Another week, another PGA Tour event to look forward to as we head to Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio for the Workday Charity Open. The action gets underway on Thursday night and a solid field has been assembled for what will ultimately be a one off tournament on the PGA Tour schedule.
As usual, we have a full preview and betting tips for the upcoming week in the PGA Tour below.
Workday Charity Open Betting Tips
We had a great week in terms of betting at the Rocket Mortgage Classic last week, with our No.1 ranked player Bryson DeChambeau claiming the win and our best bet of the tournament (Tyrell Hatton to finish top 10) saluting comfortably at a good price of $2.10.
We will head to Muirfield Village Golf Club a week early this season. The normal host of the Memorial Tournament, the course will serve as host for this week’s event as well as the Memorial next week, so many players will be taking the opportunity to get some ‘practice’ competitive rounds in this week before the bigger tournament kicks off next Thursday.
The Field
The stars are back in action this week as three of the top five players in the world will line-up in Dublin, Ohio on Thursday. Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka will headline the event while some of the other notable players include Patrick Cantlay, Patrick Reed, Xander Schauffele, Jason Day, Jordan Spieth, Gary Woodland, Phil Mickelson and Justin Rose.
Patrick Cantlay won the Memorial Tournament, so although that this will be the first and only Workday Charity Open, he holds the form at the course, and will look to win at least one more trophy at Muirfield this season.
Other past winners at the course include the likes of Jason Dufner, William McGirt, David Lingmerth, Hideki Matsuyama, Matt Kuchar, Steve Striker and Justin Rose. Tiger Woods has won the Memorial five times and although we won’t see him this week at the Workday Charity Open, there is no doubt that he will make his return to the tour next week at the Memorial.
The Course
Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio is a 7,392 yard, Par 72 that was designed by the great Jack Nicklaus and opened back in 1974. Along with the annual Memorial Tournament, the club has also hosted the Ryder Cup, Solheim Cup and the Presidents Cup.
The Course is set to undergo major renovations following the Memorial Tournamnet this season, so this might be the last time we see this iteration of the famous course. There are 71 bunkers littered throughout the course and water in play on 11 of the 18 holes.
Hitting the fairways isn’t particularly difficult at Muirfield, but if you miss them, the rough is extremely difficult to hit out of. The greens and surrounding areas are particularly difficult, and we will be placing more emphasis on scrambling and putting this week over tee to green play.
Power Rankings
1. Justin Thomas ($12.00 at Bet365)
The No.4 player in the world comes into the tournament this week as our top player on the Workday Charity Open power rankings. JT had the week off for the Rocket Mortgage Insurance, which would have given him time to rest and re-group after a disappointing missed cut at the Travelers two weeks ago. Before that, Thomas had impressive 10th and 8th finishes at the Charles Schwab and RBC and has decent pedigree at Muirfield, finishing 4th at the Memorial in 2017 and 8th in 2018.
2. Justin Rose ($23.00 at Bet365)
Another Justin comes in at No.2 with the Englishman Rose also having the benefit of the week off instead of playing the Rocket Mortgage. Rose was also solid in the Charles Schwab and RBC, finishing 3rd and 14th respectively, before also missing the cut at the Travelers. Of all of the players playing this week, Rose has arguably the best record at Muirfield, finishing inside the top 15 in eight of his 13 trips there dating back to 2004 including the victory in 2010.
3. Patrick Cantlay ($15.00 at Bet365)
Having the No.9 player in the world and defending Memorial champion any lower would be disrespectful. The only reason he slips to No.3 behind Rose is his lack of golf played recently. Since the return of the PGA Tour a few weeks ago, Cantlay has played just one tournament, in which he finished T11 at the Travelers. Has made three trips to Muirfield in the past, finishing 35th, 4th and 1st respectively. Should be in the mix once again on a course that really suits him.
4. Matt Kuchar ($41.00 at Bet365)
Missed the cut at the Memorial last season, but that was just the second time in 14 trips to Muirfield that he has missed the cut and the first since back in 2003. His record at the Memorial is unbelievably solid, racking up top 10 finishes on seven occasions including the win in 2013. In fact, apart from the missed cut last season, ‘Kooch’ has finished in the top 26 every year since 2003.
5. Rickie Fowler ($31.00 at Bet365)
Rickie was disappointing in his first two touranments back from the break, missing the cut at both the Charles Schwab and the RBC Heritage. After week off, he bounced back at the Rocket Mortgage on the weekend, finishing T12. What we are more interested in, however, is the form he has at Muirfield. Rickie plays EVERY single year at the Memorial, racking up seven cuts made, five top 25 and three top 10 finishes from 10 events played.
Best Bet
Can’t get enough of Kuchar this week. The guy just quietly goes about his business and seems to always go well in the tournaments where his counterparts might not necessarily be taking them as seriously. Can see a lot of the top guys having one eye on the Memorial next week and trying things in preparation, Kooch on the other hand, will have his eyes on the Workday Charity Open crown and the 500 FedEx Cup points that come with it.
Dark Horses
Jason Dufner ($141) Won the Memorial Tournament in 2017 and also finished 7th last season. Has a sneaky good record at Muirfield, having played there all of the last six seasons and only missing the cut once.
Kyle Stanley ($141) Missed the cut at both the RBC and the Rocket Mortgage on the weekend but has a stellar record at Murefield, making the top 10 in three of his last five trips to the Memorial.
Pat Perez ($201) After missing the cut in his first five Memorial Tournaments from 2002-2007, the veteran has not missed a cut in his last 10 tripe to Muirfield, racking up four top 25 finishes in that span.
