The second week of the FedEx Cup play-offs on the PGA Tour sees the players make the short trip from New York to Boston for the Dell Technologies Championship, formerly the Deutsche Bank. Only the top 100 in the rankings are eligible this week and only the top 70 at the end of it will progress to the penultimate event of the year so there is plenty at stake.
Recent Winners
2016 – Rory McIlroy
2015 – Rickie Fowler
2014 – Chris Kirk
2013 – Henrik Stenson
2012 – Rory McIlroy
2011 – Webb Simpson
2010 – Charley Hoffman
2009 – Steve Stricker
2008 – Vijay Singh
2007 – Phil Mickelson
The Course
As ever it is TPC Boston which is the venue this week. A couple of holes being lengthened recently has seen the course maintain a par of 71 but it has extended to 7,342 yards now. That sounds long but with the humidity that is often around this time of the year it won’t play to a full yardage.
I always had problems deciding on the characteristics of this course and the requirements to succeed on it but having been to this event in 2014 I think it is very much a ball strikers course. I didn’t think the greens looked too bad although they are large and the right areas of them need to be found which is why I think those coming in from the fairways will have an advantage on what is usually a firm track.
Wherever you look statistics wise you’ll see how those who go well rank high on the putting stats for the week but if you look through the list of winners there aren’t many truly great putters among them so I’m looking for ball striking over anything else.
The Field
100 players are eligible for this tournament but four have chosen to give the event a miss. That was expected to be five but Adam Scott decided to take up his entry having previously hinted that he wasn’t going to.
Former champions Charley Hoffman, Rickie Fowler, Chris Kirk and Webb Simpson are all looking to take the title away from the defending champion Rory McIlroy. Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Jason Day and Hideki Matsuyama ensure we are in for a great week of golf.
Market Leaders
Dustin Johnson found his mojo again last week to prevail in the play-off. I don’t necessarily think this is the sort of track that he relishes but at the same time I wouldn’t write him off. At 15/2 in this company though he is easy to dismiss from a betting point of value as there is little value there.
Jordan Spieth is a point bigger. He doesn’t have the form figures we might expect around here although I suspect his occasionally suspect driving is the reason for that. If he stays strong with the long game I wouldn’t think he would be far away. Once again he’s plenty short enough at 17/2 though.
Rory McIlroy, Jason Day and Rickie Fowler are all next in the betting at 16/1. I’m not convinced McIlroy is putting well enough to win in this company yet but the other two certainly have my interest. It is hard to dismiss either of those two especially with Day coming back into form.
Hideki Matsuyama and Jon Rahm are a couple of points bigger at 18/1. This doesn’t automatically strike me as a Jon Rahm track so I would pass him over. Matsuyama is having the year of his life and a case can be made for him almost every time he tees it up. It is 22/1 bar those named.
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Main Bets
I like a couple towards the head of the betting this week. Both are former champions here and I don’t think that is a bad thing as neither have lost the credentials which won them the title.
Rickie Fowler was actually in the two-ball I watched on the final day here three years ago. He played alongside Jordan Spieth in one of the later groups out on the course and then the following year he won the tournament. I’m not surprised by that because he hits his irons so well and scrambles well too so keeps the bogeys off his card. Fowler could do with a big event to catapult him right into contention come East Lake and it makes sense for that to come here.
Charley Hoffman has always been vocally very positive about this course and how it sets up for him and having won the tournament before there is no reason not to back him this week. He is hitting the ball wonderfully, and was third in 2015 as well as the win in 2010 and he comes in here off the back of a low round on Sunday. I’m expecting a big run from the former champion here.
Outsiders
I’m going to go with three at much bigger prices. They are all incredible ball strikers who I would back to find some putts this week and with it some decent scoring.
Francesco Molinari was second at the USPGA Championship a few weeks ago and if he can score through four rounds at Quail Hollow then any concerns that this track might be too long for him can be dismissed. He is a brilliant ball striker who can get very hot on the greens and if the putter is hot this week I would expect him to be right in the mix on a track of this kind.
Kyle Stanley leads the ball striking on the PGA Tour this year and he is second in proximity to the hole so those two statistics alone should see him in with every chance of doing some damage here. He has already won a tournament in 2017 which is no bad thing and if he can get a few putts to drop he might well take a bit of beating.
Stanley beat Charles Howell III to win the Quicken Loans National but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Howell III have a decent run this week. The consummate ball striker was second at Riviera earlier in the season and that shows his class in tough fields which is a big tick here. These greens are not as difficult as those so if he can get some putts to the hole there may well be a big week in him.
Tips
Back R.Fowler to win Dell Technologies Championship (e/w) for a 1.5/10 stake at 17.00 with Paddy Power (1/5 1-7)
Back him here:
Back C.Hoffman to win Dell Technologies Championship (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 51.00 with Skybet (1/4 1-6)
Back C.Howell III to win Dell Technologies Championship (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 251.00 with Skybet (1/4 1-6)
Back them here:
Back F.Molinari to win Dell Technologies Championship (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 91.00 with Boylesports (1/5 1-6)
Back him here:
Back K.Stanley to win Dell Technologies Championship (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 151.00 with Betfair (1/5 1-7)
Back him here:
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