Golf Tips: Best bets for CJ Cup Byron Nelson and Soudal Open

CJ Cup Byron Nelson tips and predictions

The Punter's Preview: Make Cole the selection at 69/1

Steve Rawlings: With the world number one Scottie Scheffler so short [in the Betfair market], there's value further down the list and the one I like is last year's fifth, Eric Cole, who arrives back in Texas in fair form.

In his last three starts, he's finished 14^th in the Texas Open, sixth in the Zurich pairs, alongside Hank Lebioda, and sixth last time out in the Myrtle Beach Classic, where he ranked seventh for Putting Average and sixth for Strokes Gained: Putting.

In addition to finishing fifth last year, he finished 23^rd on his only other previous visit here in 2023 and on the only occasion he played in the World Wide Technology Championship at El Cardonal he finished 10^th.

Each-Way Picks: Back Thompson to come good again

Dave Tindall: Two years ago, Davis Thompson gave this column a 20/1 winner at the John Deere Classic. Shooting 28-under and winning by four showed he could come out on top in a birdie-fest. One of the keys to getting him onside was that he was in really good form.

It's a similar story this week. After flashing some good play with a fourth place in Puerto Rico, Thompson has really found a consistent groove in recent weeks. He was 14th at the nearby Texas Open, sixth in the Zurich Classic pairs event and 13th at the Myrtle Beach Classic last time out.

His Tee To Green stats show Thompson ranked third in that category at the Texas Open and 10th at Myrtle Beach. He was in the top 12 for SG: Approach in both...

While his record on the pre-renovated course looks disappointing, he shot rounds of 66 and 67 on debut and a Friday 68 when missing the cut last year. Over the last eight weeks, he ranks third in this field for SG: Tee To Green and that's far more trustworthy than course form on a track that has had a serious revamp.

First Round Leader Tips: Blades can cut through the field

Dave Tindall: I've gone for teenage sensation Blades Brown in my outright preview and he has to be worth a go in this market too.

Brown made eyes widen when shooting a second-round 60 at The American Express at the start of the season and he's since reeled off a series of good finishes across the Korn Ferry Tour (a second and a third) and the PGA Tour (a third and a ninth).

In his last three events he's posted a 64 and four 66s so the birdies are flowing. And wind back to last year, Brown flew out of the blocks with a 61 in another Texas event - the Korn Ferry's Veritex Bank Championship.

Steve Rawlings' Long Odds Pick: 300/1301.00 Van Rooyen fits the bill

Given he won the World Wide Technology Championship in 2023 in 27-under-par, and that all his wins across various Tours have been in low scoring affairs, it's no surprise to see that this birdie-fest suits Erik Van Rooyen.

His current form figures read a somewhat uninspiring 48-59-17-38 but he had current form figures reading MC-62-MC-MC before he finished second last year and that's far from the only time that he's performed well when seemingly out of form.

He's shortened up form a high of 530.0529/1 but he's still a very fair price at 300.0299/1.

Course and current form stats

Course Form Pick: Jordan Spieth tends to enjoy playing here, finishing fourth last year and runner-up in 2022. A top 20 at the US PGA was a decent effort and, back at a favoured venue, he could be in contention.

Soudal Open tips and predictions

The Punter's Preview: Casey worth chancing at 30/1

Steve Rawlings: Casey Jarvis, who very nearly won three DP World Tour events in-a-row when he finished second at the Joburg Open in March, caught the eye when he posted a bogey-free four-under-par 31 on the tough back-nine on Sunday. He's worth chancing at 32.031/1 around a course that should suit his eye.

His first victory on the DP World Tour, at the end of February, was in the Kenya Open at the tree-lined Karen Country Club. There's every reason to think he can take to Rinkven despite his poor course form figures reading MC-37.

He's a completely different player now and after an underwhelming short spell in the States, where 20^th in the Zurich pairs event alongside Canada's A.J Ewart was the highlight, he can return to winning ways on the DP World Tour.

His victory in Kenya was immediately followed by a dominant performance in his national title at Stellenbosch Golf Club (won by three strokes) and I'm surprised the 22-year-old isn't a bit shorter after Sunday's sublime finish to his first US PGA Championship appearance.

Course and current form stats

Course Form Pick: Ewen Ferguson was second here last year and would love to go one better in 2026. He was previously second in 2019. As for recent outings, he made the top four in Turkey and, before missing the cut in China, was sixth in India.

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