BMW Championship: Rahm ready to go in again
The PGA Tour heads to Delaware this week for the second of the three FedEx Cup Playoff events. Steve Rawlings previews the BMW Championship...
Steve says: "In addition to Cantlay, Rahm and Thomas, the first 11 winners of this event had all shown something recently. Incredibly, 10 of the 11 had finished inside the top-10 in either of the first two FedEx Cup Series events. The only exception had been Zach Johnson at Conway Farms in 2013 but he'd been in fine fettle before the series began and prior to finishing 27th in the Dell Technologies, after skipping the Northern Trust, he'd finished fifth in the Wyndham Championship.
"If you want to nail that down further, the 2017 winner, Marc Leishman, was the seventh winner in 11 years to have finished inside the top-three in one of the first two Playoff events, although interestingly, nobody ever won the BMW having finished inside the top-10 in both previous Playoff events...
"Jon Rahm has had a slow year by his standards, winning only the Mexico Open in May, but he caught the eye last week when finishing fifth and ranking first for both Greens In Regulation and Scrambling.
"Ordinary putting and the distraction of the birth of his second son are reasons we can put forward for a lacklustre 2022. But he looks poised to put that behind him this week and he's the most likely winner for me."
Steve's bet: Back Jon Rahm @ 16.015/1
BMW Championship Each-Way Tips: Theegala to take first win
Dave Tindall has three each-way tips as a 70-man field battle it out at Wilmington CC in Delaware...
Dave says: "I'm going to open with a punt on Sahith Theegala at 80/1 which seems a fair price in a field now reduced to 70 players.
"Theegala mixes current and regional form due to a second place at the Travelers Championship in late June. TPC River Highlands is a four-hour drive up the east coast from Wilmington.
"In truth, Theegala should have won but he's not let his head drop. The American with Indian heritage was tied 16th at John Deere a week later, had a good Open debut and started with a 63 before banking tied 13th in last week's St Jude Championship, a result which moved him to 28th in the FedEx Cup rankings.
"As it stands, that's just enough to punch his ticket to East Lake but he needs to keep his foot down."
Dave's bet: Back Sean Crocker @ 29.028/1
Find Me a 100 Winner: In-form Trey to enjoy Wilmington test
Our man's off to Prague and Delaware in the pursuit of a big priced winner this week and he has outsiders to trade at both the Czech Masters and first the BMW Championship...
Steve says: "Trey Mullinax, the big-hitting 30-year-old, got off the mark on the PGA Tour in July when he birdied the last hole at Keene Trace Golf Club to edge out Kevin Streelman by a stroke in the Barbasol Championship.
"Like Wilmington, Keene Trace has large bentgrass greens and unlike last week's venue, TPC Southwind, Wilmington is far more likely to suit a big bomber off the tee like Mullinax.
"Since winning in Kentucky in July, and prior to his fifth place finish last week, Mullinax finished 21st in the Open Championship and 37th at the Rocket Mortgage Classic so he's got a reasonable bank of recent form and odds of around 200.0199/1 are just too big at a venue that should suit."
Steve's bet: Back 2u Trey Mullinax @ 190.0189/1
Place order to lay 8u @ 10.09/1 & 10u @ 2.35/4
BMW Championship: Form stats for this week's PGA Tour event
Andy Swales discusses the players' form ahead of the BMW Championship and selects his ones to watch this week...
Andy says: "Laid out in the rolling hills of Delaware Valley, Wilmington's South Course was designed by Robert Trent Jones and opened in 1960.
"It was renovated in 2008 and for this week's BMW Championship will be over 7,500 yards in length. It is a heavily-bunkered parkland course with contoured greens and water coming into play on five holes...
"Joo Hyung Kim, the young South Korean, is buzzing following a maiden PGA Tour victory two weeks ago. He started the year ranked No 131 in the world, and is now up to 19 thanks to a string of excellent performances in North America, Europe and Asia."
Andy's Player to Watch: Back Joo Hyung Kim @ 29.028/1
Czech Masters: Powerhouses set to prosper in Prague
The DP World Tour returns to the Czech Republic for the eighth edition of the Czech Masters and Steve has the lowdown ahead of Thursday's start here...
Steve says: "The Albatross is a lengthy course and three of the six course winners to date have been long hitters but two of the last five have ranked only 40th and 41st. The front three last year ranked 17th, 13th and 19th.
"Length appears more important than accuracy though. Thomas Pieters ranked fourth for Driving Distance when he won the event for a second time three years ago, and he ranked first in 2015 when taking the title for the first time. Pelle Edberg, who finished second to Pieters seven years ago, ranked second for DD and the big-hitting South African, Dean Burmester, ranked first for DD 12 months ago when finishing sixth...
"Sean Crocker missed the cut in Wales two weeks ago, just days after winning the Hero Open in fine style and I'm more than happy to dismiss that performance. Cocker finished second on debut 12 months ago and he could very easily bounce back here after a week off.
"When interviewed during the Cazoo Open, he mentioned he was looking forward to going on holiday to Ibiza so if that was last week the prep won't have been ideal but I'm happy to take a chance given he ranked fifth for Driving Distance, second for Greens In Regulation and sixth for putting Average when winning in Scotland and he may well be inspired by last week's winner, Ewen Ferguson, who was winning his second DP World Tour event in a matter of months."
Steve's bet: Back Sahith Theegala each-way @ 81.080/1
Czech Masters Each-Way Tips: Chance for Lawrence to Czech in
Matt Cooper has three selections with the Betfair Sportsbook paying seven places for the action at the Albatross Resort this week...
Matt says: "South Africa's Thriston Lawrence sits sixth in the par-5 rankings this year and has plundered them when playing his best golf. There's been plenty of that too and it started with victory in his first start at the Joburg Open. He was 7-under for the long holes that week which was reduced to just 36 holes.
"Some may have considered that victory as a bit of a fluke given the odd circumstances, but he's backed it up with another 10 top 25 finishes. The best of those have been second in the Kenya Open (14-under on the long holes), tied third in the Irish Open (10-under), tied eighth in the Steyn City Championship (11-under) and tied ninth in the MyGolfLife Open (13-under).
"The 25-year-old was a Lytham Trophy winner as an amateur but had early troubles in the pro game. He's found a way of playing his best, is making the most of his form this season and another win looks well within his grasp."
Matt's bet: Back Thriston Lawrence each-way @ 29.028/1
Czech Masters: Course and current form stats
Andy Swales discusses the players' form ahead of the Czech Masters, fills us in on the course and selects his ones to watch this week...
Andy says: "Albatross Golf Resort, which will once again be hosting the tournament, was opened 13 years ago at a cost of over €15m and situated approximately 12 miles south-west of Prague city centre.
"It is a gently undulating parkland course perched 1,300 feet above sea level. Water comes into play on nine holes, with some of the ponds more precariously positioned than others. Long, exposed and with few trees close to fairways, the course is an open invitation for the big hitters. However, the undulating, sizeable putting surfaces will certainly require plenty of attention these next few days...
"The struggling Englishman Eddie Pepperell has shown some decent form in recent weeks which suggests his game and confidence is finally improving once again. Has a solid record at Albatross where he has posted a trio of top-10s from six starts. The former world No 32 was runner-up recently in Scotland."
Andy's Player to Watch: Back Eddie Pepperell @ 46.045/1