Fortinet Championship 2023: Course and current form stats

• Race to retain PGA Tour cards for 2024 starts Thursday

• Davis 22/123.00 can continue good run of form

• Max 7/18.00 a two-time defending champion

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Fall Series Notes

• For the first time in a decade, the Tour Championship does not signal the end of the PGA Tour season;

• And for the first time in 10 years, the PGA Tour season will end in November;

• From now on, the season will revert to being a year-long January to December calendar. This last happened in 2012;

• As for 2023, the seven remaining events starting with this week's Fortinet Championship - and ending with the RSM Classic - means the traditional Fall Series will be more important to run of the mill Tour members, than golf's elite;

• FedEx Cup positions from 1 to 70 (thru Tour Championship) will remain unaltered throughout the Fall Series, although there will be a scramble for those ranked 71 and below;

• The aim will be to finish inside the top 125, to ensure a player retains their PGA Tour status for 2024;

• The seven Fall events will offer around $56m in prize money, as well as the usual quota of FedEx Cup points. Points earned January thru August will be carried forward into the Fall Series for those ranked 71 or higher.

Tournament Notes

• Once again, the Fortinet Championship will be staged at Silverado Resort & Spa, in Napa Valley, California;

• Located around 50 miles north-east of San Francisco, and 60 miles west of Sacramento, Silverado is a resort course where the weather remains fairly hot most of the year;

• In October 2017, parts of the resort were damaged by wildfires, with flames arriving on site just a few hours after the conclusion of the tournament;

• The event is staged over Silverado's North Course which had previously been part of the PGA Tour calendar between 1968 and 1980, hosting the Kaiser International Open which became the Anheuser-Busch Classic.

Course Notes

• The North Course opened for business in 1955, before being re-designed by Robert Trent Jones 11 years later;

• It underwent another, less rigorous, upgrade 12 years ago when two-time major winner Johnny Miller added approximately 250 yards to its length;

• Miller, who is one of three co-owners of Silverado Resort, also widened a few fairways and repositioned a number of bunkers;

• These changes prepared the course for its return to the PGA Tour schedule in 2014;

• It is largely a flat, parkland layout, with a few changes in elevation, testing rough and tree-lined fairways;

• The small Bentgrass/Poa Annua putting surfaces are usually quick and undulating, while water is only an issue on a couple of holes.

Latest betting for this week's Fortinet Championship

Stroke Averages

Lowest 10 At Silverado's North Course (2017-22)
Average .... (Rounds)
69.42: Sahith Theegala (12)
69.69: Max Homa (16)
69.71: Mark Hubbard (14)
69.77: Chez Reavie (22)
69.79: Zac Blair (14)
69.80: JB Holmes (10)
69.81: Cameron Percy (16)
69.92: Scott Harrington (12)
70.00: Harry Higgs (12)
70.00: Russell Knox (14)
70.00: Matt Kuchar (8)
Min. No. of Rounds = 10
Only those entered this week are included in table

Betfair Sportsbook

Fortinet Championship Top Tips: Four To Watch

Cameron Davis 22/123.00: The tall 28-year-old from Australia qualified for the opening two events of the three-tournament FedEx Cup Play-Offs. Three of his last four starts have produced top-10s.

Max Homa 7/18.00: Chasing a hat-trick of Silverado titles this week. The world No 7 is the only member of the top-20 teeing-up.

Justin Thomas 14/115.00: Having narrowly failed to qualify for the FedEx Cup Play-Offs, the American will be keen to complete all 72 holes in California, as part of his build-up to this month's Ryder Cup. Last three visits to Silverado have all yielded top-10 finishes.

Brendon Todd 20/121.00: Tied-ninth at Silverado 12 months ago, the American completed the 'FedEx Cup season' in 47th position. Twice a runner-up on the PGA Tour during 2023.

MC* - Missed Additional 54-Hole Cut

Note: List Contains Leading Reserves