PGA Betting Guide for the QBE Shootout
Picking winners of a golf tournament is hard. Doing it consistently is downright impossible. But finding value is something all bettors must practice in order to give themselves the best chance to make hay when the day finally comes that they ping a champion.
Below, we will cover the best bets for the QBE Shootout based on current form, course fit, and -- of course -- the value of their odds over at Golf odds.
With the year's final stroke play in the books and no Ryder Cup due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the final PGA Tour golf event of 2020 will feature 12 pairs in a quirky format competing at Tiburon Golf Club. The event kicks off on Friday and features a different format each day. Friday will be a scramble, Saturday is a modified alternate shot, and Sunday a standard four-ball.
In a format like this, the variance is even more extreme than in the already highly variant game of golf. When we are faced with such unpredictability, it makes sense to find the fixed item and build off that aspect.
The one constant across all three days is that each golfer must hit their own tee shot. On Friday they play the best ball all the way up, Saturday they alternate after picking the preferred tee shot, and Sunday each plays their own ball every hole. So we'll be looking not just for golfers that succeed off the tee, but which teams can capitalize on one golfer going extra aggressive.
Best Values
Cameron Champ / Tony Finau (+600) - We'll take the value at the top as two golfers, with the team slightly longer odds than a less accomplished duo in Abraham Ancer / Matthew Wolff (+500). Champ has doubled Finau's career win total in his short career, and his strength off the tee is an asset that gives this group an advantage on every hole. Champ can let loose off the tee on just about every hole the first two days, knowing that the "backup plan" is an all-world driver of the ball in Finau. Champ can also get white hot on the greens, and this pair should do well because his volatility is counterbalanced by Finau's solid all around game that has made him one of the top players in the world.
Harris English / Matt Kuchar (+850) - This duo has twice won the QBE Shootout, and if we can't trust course history at a three day team event with different formats each day and only 24 contestants, where can we?? English and Kuchar teamed up for the first time in 2013 and rattled off finishes of 1st, 2nd, 2nd, and 1st. A ninth-place finish in 2017 broke up this dream team, the band is back together for one last tour. Kuchar's best days are behind him, but English just wrapped up the best season of his career and can more than carry the team. With the shared knowledge this team is a no-brainer at this price.
Billy Horschel / Brendon Todd (+850) - While Champ is an ideal playing partner in team competition because of his power off the tee, so too is Todd for his accuracy. He almost guarantees at least one of the team's shots will be in a prime position in short grass to strategize from there. This pair was the favorite in last year's edition at just +470 and finished tied for third, and now offered at almost double the price we can confidently add them to the card.
Lanto Griffin / Mackenzie Hughes (+1200) - Griffin and Hughes make for an interesting team, as their strengths should complement each other well enough. Griffin's iron play can be electric at times, and Hughes has one of the best short games on Tour. That putting stroke will only improve if he gets a free look from Griffin in the scramble, and the pair is set well for alternate shot as long as they can hold steady with the driver. These might not be the two sexiest names, but Griffin and Hughes both contended multiple times this year and were actually the top combined finishers at the TOUR Championship among this small field.
