Best bets for PGA Tour: Vivint Houston Open ⛳
Best bets for PGA Tour: Vivint Houston Open
ESPN PLUS ($ MATERIAL)
It is the week before the Masters, and the PGA Tour heads to Texas for the Vivint Houston Open, a traditional Masters warm-up -- but this time in November.
The event was moved to Memorial Park, a course that hosted PGA Tour events from 1951 to 1963. Phil Mickelson, the 2011 winner of this event, and world No. 1 Dustin Johnson are both in the field.
Who is underrated, and whom should you fade? Which bets and props are worth a look?
Sports betting deputy editor David Bearman, betting expert Chris Fallica and fantasy analyst Anita Marks offer their best bets.
Odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook by William Hill unless otherwise noted.
Bets to win
Tyrrell Hatton 16-1 to win; +188 Top 10, -120 Top 20
Fallica: Hatton has had one bad round each of past two weeks on Saturday -- and he still finished third at Shadow Creek and 28th at the Zozo Championship after a Saturday 76. I'd expect the well-rounded Hatton to again be in the mix this weekend.
Tony Finau 20-1 to win; +200 Top 10, -120 Top 20
Fallica: I'm not going too wild with prices the week prior to the Masters. I'm sticking with a lot of logical contenders to put forth a good showing and get their mind and game in a good spot prior to Augusta. One of those players is Finau, who has finished in the top 17 in five of his past six events, including his last time out at the Zozo, where he shot four rounds in the 60s. Weigh your plays appropriately with the majority of your stake in the top 10/20 markets.
Scottie Scheffler 22-1 to win; +225 Top 10, +100 Top 20
Fallica: Scheffler ended the 2020 season in great form, but his early returns to the start of this season have been mixed. He still is a top-10 player tee to green, and this type of course and field could be a spot for him to capture his first career win.
Viktor Hovland 25-1 to win; +125 Top 20
Bearman: Two weeks ago at the Zozo Championship, I picked Hovland to contend primarily because he had not missed a cut since the tour resumed and he seemed overdue. Well, he did make another cut there -- his 14th in a row since golf came back in June -- but he faded with a poor weekend. I am back on the Hovland train this week. The course is a unique setup with five par 5s, and Hovland is tied for 10th in par-5 scoring this year. That's a small sample size, but he was in the top 50 last year in par 5s as well. If you don't want to go with the 25-1 shot to win, a top-20 at +125 seems safe, as he's done that in four of the past six events and has nine top-25 finishes since June.
Doc Redman 40-1 to win; +400 Top 10, +188 Top 20
Fallica: The one long price I'm looking at is Redman, who is very strong tee to green but has his putting struggles. He has three top-4 finishes in his past six starts.
Denny McCarthy 66-1 to win; +300 Top 20
Bearman: I was looking for someone with good recent form with decent odds and came across McCarthy, who finished T-4 last week in Bermuda with a final-round 63, the lowest in the field. A few weeks prior, he was T-6 at Sanderson Farms. If you go back to the 2018-19 PGA Tour season, McCarthy has eight top-20s in 22 fall events (October to December), most of all tour golfers. The Memorial Park course is set up with undulating greens that should be fast. McCarthy is 22nd in shots gained putting and is 31st on tour in hitting greens, reaching over 75% in the previous two events. McCarthy is a sneaky play at 66-1 with good value at 3-1 to finish in the top 20.
Prop bets
Hideki Matsuyama +230 Top 10, +100 Top 20
Fallica: After a 68-66 on the weekend at the Zozo, it feels like it's time again for Matsuyama to put a good tournament together and get people excited about his chances in Augusta. I won't play him to win this week, but Matsuyama is worth a play in the top 10 and top 20 markets.
Finau +225 Top 10 (at DraftKings); Finau-Hovland finish 1-2 (322-1 at DK)
Marks: Since recovering from COVID-19, Finau seems to have his game back on point (T-11 at the ZoZo Championship). At over 7,400 yards, Memorial Park is a long track for the heavy hitters. Finau is tied for 14th in driving distance and ranks fifth in par-5 scoring birdies or better this season. My only concern is his issue putting on Bermuda grass. Hovland goes into Texas in good form, gaining 5.6 strokes tee to green in his past three starts, and he can drive the ball a mile.
Cameron Davis +275 Top 20 (at DK); Davis (-125) over Keegan Bradley (-106 at DK)
Marks: Davis is magical on Bermuda grass. Combine his outstanding putting with his driving distance (ranked 21st on tour this season) and his par-5 scoring birdies or better (26th), and Davis has the tools to at least finish in the top 20 this weekend, if not better.
Wyndham Clark +300 Top 20 (at DK); Clark (-118) over Matt Jones (-112 at DK)
Marks: Clark looked great last week, especially with his approach shots. He has all the tools in his bag to score well at Memorial Park; he's seventh in driving distance, T-2 in par-5 eagle scoring and T-31 in par-3 scoring birdies or better this season. Not to mention, he has a red-hot putter.
ESPN PLUS ($ MATERIAL)
It is the week before the Masters, and the PGA Tour heads to Texas for the Vivint Houston Open, a traditional Masters warm-up -- but this time in November.
The event was moved to Memorial Park, a course that hosted PGA Tour events from 1951 to 1963. Phil Mickelson, the 2011 winner of this event, and world No. 1 Dustin Johnson are both in the field.
Who is underrated, and whom should you fade? Which bets and props are worth a look?
Sports betting deputy editor David Bearman, betting expert Chris Fallica and fantasy analyst Anita Marks offer their best bets.
Odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook by William Hill unless otherwise noted.
Bets to win
Tyrrell Hatton 16-1 to win; +188 Top 10, -120 Top 20
Fallica: Hatton has had one bad round each of past two weeks on Saturday -- and he still finished third at Shadow Creek and 28th at the Zozo Championship after a Saturday 76. I'd expect the well-rounded Hatton to again be in the mix this weekend.
Tony Finau 20-1 to win; +200 Top 10, -120 Top 20
Fallica: I'm not going too wild with prices the week prior to the Masters. I'm sticking with a lot of logical contenders to put forth a good showing and get their mind and game in a good spot prior to Augusta. One of those players is Finau, who has finished in the top 17 in five of his past six events, including his last time out at the Zozo, where he shot four rounds in the 60s. Weigh your plays appropriately with the majority of your stake in the top 10/20 markets.
Scottie Scheffler 22-1 to win; +225 Top 10, +100 Top 20
Fallica: Scheffler ended the 2020 season in great form, but his early returns to the start of this season have been mixed. He still is a top-10 player tee to green, and this type of course and field could be a spot for him to capture his first career win.
Viktor Hovland 25-1 to win; +125 Top 20
Bearman: Two weeks ago at the Zozo Championship, I picked Hovland to contend primarily because he had not missed a cut since the tour resumed and he seemed overdue. Well, he did make another cut there -- his 14th in a row since golf came back in June -- but he faded with a poor weekend. I am back on the Hovland train this week. The course is a unique setup with five par 5s, and Hovland is tied for 10th in par-5 scoring this year. That's a small sample size, but he was in the top 50 last year in par 5s as well. If you don't want to go with the 25-1 shot to win, a top-20 at +125 seems safe, as he's done that in four of the past six events and has nine top-25 finishes since June.
Doc Redman 40-1 to win; +400 Top 10, +188 Top 20
Fallica: The one long price I'm looking at is Redman, who is very strong tee to green but has his putting struggles. He has three top-4 finishes in his past six starts.
Denny McCarthy 66-1 to win; +300 Top 20
Bearman: I was looking for someone with good recent form with decent odds and came across McCarthy, who finished T-4 last week in Bermuda with a final-round 63, the lowest in the field. A few weeks prior, he was T-6 at Sanderson Farms. If you go back to the 2018-19 PGA Tour season, McCarthy has eight top-20s in 22 fall events (October to December), most of all tour golfers. The Memorial Park course is set up with undulating greens that should be fast. McCarthy is 22nd in shots gained putting and is 31st on tour in hitting greens, reaching over 75% in the previous two events. McCarthy is a sneaky play at 66-1 with good value at 3-1 to finish in the top 20.
Prop bets
Hideki Matsuyama +230 Top 10, +100 Top 20
Fallica: After a 68-66 on the weekend at the Zozo, it feels like it's time again for Matsuyama to put a good tournament together and get people excited about his chances in Augusta. I won't play him to win this week, but Matsuyama is worth a play in the top 10 and top 20 markets.
Finau +225 Top 10 (at DraftKings); Finau-Hovland finish 1-2 (322-1 at DK)
Marks: Since recovering from COVID-19, Finau seems to have his game back on point (T-11 at the ZoZo Championship). At over 7,400 yards, Memorial Park is a long track for the heavy hitters. Finau is tied for 14th in driving distance and ranks fifth in par-5 scoring birdies or better this season. My only concern is his issue putting on Bermuda grass. Hovland goes into Texas in good form, gaining 5.6 strokes tee to green in his past three starts, and he can drive the ball a mile.
Cameron Davis +275 Top 20 (at DK); Davis (-125) over Keegan Bradley (-106 at DK)
Marks: Davis is magical on Bermuda grass. Combine his outstanding putting with his driving distance (ranked 21st on tour this season) and his par-5 scoring birdies or better (26th), and Davis has the tools to at least finish in the top 20 this weekend, if not better.
Wyndham Clark +300 Top 20 (at DK); Clark (-118) over Matt Jones (-112 at DK)
Marks: Clark looked great last week, especially with his approach shots. He has all the tools in his bag to score well at Memorial Park; he's seventh in driving distance, T-2 in par-5 eagle scoring and T-31 in par-3 scoring birdies or better this season. Not to mention, he has a red-hot putter.
