kevin Chappell | 60/1 |
| Sang-Moon Bae | 60/1 |
| Marc Leishman | 60/1 |
| Robert Streb | 60/1 |
| Charlie Beljan | 60/1 |
| Charles Howell III | 80/1 |
| Scott Stallings | 80/1 |
| Luke Donald | 80/1 |
| Kevin Na | 80/1 |
| Brendan Steele | 80/1 |
| Shawn Stefani | 80/1 |
| Aaron Baddeley | 80/1 |
| Francesco Molinari | 80/1 |
| Brian Harman | 80/1 |
| Alex Prugh | 80/1 |
| Pat Perez | 80/1 |
| Matt Jones | 100/1 |
| K.J. Choi | 100/1 |
| Rory Sabbatini | 100/1 |
| Paul Casey | 100/1 |
| Jason Kokrak | 100/1 |
| Cameron Tringale | 100/1 |
| Ernie Els | 100/1 |
| Brendon de Jonge | 100/1 |
| Tony Finau | 100/1 |
| Field (all others) | 3/1 |
The first name this week is the guy in the picture at the top of your screens — Keegan Bradley. Why Keegan? Well, any time a guy flat-out says a course is his favorite on tour, you’ve kind of got to like his chances. Bradley has been solid thus far in 2015 but hasn’t been great. A venue he loves and has had great success at in the past could be just what he needs to get back into the winner’s circle. At 40/1, you’ll be rewarded handsomely on Monday.
Another guy who seems to enjoy his time at Riviera is Charl Schwartzel. It’s hard to believe he’s only got one win on the PGA Tour in his illustrious career (2011 Masters), but that could all change this week. I knew he’s played well at Riviera, but until I PGATour.com’s Mike McAllister pointed out that seven of eight career rounds at Riviera have been in the 60’s, I didn’t realize how well. A guy with that track record getting 30/1 is a great bet.
Next up is Dustin Johnson. DJ may have missed some time getting right and becoming a dad, but that doesn’t mean the eight-time PGA Tour winner didn’t play. In fact, he set the course record at Sherwood Country Club during his hiatus. He’s also played solid golf the last few weeks and looks to be rounding into championship form. He’s sandwiched a missed cut with a T-4 in 2012 and a runner-up last year in his last three starts at Riviera. At 12/1, he’s on everyone’s radar and not paying a huge money this week — but is still a solid bet.
I really like Robert Streb this week, too. I’ve been trying to keep the picks down to a couple sure-fire bets, but this week I can’t ignore Streb. Few players have been as consistent as Streb the last six months or so and despite a win, five top 10s, a top 20 and zero missed cuts on the 2014-15 campaign, he’s still getting 60/1 money this week. You’d be hard-pressed to find a bigger low-risk/high-reward bet this week than Robert Streb.
Brendan Steele is the last name I have for you this week. There’s no real scientific reason as to why. He played great at the Humana earlier this year, but doesn’t have the greatest track record at Riviera. That being said, his most recent result here was a T-10. Steele has as good a shot as anyone at grabbing the win this week and at 80/1, if he does you’ll be peelin’ off hundos on Monday.
Draft Kings
Last week I almost made my first money on Draft Kings — this week, I’m guaranteeing victory. If you think you can beat me, hop over to DraftKings.com and join the PGA $40K Chip Shot and go head-to-head with the best (me) the golf betting world has to offer — or, you know, copy my team and split the prize with me. If you give me credit, I won’t begrudge you too much.
Jim Furyk
Robert Streb
Hunter Mahan
Webb Simpson
Keegan Bradley
Charles Howell III
There you have it, friends and degenerate wagerers. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go kill some time watching dirt bikers wipe out on YouTube. Until next time, go and choose wisely…
– Golfstradamus
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