Vacationers Championship: Betting odds, worth picks, perception

The eighth and closing Signature Occasion of the 2024 season has arrived, as the perfect gamers on the PGA Tour head to the Northeast for the Vacationers Championship.

Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, and Rory McIlroy, recent off his heartbreaking end on the U.S. Open, headline the 72-man discipline at TPC River Highlands. Collin Morikawa, Ludvig Åberg, and Viktor Hovland will tee it up in Connecticut this week, too.

Not like Pinehurst No. 2, this golf course yields loads of birdies whereas putting a premium on iron play. It’s a second-shot golf course, and whoever can take advantage of par-breakers this week sometimes wins. You must also count on a closing rating round 18 or 20-under-par, with a number of 62s and 63s shot over the course of the week. Heck, Jim Furyk shot a 58 on this format in 2016, which nonetheless stands because the lowest rating ever on the PGA Tour.

Vacationers Championship Odds:

Listed here are the present odds for gamers to win this week, supplied by DraftKings.

• Scottie Scheffler +400
• Xander Schauffele +800
• Rory McIlroy +850
• Collin Morikawa +1200
• Ludvig Åberg +1600
• Viktor Hovland +2000
• Patrick Cantlay +2200
• Hideki Matsuyama +2500
• Sam Burns +3500
• Russell Henley +3500
• Justin Thomas +3500
• Brian Harman +3500
• Tony Finau +3500
• Tommy Fleetwood +3500
• Tom Kim +4500
• Sungjae Im +4500
• Si Woo Kim +4500
• Sepp Straka +4500
• Jordan Spieth +4500
• Max Homa +5000
• Matthew Fitzpatrick +5000
• Wyndham Clark +5000

Picture by Ben Jared/PGA Tour by way of Getty Pictures

Vacationers Championship Perception, Predictions:

Keegan Bradley, the New England native and diehard Boston sports activities fan, received this occasion final yr at 23-under-par, thanks partially to a gap 8-under 62 on Thursday and a 7-under 63 on Friday. He led the sector in strokes gained method and strokes gained placing, which explains why his closing 72-hole rating set a brand new event document.

Xander Schauffele continues scorching stretch

Good ball strikers and strong putters are inclined to do nicely on this golf course. Xander Schauffele, who matches that billing, received this occasion two years in the past, marking his sixth profession win on the PGA Tour. He has received two extra tournaments since, together with this yr’s PGA Championship.

Picture by Michael Reaves/Getty Pictures

Schauffele additionally recorded his tenth top-10 end of the season at Pinehurst No. 2, regardless of not having his finest stuff all through the week.

Realizing that Schauffele has received on this golf course earlier than and has performed the perfect golf of his profession all through 2024, we like Schauffele to document a top-five end at +180.

Massive Ton’ posts back-to-back top-10s

If not for an unlucky triple bogey on the thirteenth gap through the third spherical of the U.S. Open, Tony Finau might have vied for the title till the very finish. He wound up tying for third, ending at 4-under-par, two strokes behind Bryson DeChambeau.

Regardless of that, Finau’s sport has rounded into type, as he has his 4 straight top-20 finishes over the past month.

Picture by Gregory Shamus/Getty Pictures

He’s a terrific ball-striker—Finau is third on the PGA Tour in strokes gained approaching the inexperienced. His putter has let him down at instances, but it surely didn’t have an effect on him a lot at Pinehurst No. 2. He gained 0.43 strokes on the greens for the week, rating thirty ninth among the many discipline.

Contemplating the greens at TPC River Highlands come nowhere near those at Pinehurst No. 2, we like Finau to have one other above-average week with the putter and end within the high 10 at +280.

Ludvig Åberg bounces again after robust weekend

Like Finau, the thirteenth gap acquired the perfect of Ludvig Åberg on Saturday afternoon. He made a triple bogey there, which all however ended his probabilities.

However, Åberg will bounce again this week. He has shortly change into top-of-the-line ball-strikers on the planet, as seemingly each iron shot has a excessive ball flight and goes as straight as an arrow. That’s a wonderful mixture on any golf course, particularly a good one like TPC River Highlands.

Plus, Åberg performed on the Vacationers Championship final yr, tying for twenty fourth and ending at 13-under par. He even shot a 5-under 65 on Saturday, a formidable spherical provided that he had completed up his tenure at Texas Tech roughly one month earlier than. However figuring out that Åberg has some expertise on this course, and given his very good expertise, we like him to additionally end within the high 5 at +330.

It’s Russell Henley time

Maybe essentially the most underrated participant within the sport proper now, Russell Henley arrives in Connecticut recent off a tie for seventh on the U.S. Open. He carded a 3-under 67 within the closing spherical, serving to him document a back-door high 10, however Henley has 4 different high 10 finishes this season. He’s additionally the Sixteenth-ranked participant on the planet, due to his strong ball placing and glorious placing.

Picture by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Pictures

Henley doesn’t miss the golf green typically and thus awards himself loads of alternatives to make birdie. His sport ought to translate nicely to this course, the place he has had some success. Henley’s finest end got here in 2018 when he tied for sixth. He has since tied for nineteenth in his previous two begins, in 2021 and 2023. However this yr, we like Henley to submit a outcome higher than that. He’s +3500 to win, which we’re drastically contemplating, however we like him to complete within the high 5 at +650.

Longshot Contender and Winner

Frenchman Matthieu Pavon performed nicely sufficient to earn a spot within the final group of the U.S. Open and held his personal for many of the closing spherical. He shot a 1-over 71 to complete solo fifth, as an early bogey stumbled his momentum. However Pavon placed on a ball-striking and placing clinic all week at Pinehurst No. 2, an indication that his sport is trending in the fitting route.

He is aware of what it takes to win, too, having received on the Farmers Insurance coverage Open earlier this yr. As such, we like Pavon to submit one other top-10 at +800 in Connecticut. His sport appears to come back in waves, and he’s using excessive proper now.

Picture by David Cannon/Getty Pictures

As for a longshot winner, we like South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout to get the job executed at +7500. Bezuidenhout couldn’t get any momentum going on the U.S. Open, ending in a tie for thirty second at 7-over for the week. However he performed constant golf and didn’t blow up on any day, carding three 71s and a 72 on the par-70 format. However, Bezuidenhout is a terrific putter, rating eleventh on the PGA Tour in strokes gained placing. He’s an above-average ball striker too.

The South African isn’t a bomber, both, an attribute not wanted on this 6,852-yard format, the shortest course on tour this season. As an alternative, he depends on his ball-striking and his quick sport to get the job executed.

Employees Picks:

Our SB Nation golf employees has made their alternatives for this week’s Vacationers Championship. For extra perception as to why, try their picks and predictions right here:

Jack Milko: Corey Conners (+3500)

Jeanna Kelley: Collin Morikawa (+1200)

Savannah Richardson: Ludvig Åberg (+1400)

For all different sports activities betting content material, try SB Nation’s DraftKings web site.

Jack Milko is a golf employees author for SB Nation’s Enjoying Via. You’ll want to try @_PlayingThrough for extra golf protection. You may observe him on Twitter @jack_milko as nicely.