The Palmetto Championship at Congaree begins Thursday in Ridgeland, S.C., and serves as the fine tune-up before next week’s U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.
The event replaces the RBC Canadian Open, which was canceled for the second consecutive year due to COVID-19. The field includes only two top-10 players in No. 1 Dustin Johnson and No. 8 Brooks Koepka, who are the co-favorites at +800 by PointsBet.
Tournament notes, betting odds and best bets:
PALMETTO CHAMPIONSHIP
Course: Congaree Golf Club (Par 71, 7,655 yards)
Purse: $7M (Winner: $1.314M)
Defending Champion: Inaugural event
HOW TO WATCH
TV: Thursday-Friday, 3-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. (CBS)
PGA Tour Live: Thursday-Friday, 7 a.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Groups); Saturday-Sunday, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. (Featured Groups), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes)
NOTES
The event replaces the RBC Canadian Open, which was canceled for the second consecutive year due to COVID-19 travel and safety restrictions in Canada. It is the third event of the season to be held in South Carolina (RBC Heritage, PGA Championship).
–The RBC Canadian Open is scheduled to return in 2022 at St. George’s Golf and Country Club in Toronto.
–World No. 1 and South Carolina resident Dustin Johnson is teeing it up for the first time since the PGA Championship. He has yet to win in his home state.
–John Pak and Davis Thompson will make their professional debuts on sponsors exemptions. Both competed on the victorious Unites States team in this year’s Walker Cup.
–South Africa’s Garrick Higgo, who has won two of his past three starts on the European Tour and made the cut at the PGA Championship, is also in the field on a sponsors exemption.
BEST BETS
–Johnson (+800 at PointsBet) tied for second at the Houston Open ahead of winning the Masters in November. It was the most recent time he played the week before a major. Johnson does not have a top 10 finish in his past seven starts.
–Brooks Koepka (+800) is also playing for the first time since a T2 at the PGA Championship. He has three runner-up finishes in his past six starts. He is first at PointsBet with 3.91 percent of the winner handle backing him and second with 3.45 percent of the total winner bets.
–Tyrrell Hatton (+1400) has three top-10s in 14 starts this season but only one top-20 in his past five starts.
–Matthew Fitzpatrick (+1400) has missed two of three cuts since finishing T4 at the RBC Heritage.
–Sungjae Im (+2000) is coming off consecutive missed cuts for the first time since 2019 and has failed to reach the weekend in three of his past four events. He did T8 at the Honda Classic and T13 at the RBC Heritage.
–Ian Poulter (+3000) is coming at T3 at Colonial and his ball-striking should suit Congaree.
–Lucas Glover (+4000) has significant course knowledge as a Professional Ambassador at Congaree. The public is backing him with 2.92 percent of the winner handle at PointsBet, making him the book’s fifth top liability.
–Harold Varner (+3300) is the biggest liability for the sportsbook with 3.93 percent of the winner bets backing Varner to claim his first career PGA Tour title. He did finish T2 at the RBC Heritage but has not done better than T32 in his four starts since.
–Keith Mitchell (+4000) is another popular longshot with 2.34 percent of the total bets and 2.55 percent of the handle. He is coming off a missed cut, although Mitchell did finish T3 at last month’s Wells Fargo Championship.
–Field Level Media
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