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11/112.00 Rahm the man for Steve at BMW
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66/167.00 Grillo gets nod as Dave aims for another winner
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Favourite Mac backed in Northern Ireland
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Long odds tips, key stats, first round bets and more
BMW Championship: Rahm the man to back at 11/1 in Illinois
Steve Rawlings: "Given the manner of his victory here in 2020, the way he performed at the Open when finishing tied for second, and how well he played after a slow start in Memphis last week (shot 67-67-68 after an opening 73 had left him too much to do), Jon Rahm is my idea of the most likely winner.
"His driving hasn't been up to its usual standard and that's most certainly a concern. But he's a very fair price on the exchange at 12.011/1 given he's a 10/111.00 chance on the High Street...
"Rahm has a habit of winning the same events and winning or performing very well at the same tracks. He finished second in Mexico at the end of April when defending and he won the Open de España back-to-back in 2018 and 2019.
"He's gone on to win that title for a third time since and he's also won the American Express twice, the Irish Open twice, and the DP World Tour Championship three times.
"He comes into the week top of the FedEx Cup Standings and given he's yet to win the FedEx Cup, he'll be extremely keen to stay ahead of the rest before next week's title-deciding Tour Championship. He's my sole selection before the off."
BMW Championship Each-Way Tips: Grillo is best hope of another 66/1 winner
Dave Tindall: "My best hope of repeating last week's 66/167.00 win has to be Emiliano Grillo. It's back to that form argument again and the Argentine isn't short of that.
"Like Homa and Henley, he's a winner this season and a recent one in fact following his play-off success over Adam Schenk in May's Charles Schwab Challenge.
"That was achieved with just 8-under which bodes well for a tough test like this. Grillo had a little dip after that but he's found his rhythm again over the last month or so...
"Last week he was third at the halfway mark of the FedEx St. Jude Championship and sixth with a round to go. A closing 71 saw him slip away to 20th.
"He's ranked in the top 15 for SG: Approach in six of his last 11 events while Grillo's short game stats have improved dramatically in recent times.
It's not quite a Lucas Glover-esque transformation with the putter but he's come a long way since losing nearly 10 strokes on the greens at Bay Hill. Across his last three events, Grillo has ranked 22nd or better for Strokes Gained: Putting so the flatstick has become an asset not a hindrance."
BMW Championship First-Round Leader Tips: Rose worth a play at 50/1
Dave Tindall: "Justin Rose has played feast or famine golf over the last month or so. He made the top four in July's British Masters but followed that with missed cuts in the Scottish Open and the Open Championship.
"Rose took it to new extremes in last week's St. Jude Championship, opening with a 76 but going 15 shots lower with a 61 in round three. As for this market, the Englishman was the FRL at the British Masters while he also led the way on Thursday in this event on on his third appearance.
"We don't really know what we'll get with Rose at the moment but given that the upside is seriously good, let's play him at 50/151.00 (1/5, six places). The man who has led the US Masters after 18 holes on four different occasions tees off at 08.59."
BMW Championship: Form stats
Andy Swales: "This lush parkland course has a naturally rolling terrain, with tight tree-lined fairways. There are plenty of bunkers to remain clear of, while the players will also need to take care with the layout's handful of tricky dog-legs;
"The Bentgrass putting surfaces and fairways are over-seeded with Poa annua. Butterfield Creek travels across a number of holes, although the only sizeable pond or lake arrives at 18. However, the world's best players should only be concerned by water hazards on five holes...
"Max Homa is now part of golf's elite group of players. Five PGA Tour titles during the past two and a half years, with the 32-year-old looking well placed to secure a Ryder Cup debut in early autumn."
ISPS Handa World Invitational: MacIntyre the worthy favourite
Steve Rawlings: "Robert MacIntyre heads the market and I'm a little surprised how big he is. No bigger than 12/113.00 on the High Street, the Scotsman's been matched at as high as 18.017/1 on the exchange and that's far too big given his credentials."
"MacIntyre finished down the field at the Open Championship last time out but that was hardly surprising given he was such an unlucky loser at the Scottish Open the week before...
"He'll be nicely refreshed after three weeks off and, although he missed the cut here back in 2018 on his only previous visit to Galgorm, his seventh-placed finish at Muthaiga (sat second with a round to go) back in April suggests the venue should suit him.
"Add in the fact that he gets to play a links course in round one or two and his chance just gets stronger. He's one of best links exponents around - as he showed in the Scottish last month - and he's a very worthy favourite."
ISPS Handa World Invitational Each-Way Tip: 16/1 Perez can be victor
Matt Cooper: "Back in 2019, Victor Perez broke through at this level with victory in that event and he has added wins as the fast-running Bernardus in the Netherlands and at Yas Links in Abu Dhabi earlier this year (when the column was on him).
"Just to add to the baffling form lines coming into this event the last two winners at Al Hamra in the UAE - a resort course - are Gavins and Fox, both formers winners here. And the first winner at Al Hamra, Jordan Smith, very nearly won at Galgorm, too.
"The good news is that Perez has played Al Hamra three times finishing seventh, second and 13th (after a very slow start).
"And if you want to bypass all the supposition he played at Galgorm Castle in 2018 on the Challenge Tour and opened with rounds of 68-64-65 to share the pre-final round lead before a 71 left him fourth."
Find Me a 100 Winner: Nicely primed Lewis chanced at big odds
Steve Rawlings: "Tom Lewis, who won the Boys Amateur Championship at Royal St Georges' in 2009 and the St Andrews Links Trophy in 2011, famously tied for the lead on his Open Championship debut after round one, having played alongside Tom Watson, so we know he loves links golf.
"Lewis played in the Northern Irish Open at Galgorm in 2016 (his only previous appearance here) and he finished ninth and on the only other occasions he's played in Northern Ireland, he finished 11th behind Shane Lowry in the Open at Royal Portrush so he should have very positive vibes this week.
"A two-time DP World Tour winner and a winner on the Korn Ferry Tour, Lewis is a very good player on his day and it's only two years since he was contending strongly in a World Golf Championship event at last week's FedEx Cup Championship venue - TPC Southwind."
ISPS HANDA World Invitational: Course and current form stats
Andy Swales: "Over the opening two days, the golfers will play one round at Galgorm, and another 18 holes at Castlerock which is located 35 miles to the north;
"The final two rounds will be staged at Galgorm, with a second cut taking place on Saturday evening. The traditional Friday cut will involve the top-60 players and ties, while the second cut after 54 holes reduces the field to 35 and ties...
"Alex Fitzpatrick, the fast-rising younger brother of US Open winner Matt, is certainly making a name for himself. The 24-year-old from Sheffield enjoyed a recent victory on the Challenge Tour, which followed his tie-for-17th in The Open at Hoylake. The one concern is whether he remains physically and mentally sharp after competing in 12 of the last 14 weeks."