We have a new tournament on the PGA Tour this week which runs alongside the Wells Fargo Championship as those not in the Signature event get their chance to shine in the Myrtle Beach Classic in South Carolina.
With this being the inaugural staging of the competition we are guaranteed a new champion and if that player isn’t already exempt into the USPGA Championship next week then they will get the last spot into that field.
The Course
We are at the Dunes Golf and Beach Club this week. The Robert Trent Jones design will make its debut on the PGA Tour this week. It is a par 71 which measures 7,347 yards which is on the lengthy side it has to be said, especially with rain in the forecast on Friday which is likely to make the track play to somewhere near a full yardage. Even with that in mind, I think accuracy is more important around here than length.
This course needs to be played from the fairways and they are pretty tight. The greens are fairly big here but you have to be precise with where you hit to. The name suggests that we’re not far from the coast here and that is very much the case so the breeze is likely to be impactful on the tournament therefore we are looking at players who can shape their iron shots. You would imagine good putters have no advantage here with greens new to everyone.
The Field
When you consider that the majority of the leading lights on the PGA Tour are playing at Quail Hollow the field this week was never going to be exceptional but it is certainly competitive where perhaps the biggest name in it is Daniel Berger as he searches for the form that will get him back to where he was before his injury. He will lead the American assault on this tournament with the likes of Ben Griffin, Beau Hossler and Davis Thompson.
There is a decent international charge going at it in this tournament with Erik van Rooyen a former winner on the PGA Tour looking to add another title to his collection. Ryo Hisatsune is at the start of his career but he’ll be looking to win his first title at this level. There are a decent number of Europeans in the field too. Matt Wallace has won on the PGA Tour in the not too distant past and he is in the field as are the likes of Victor Perez, Matti Schmid and Thorbjorn Olesen.
Market Leaders
Ben Griffin is the 25/1 favourite to win the tournament this week. That tells us a lot about this event. Firstly he won’t have been favourite for an event too often at this level but the fact he is 25/1 to win highlights how competitive it could be without a standout name in the field. Griffin bounced back from a missed cut at the Zurich Classic a couple of weeks ago with a top 15 finish in Texas last week but he is already in the USPGA field next week and just how desperate he is to win here remains to be seen.
Erik van Rooyen and Daniel Berger are 28/1 shots to win the tournament this week. I’ll elaborate on van Rooyen below but Berger is an interesting one. If he was anything near his best he would be half the price and no bigger in a field of this kind but he is still making his way back to where he was at his peak. He played well at the Byron Nelson last week though and if he can replicate that here then he would certainly be entitled to be a threat.
Beau Hossler and Davis Thompson come next in the betting at 33/1 this week and are the only other players in the field who are shorter than 35/1 such is the competitive nature of the event. Hossler has a good record in Texas where the breeze is usually prevalent so he is entitled to be a threat. Thompson is a decent ball striker but no top 10 in 17 months is more than enough to put me off taking him, even in this company.
Main Bets
Erik van Rooyen has won twice on the PGA Tour and they have both come in lesser events, or fields which haven’t contained numerous star names. He won the Barracuda Championship a few years ago and then the World Wide Technology Championship back in November and his form this year hasn’t been terrible. He was second in the Cognizant Classic which is never a bad result and he played well enough last week. We know he can handle himself in the breeze and we also know that he is hitting the ball well. He sits inside the top 30 in ball striking on the PGA Tour this season. That puts him right in contention here and he is my first main bet.
The other one is a man I nearly took a few weeks ago in Justin Lower. He has a couple of top four finishes this season, with them coming in the Mexico Open and the Corales Puntacana Championship which both have similarities to this event so that is very pertinent. He was solid enough in a top 25 at the Byron Nelson last week and in lesser company here there is no reason why he can’t perform. Lower is inside the top 10 in birdies this season and if he can pile up the birdies this week he could be tough to peg back.
Outsiders
Whenever we get to a tournament like this on the DP World Tour I always like to have Alexander Bjork onside because he has a solid long game and he can handle himself in the breeze. I don’t think he is at the level where he would contend in a full PGA Tour event but this sort of tournament should be within his compass. He can shape the shots, he is a good putter and if that does come to the fore then that is no bad thing and he is solid off the tee and into the greens. He feels like a big price in a wide open event.
Wesley Bryan has a decent record in the lesser events. He was second at the Corales Puntacana Championship three weeks ago having previously been in the top 15 of that event and last year he registered a top 10 in the Puerto Rico Open so he is someone who can clearly compete in the lower levels of the PGA Tour. He is a previous PGA Tour winner so we know he can get it done and only Billy Horschel was too good for him in the Dominican Republic and there is nobody of that level here. He might be a big price this week.
Tips
Back E.van Rooyen to win Myrtle Beach Classic (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 26.00 with Boylesports (1/5 1-8)
Back J.Lower to win Myrtle Beach Classic (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 36.00 with Boylesports (1/5 1-8)
Back W.Bryan to win Myrtle Beach Classic (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 126.00 with Boylesports (1/5 1-8)
Back them here:
Back A.Bjork to win Myrtle Beach Classic (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 67.00 with Betway (1/5 1-7)
