2016 PGA: Quicken Loans National Preview & Betting Tips

2016 PGA: Quicken Loans National

Where: Bethesda, Maryland (Congressional CC)
When: Thursday 23^rd June (9:00pm first tee)
Purse: $6,900,000

Congratulations to first time Major winner Dustin Johnson. He took care of business at Oakmont despite the incompetent efforts of the USGA. Dustin Johnson (DJ) has been knocking at the door for so long now and I believe he is just the type of character golf needs to attract the more casual viewer.
He can be a train wreck off the course. His putting is streaky at best. He absolutely crushes it off the tee and has one of the hottest girlfriends on the planet. Either love him or hate him, my bet is you will continue to watch him. On and off the course. This is a great opportunity for the PGA to sell “the bad boy of golf”.

This week the PGA tour heads approximately 200 miles south to the Congressional country club. The Quicken Loans National. Formally the AT&T National is actually Tiger Woods tournament. However, the Tiger Woods foundation and charity still obviously feel his name is not appropriate. Else this tournament might be called the Tiger Woods Invitational.

Congressional country club (blue course) is a 7574-yard par 72 but plays as a par 71 for PGA Tour events. The 11^th hole is usually a par 5 but is reduced to a long par 4. It has a slope rating of 142 and for us weekend warriors that translates to very hard. Back in 2011 Congressional hosted the U.S. Open. Rory McIlroy won his first major with a record U.S Open score of 16 under (8 shots clear). This very low score was due to a rain-soaked course. I wouldn’t expect such low scores this weekend.

The field is very watered down this week. Possibly because of the Olympics scheduling. Regardless there is still some value and a chance to make some cash. Here are my picks for the Quicken Loans National.

Brendan Steele

Since missing the cut at the RBC Heritage back in April. Steele has been putting up some solid performances. Including a T13 at the Texas Open, T14 at the Wells Fargo and T15 last week at the U.S. Open. He has the weapons to win here. He is long off the tee (averages 303.7 yards) and hits 69.17 % of greens (ranked 19^th). Also has a good record at Congressional. Finished T5 in 2014 and T16 in 2013.
Tip: Brendan Steele to win outright - $29 at CrownBet
+ Steele to finish top 10 - $3.50 at CrownBet

Marc Leishman

The Aussie has finished in the Top 20 in his last three starts. Including a T18 at the U.S. Open last week. Not as long as Brendan Steele but a much better putter. Ranked 16^th strokes gained putting. Leishman finished in the Top 10 here in 2014. He is a great pick in this cut down field.
Tip: Marc Leishman to win outright - $29 at CrownBet
+ Leishman to finish top 10 - $3.50 at CrownBet

Daniel Summerhays

Summerhays had his best finish of the year last week at the U.S. Open (T8th). He has eight Top 25’s this season with $1,127,500 in earnings. His putting is his greatest asset. Summerhays finished T17 here in 2012 and T30 here in 2014. Another player that will be very focussed with the watered down field.
Tip: Daniel Summerhays to win outright - $51 at CrownBet
+Summerhays to finish Top 10 - $6.00 at CrownBet