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The best bets for Bank of Utah and Genesis Championship
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Steve Rawlings previews and will provide weekend in-play blog
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Dave Tindall's each-way tips and Matt Cooper's 99/1 plus tips
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Andy Swales brings course info and form players
Bank of Utah Championship tips and predictions
Bank of Utah Championship: The Punter's Preview
Steve Rawlings: "Last year, the pre-event 55.0 chance, Matt McCarty, who was playing in just his third PGA Tour event, having missed the cut at the 2022 US Open and having finished 63rd at the Sanderson Farms Championship the week before, trailed by two after he'd shot 62 in round one!
"He was still two back at halfway but after a 64 on Saturday, he led by two with a round to go. Trading at around 2.7, he didn't look generously priced given four men were tied for second, but it didn't take him long to settle his nerves...
"Local resident, Patrick Fishburn, missed the cut last year but he could be an interesting candidate this week. He hits a long way off the tee but he's not especially straight so this wide layout should suit him better than most.
"After a sixth placed finish in the Sanderson Farms Championship and a 10th at the Baycurrent Classic last time out, Christiaan Bezuidenhout arrives in Utah in form, and he might one to side with before the off. He finished runner-up in the American Express last year with a 28-under-par total so he may well take to the venue on debut."
Dave Tindall's Each-way Picks: Back Bez at 30/1
Dave Tindall: "South Africans grow up playing plenty of golf at altitude and Bezuidenhout captured the 2020 South African Open at Gary Player Country Club in Sun City - a venue nearly 4,500 feet above sea level. As for desert form, he's shown it on both the DP World Tour and PGA Tour. In the former he was runner-up in both the 2019 Qatar Masters and 2020 Dubai Desert Classic.
"And the 31-year-old's joint-best finish on American soil came in the 2024 American Express when he again finished second having posted 11th at the California desert venue the year before. After October finishes of 10th at the Sanderson Farms Championship followed by sixth in the Baycurrent Classic a fortnight ago he has some of the best form of this weakish field.
"Bezuidenhout boasts five international wins; now it's time to do a Tommy Fleetwood and get his first on American soil."
Back Christiaan Bezuidenhout each-way (8 Places)
Find Me a 100 Winner: Jaeger at great chance at 99/1
Matt Cooper: "Last year's winner of this tournament, Matt McCarty, dropped a pretty big hint about his suitability a few weeks before. Because the host venue, the Black Desert Resort, is at 962m of altitude and McCarty had just won the Boise Open at 824m in Idaho.
"The ability to make the most of thin air, or to relish the maths involved with tweaking yardages, is a real factor when playing high above sea level and the German Stephan Jaeger is another former winner of the Boise Open, in his case back in 2020 when he had warmed up for the test by finishing third high in the Colorado mountains a few weeks earlier.
"Jaeger was fourth on defence of the Boise title and he finished second behind McCarty 12 months ago after opening 65-63 to hold a one shot halfway lead. A six-time winner on the second tier, he broke through at the top level after going toe-to-toe with Scottie Scheffler to win last year's Houston Open. He's not had a top 10 since May, but his Approach stats last time out were his best of that period and his Putting effort was not far off. A great chance for him to land win number two."
Back Stephan Jaeger (2us)
Place order to lay 8 Us @ 10.0 and 12 Us @ 2.0
Bank of Utah Championship: Form stats
Form pick:
"England's Matt Wallace put so much into trying to qualify for this year's Ryder Cup that he could easily be forgiven if his season just petered out towards the end of the year. And there were signs that might happen when he missed the cut at the Sanderson Farms Championshiop a few week ago.
"But Wallace appeals as someone who never gives up and he bounced back with a top 10 finish on the PGA Tour two weeks ago, meaning he has just one MC to his name in his last eight starts, and has recorded finishes of third, second and tenth in that time."
Matt Wallace
Genesis Championship tips and predictions
Genesis Championship: The Punter's Preview
Steve Rawlings: "There have been a couple of strange results here... Y.E Yang sat tied for 12th and 10 strokes back after 54 holes back in 2010 before he went on to win. The five-stroke third round leader, Seung-yul Noh, who shot 79 on Sunday, certainly helped his cause and it looks like poor weather helped too given there were so few rounds in the 60s in round four. Yang shot 66 to win by two!
"The latest course winner, Min-kyu Kim, trailed by six at halfway when he won here for the first time in 2022 and Sang-moon Bae was nine adrift in a tie for 33rd at halfway in 2009 but every other course winner this century has been inside the top eight places after 36 holes and 54 holes leaders have a great record with nine of the 16 players to hold a clear advantage through three rounds going on to win...
"Although he's never played here competitively (if at all), the defending champ, Byeung-hun An, is an interesting runner given he finished fourth in Japan in his last start two weeks ago and not having played here doesn't look like it'll be a huge handicap."
Genesis Championship First Round Leader Tips: Count on Campillio
"After a sticky run through August and September, Jorge Campillo is on the move again. The Spaniard, a runner-up at the Turkish Airlines Open in May, posted 21st at the Alfred Dunhill Championship and added 11th in last week's India Championship.
"He opened with a 66 in Scotland while a 67 in India put him fourth after day one. That was also the position he occupied after 18 holes of late September's Open de France so Campillo has been making an early impact. His other selling point is a third place (ninth after R1) in the Korea Championsip the last time he visited the country in 2023. Campillo has a 12.35 start so will get the warmer weather. Back him at an attractive 80/181.00."
Back Jorge Campillo each-way for FRL
Genesis Championship: Form stats
Form pick:
"Nakajima finished second at last week's India Championship, just two shots behind winner Tommy Fleetwood, and could be primed to go one better in Korea this week. It was his best finish since he came fourth at the British Masters in August - with a couple of finishes in the 40s and two missed cuts in between - so he looks to be finding form just as the Tour reaches East Asia."
Keita Nakajima