DraftKings Sportsbook lists Zalatoris as the +1200 co-favorite to win the Wyndham Championship, alongside Shane Lowry.

Zalatoris closing in on elusive victory

The 25-year-old Zalatoris has already made a major impact on the PGA Tour. Since qualifying for the US Open in 2020 �and ultimately finishing tied for sixth there �he has finished in the top 10 of six majors in just nine opportunities. That includes three runner-up finishes.

Results like those have pushed Zalatoris up to 14th on the Official World Golf Ranking. However, a tour win still eludes him. It’s what every reporter asks Zalatoris about before each tournament he enters, including the Wyndham Championship.

“I haven’t even played in 10 majors yet, and we’re talking about me finishing second in all of them,�Zalatoris told reporters. “So we kind of need to just stay patient and keep doing what we’re doing.�/p>

Zalatoris has pointed out that he’s playing well late in these tournaments �not losing because of final hole collapses, or anything like that.

“I think it’s something that just has to come,�Zalatoris said. “I’ve kind of been very close and, if anything, it’s been Thursday through Saturday, not really Sunday.�/p>

Wyndham Championship closes out regular season

If Lowry stands as Zalatoris’ greatest obstacle at the Wyndham Championship, he’ll be more prepared now that he has his equipment back. Lowry lost his clubs on a fight from Dublin Airport to Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, where he connected to Charlotte, North Carolina. Lowry later learned the clubs were still in Chicago, and he recovered them in time for this week’s tournament.

“Back in business,�Lowry wrote on Twitter. “Thanks to everyone who helped me get those back before tomorrow’s opening round.�/p>

The Wyndham Championship marks the end of the PGA Tour’s regular season. That means that this is the final opportunity for golfers on the bubble to qualify for the FedExCup Playoffs. Only the top 125 players in the FedExCup standings will advance to the postseason, and several competitors in the field at Sedgefield need a good result to go through.

For many of those players, simply making the cut and putting up a solid result could propel them to greater things. Meanwhile, however, there are a slew of notable players who want to add a Wyndham Championship to their resume to close out the regular season before the playoffs begin. Other top contenders include Sungjae Im (+1400), Billy Horschel (+1400), and Webb Simpson (+2200).

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Finau won the Rocket Mortgage Classic at the Detroit Golf Club this past weekend to pick up his second consecutive victory on the PGA Tour.

Finau gets third win in less than a year

The victory made Finau the first player in three years to win two straight regular-season tournaments on the PGA Tour. Brendon Todd last accomplished the feat in 2019. Finau shot a 5-under-par 67 to win the Rocket Mortgage Classic by five strokes over Patrick Cantlay, Taylor Pendrith, and Cameron Young.

A week earlier, Finau won the 3M Open. DraftKings Sportsbook listed Finau as a +1400 pick to go back-to-back at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, and he lived up to the challenge.

“I’m proud of the way that I fought though adversity through my career,�Finau said after the win. “They say a winner is just a loser that just kept on trying, and that’s me to a T. How many times do I lose? But one thing I won’t do is give up and I’m only here as a winner because I chose not to give up and just keep going.�/p>

Prior to his current streak, Finau had won just twice on tour. He took down the Puerto Rico Open back in 2016, then broke a five-year drought by winning the Northern Trust during last year’s FedExCup playoffs.

Playoff positioning critical as tour season comes to close

Those three wins ended any talk that Finau is a talented golfer who doesn’t win events. Before Sunday, Finau had also never won a tournament after having or sharing the 54-hole lead, something he did at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

“Tony put on a show,�Young said after the tournament. “I’d be lying if I said it was easy to just watch other people win. Obviously, today Tony beat us all by a lot.�/p>

Finau has now moved up to No. 7 in the FedExCup Playoffs standings. He sits at No. 13 on the Official World Golf Ranking as well.

“A week can change your life,�Finau said. “When you look at mine, two weeks have changed my life.�/p>

While Finau will be in great shape to make a playoff run, he won’t be a winner three weeks in a row. He isn’t playing at the Wyndham Championship this weekend, which is also the last regular-season tournament on the PGA Tour. Will Zalatoris and Shane Lowry are the early favorites at the Wyndham, with DraftKings giving each +1200 odds of victory.

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The tour made its announcement on Wednesday, ahead of its upcoming tournament at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey this weekend.

New name, International Series among 2023 changes

While the tour will continue using its 48-player fields with 12 teams of four men each, the series will change its name to the LIV Golf League next season. The circuit says none of its events will conflict with majors, heritage tournaments, or international team events.

“LIV Golf’s expanding global platform will add a new dimension to the golf ecosystem as we know it,�LIV Golf CEO and commissioner Greg Norman said in a statement. “Our franchise model will bring new energy and excitement to fans from all corners of the world, establishing a league of teams to connect and grow with.�/p>

The statement also outlined additional initiatives. These include the LIV Golf International Series and an end-of-season “Promotions” event that would allow new players to play their way into the league.

“The International Series will attract new talent and offer unprecedented pathways that develop the next generation of stars,�Norman said. “LIV Golf is committed to making sustainable investments that grow the game now and for the future, and we are proud to turn these dreams into a reality.�/p>

The announcement comes as LIV Golf continues to add famous �if not necessarily currently competitive �players to its roster.

Bubba Watson joins LIV Golf

Multiple media outlets reported that two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson will become the latest player to join LIV Golf. The 43-year-old Watson suffered a tourn meniscus in May, and hasn’t played since then. He could make his debut in September at an LIV event outside of Boston.

While Watson has won 12 times in his PGA Tour career, he hasn’t earned a victory since winning the Travelers Championship in 2018.

Meanwhile, reporters continued to pepper LIV players with questions over the tour and its relationship with the Saudi Arabian government ahead of this weekend’s tournament.

“I’m very aware of the ramifications of making this choice,�Paul Casey, one of the latest players to join LIV Golf, told reporters. “[But] by not engaging and not participating and not traveling to countries, you harden positions if you do that.�/p>

Meanwhile, Charles Howell III made the eyebrow raising claim that money wasn’t even a factor in his decision to switch tours.

“Money didn’t play a role,�Howell told reporters. “For me, I’ve been [on the PGA Tour] for 22 years, and it’s been awesome. I’ve got nothing but great things to say about the PGA Tour, what they’ve given me, the opportunities. But when this came along, I’m 43 years old, I’ve done a lot of that…this is something really new and exciting.�/p>

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World No. 4 Patrick Cantlay comes in as the +850 favorite at the tournament, according to DraftKings Sportsbook.

Cantlay ready for run at another FedExCup title

Cantlay has won once this year, but he still has plenty to play for on the season. As the defending FedExCup champion, he wants to put himself in the best position possible to win that title for the second straight year. And while he hasn’t quite achieved as much as he would like this year, Cantlay still likes his chances.

“I would have liked to have closed out more of those tournaments, but that’s how golf is,�Cantlay told reporters. “My game’s in a really good spot. Like I said in some press [conferences] earlier in the year, I’ve been trying to double down on the process that got me to where I am, not change a whole lot and just look for small incremental improvements and I think the consistent play I’ve had this year is a testament to that.�/p>

Will Zalatoris is still looking for his first win on tour despite an increasing number of close calls. He finished second at the PGA Championship this year losing in a playoff to Justin Thomas before tying for second at the US Open.

Rocket Mortgage Classic boasts deep field

The 25-year-old isn’t panicking. Zalatoris says he knows a win will be coming sooner or later. DraftKings lists Zalatoris as the +1200 second choice at the Rocket Mortgage Open. He also made it clear that his wins would come on the PGA Tour, where he feels victory carries more weight than in LIV Golf.

“Anybody here could have Monday’d in yesterday and won this golf tournament, and over there, it’s the same 48 guys playing over and over and over,�Zalatoris told reporters. “Here, it’s earned, and I think that’s the biggest difference.�/p>

Another top contender at the Rocket Mortgage Open is Tony Finau (+1400), who’s coming off a win last week at the 3M Open. That marked Finau’s first victory of the season, and he could easily contend for back-to-back titles this weekend.

However, Finau will have to contend with a deeper field this week. Five of the world’s top 20 players are in attendance, as are 28 of the top 100. Organizers are happy to point that out, with some even using it as a point of pride over the competing LIV Golf event happening in New Jersey this week.

“It’s the deepest field we’ve had,�Rocket Mortgage Classic executive director Jason Langwell said, via the Washington Post. “No other event in golf this weekend around the world will be able to say that.�/p>

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DraftKings Sportsbook lists Finau as the +1100 favorite to win the 3M Open, with no other golfer coming in at shorter than +1600.

Stars resting after Open Championship

Finau will benefit from a relatively weak field at the 3M Open this week. Most of the world’s top golfers are taking some time off after spending two straight weeks in the UK for the Genesis Scottish Open and the Open Championship. After the year’s final major, only a limited number of notable names made the trip back across the Atlantic to play in Minnesota.

Finau was among those in the Open Championship, finishing in a tie for 28th place. That capped off a disappointing year at the majors for the 32-year-old, who failed to book a top-25 finish. It was the first time he didn’t make at least two top-10s at majors in a given year since 2017.

That lack of recent success has sent some bettors looking to back other options. Those include world No. 14 Hideki Matsuyama (+1600), who finished fourth at this year’s US Open. The 2021 Masters winner also has a victory this year at the Sony Open.

Maverick McNealy and Sungjae Im share second-choice on the board at +1600 and have each attracted plenty of bets. But sportsbooks are seeing particular interest in two tour rookies at the 3M Open: Davis Riley (+1800) and Sahith Theegala (+2200). PointsBet Sportsbook reported that Riley and Theegala have attracted more bets and more money than anyone else in the field, and represent two of the bookmaker’s three biggest liabilities on the weekend.

Fish makes debut at 3M Open

One of the most famous people in the field has very little chance of winning the event. Former professional tennis player Mardy Fish will make his PGA Tour debut at the 3M Open. Fish can play: he boasts a plus-2.8 handicap, and no less an expert than Jack Nicklaus ranked him as the top non-professional player he’s even hit the links with.

“I certainly don’t expect to, you know, compete to win the tournament necessarily, but making the cut is something that I’m eyeing big time,�Fish told Golfweek. Look at some of the scores of the past and I don’t know, it seems fairly doable score-wise, but then you’ve got to get out there and actually play.�/p>

Fish won the silver medal at the 2004 Olympics in men’s singles tennis, won six career ATP titles, and reached the quarterfinals of three Grand Slam events during his career. FanDuel Sportsbook lists Fish as a +100000 long shot to win the 3M Open, but didn’t post odds on the former tennis pro to make the cut in Blaine.

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Smith finished one shot ahead of Cameron Young and two shots ahead of Rory McIlroy, who finished second and third, respectively.

McIlroy can’t keep pace with Smith

While McIlroy and Viktor Hovland shared the lead by four strokes over the pack heading into Sunday, neither was able to finish the job. Hovland shot a disappointing 74 on Sunday, while McIlroy stayed in contention with a 2-under 70. It simply wasn’t enough to keep pace with Smith.

“I’m only human. I’m not a robot,�McIlroy told reporters after Sunday’s round, his worst of the Open Championship. “At the end of the day, it’s not life or death. I’ll have other chances to win the Open Championship and other chances to win majors. It’s one that I feel like I let slip away, but there will be other opportunities.�/p>

To be fair, Smith won the tournament far more than McIlroy lost it. Needing something special to overtake McIlroy, he birdied five straight holes to start the back nine. Young made a clutch 15-foot putt on the final hole to eagle and tie for the lead. But Smith was able to birdie the 18th as well, clinching the win by one stroke.

“All the names on there, every player that’s been at the top of their game has won this championship,�Smith told reporters afterward. “It’s pretty cool to be on there. It really hasn’t sunk in yet. I don’t think it will for a few weeks.�/p>

Sportsbooks post odds for 2023 major championships

Smith had come close to winning majors before, but Sunday’s win at St. Andrews marks a breakthrough for the Australian. He started the Open Championship as a +2000 pick to win the title at DraftKings Sportsbook.

Oddsmakers are now giving Smith better chances of adding to his haul next year. DraftKings lists Smith as a +1200 pick to win the 2023 Masters in April, trailing only +1100 cofavorites McIlroy, Jon Rahm, and Scottie Scheffler.

While DraftKings doesn’t give Smith as good a shot in the other 2023 majors, he still ranks among the favorites. Smith is a +2200 pick to win the 2023 PGA Championship and the +1800 fifth choice at the 2023 US Open.

Smith became the first Australian to win the Open Championship since Greg Norman �now the face of the controversial LIV Golf series �did so in 1993. The 28-year-old Smith is now the No. 2 ranked golfer in the world behind only Scottie Scheffler.

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After two rounds, Smith is at 13-under-par. DraftKings lists the 28-year-old Australian as the +165 favorite to win the Open Championship and win his first major title.

‘Impatient’ Smith navigates Old Course

Smith holds a two-shot lead over PGA Tour rookie Cameron Young (+750), who held the lead after shooting a 64 of his own on Thursday. Rory McIlroy (+450) is also close behind at 10-under after firing a 68 on Friday.

While Smith is ranked No. 6 in the world, pundits don’t always include him in discussions of the world’s elite. That would change immediately if Smith could hold on to win the Open Championship. He says that while the Old Course isn’t perfect for him, he’s managed to keep his cool over the first 36 holes of the tournament.

“I’m a really impatient person,�Smith told reporters. “So I have to try my best out there to be really patient, with the pace of play and with the golf course as well. Having to hit shots away from the pin sometimes hurts the ego a little bit, but it’s just what you have to do around here.�/p>

Meanwhile, McIlroy �who opened as the favorite to win the Open Championship �is happy with his position, even if Smith and Young have outshined him so far.

“I just need to go out and play my game and play my golf over the next two days, and that’s all I can do,�McIlroy told reporters. “Cam Smith goes out and shoots another two rounds like he did the first two days, I’m going to have a really hard time to win the tournament. So I’ve just got to go out and do the best I can and worry about myself, and hopefully that’s good enough.�/p>

Tiger Woods misses cut in potential final St. Andrews appearance

Viktor Hovland (+850) is tied for third at 10-under, while Dustin Johnson (+900) sits in fifth at 9-under-par. Scottie Scheffler (+1000) and Tyrrell Hatton (+2200) are each five shots back at 8-under.

The field set the cut at even par, and several big names didn’t make it. Defending Open champion Collin Morikawa failed to make it to the weekend, as did Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Louis Oosthuizen, and Henrik Stenson.

But Tiger Woods was by far the biggest star to miss the cut. Woods had little chance of advancing after shooting a 78 on Thursday. While he improved to a 75 on Friday, his 9-over mark never had him in contention to play in the final two rounds.

All the feels watching Tiger Woods walking up No. 18 at St. Andrews �

(via @TheOpen) pic.twitter.com/F7f5leoamn

— ESPN (@espn) July 15, 2022

Woods says that while he’s not retiring from golf anytime soon, he may never again play a competitive round at St. Andrews. The course likely won’t host the Open Championship again until at least 2027, if not later.

“I’m not one who gets very teary-eyed very often about anything,�Woods said after his round. “But just to hear the ovations getting louder and louder and louder, I felt that as I was coming in. The people knew that I wasn’t going to make the cut at the number I was. But the ovations got louder as I was coming home. And that to me was �it felt, just the respect. I’ve always respected this event. I’ve always respected the traditions of the game.�/p>

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Young grabbed the lead with an 8-under 64, while McIlroy is two shots back after shooting a 66.

McIlroy, Young benefit from calmer winds

DraftKings Sportsbook now sees McIlroy as the +360 pick to win the Open Championship, with Young at +800 from the lead position.

Yet, it was the rookie Young who shined brightest in the first round. Both he and McIlroy played earlier in the day when the winds didn’t blow quite as hard as in the afternoon. Young carded eight birdies without a bogey, playing the kind of smart, “boring�golf McIlroy had described as the winning formula at St. Andrews.

“I don’t think I played a perfect round of golf,�Young told reporters after his round. “I scored really well. And I think we thought our way around the way you have to out there.�/p>

Young tied the best round for a golfer making his debut at one of the majors in the Masters era, joining three others who posted an eight-under in their first round. None of the other three won their respective events.

McIlroy also had a good day. Yet the plethora of strange mounds, humps, and rolls made the Old Course as challenging as ever, as even the best golfers in the world haven’t learned all of St. Andrews’ secrets.

“It’s the fiddliest Open that I’ve played,�McIlroy said afterward. “And round the greens here, and just all the slopes and undulations and everything, I think as the tournament progresses, you’re going to get some funny bounces and it’s going to test your patience at times.�/p>

Tiger struggles in Open Championship return

The competitors also tested the patience of their fellow golfers. The pace of play ground to a halt over the course of the day, with rounds taking over six hours for some groups. The course itself played into that, as golfers looked to play into other fairways to find the best angles to some difficult tee positions around the course.

“Xander [Schauffele] and I talked about it,�defending champion Collin Morikawa told reporters. “We’re watching more golf than we ever have. You stay in the fairway and you’re watching two other groups play golf.�/p>

Morikawa (+9000) shot an even par 72 on Thursday, while Schauffele (+1400) is tied for fifth after shooting 4-under-par. Scottie Scheffler (+800) shot an opening 68 to stay very much in contention.

One player who didn’t enjoy his opening round was Tiger Woods. The three-time Open champion �Woods has won twice at St Andrews alone �started with a double-bogey and shot a 6-over 78, essentially eliminating himself from contention early and leaving him with an uphill battle to make the cut.

“Probably [the] highest score as I could have shot,�Woods said of his round. “Didn’t get off to a great start �but in a round, sometimes it just goes that way. It just goes one way and it never seems to come back, no matter how hard you fight.�/p>

DraftKings now lists Woods as a +500000 pick to win the Open Championship, and +25000 to book a top-10 finish.

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All of the major sportsbooks list McIlroy as the favorite for the Open Championship, with DraftKings making him a +900 pick to earn his fifth major title.

McIlroy: ‘Boring golf’ will win Open Championship

McIlroy told BBC Northern Ireland that he’ll have to stick to the basics if he wants to lift the Claret Jug at St. Andrews on Sunday.

“You don’t have to do anything special,�McIlroy said. “You just have to play sort of boring golf, but if I can do that for four days, then I’ll have a good chance.�/p>

McIlroy has finished in the top 10 of each of this year’s previous majors, so it stands to reason that he’ll contend in the Open Championship as well.

“The last two majors, there are lots of positives to take from them,�McIlroy said. “I don’t need to do anything differently, it’s about being smart.�/p>

St. Andrews always plays short, and at 7,297 yards, players are sure to attack this weekend. With a dry course in store and winds likely to die down by the weekend, some commentators have brought up the prospect of a 59 round, though McIlroy isn’t buying it.

“I’ll tell you what, if someone shoots that [59) I will be the first person on the 18th green to shake their hand because they have played outstanding golf,�he said.

Schauffele, Scheffler among top picks at St. Andrews

Xander Schauffele (+1200) comes in as the second choice after winning the Genesis Scottish Open. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler follows at +1400, though he says he doesn’t feel like a favorite coming into the Open Championship.

“I don’t feel like there’s any extra attention on me,�Scheffler told reporters. “I haven’t read much, but I would assume not everybody’s picking me to win this week, just stuff like that. I don’t think I was the favorite maybe going into the Masters �so for me, I don’t really feel like whatever being No. 1 would be.�/p>

Other top picks to win the Open Championship include Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, and Jon Rahm, all of whom come in at +1600 at DraftKings. But the player who bettors are backing more than anyone else is, unsurprisingly, Tiger Woods.

Across the industry, sportsbooks are reporting that they’re carrying more liability on Woods than on any other golfer. DraftKings has Woods at +6000 and says it has more handle on Tiger than any other golfer. Caesars Sportsbook told ESPN that Tiger â€â€?who they have listed at +6500 â€â€?represents more than double the liability of any other player for them.

“The Tiger appeal is always going to be there,�Anthony Salleroli, lead golf trader for Caesars, told ESPN. “Truth be told, his natural odds are probably more like +12500. You just have to mitigate some liability by keeping his number lower. Nonetheless, you’re going to have enormous liability because people want the Cinderella story.�/p>

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While bettors will inevitably be attracted to Woods, who has already won the Open Championship three times in his career, DraftKings Sportsbook lists him as a +6000 pick to win this week.

Walking course still poses challenge for Woods

Woods is still recovering from the car wreck that almost cost him a leg in February 2021. One of the biggest challenges for the 15-time major championship winner is simply walking around the course on his surgically repaired right leg. He’s completed practice rounds on the Old Course, and while it’s easier than the hillier courses he struggled through in the Masters or the PGA Championship, he says it is still a challenge.

“It’s still not easy,�Woods told reporters. “Granted the inclines are not steep in any way. The declines are not steep. But it’s the unevenness that is still difficult on me. I have a lot of hardware in my leg. So it is what it is. It’s going to be difficult.�/p>

For bettors who want a reason to back Woods, his practices have been encouraging. Woods started with a full 18-hole practice round on Sunday in which he played the entire course with Justin Thomas. The 46-year-old birdied three holes on the day. While he didn’t comment after the round, others with him saw positive signs.

“He was struggling early, but came on as the day went on,�Joe LaCava, Woods’ caddie, said to ESPN.

Reporters asked Thomas if he doubted whether Woods could contend this week.

“Definitely not,�Thomas said. “I’ve learned better than to challenge anything about him.�/p>

McIlroy sees chances for Tiger on Old Course

Tiger has also won on the Old Course twice in his storied career. Granted, those wins came in 2000 and 2005. Still, McIlroy is among those saying Woods could contend yet again in 2022 �especially if the conditions are just right.

“I think the way the golf course is and the way the conditions are, I could certainly see it,�McIlroy told reporters. “It’s going to be a game of chess this week, and no one’s been better at playing that sort of chess game on a golf course than Tiger over the last 20 years.�/p>

Even if oddsmakers don’t expect Woods to win the tournament, the odds on him finishing highly in the field are much shorter. DraftKings lists Woods as a +1100 pick to finish in the top five, +550 to book a top-10 finish, and +225 to end up in the top 20.

In other words, while there’s a lot of uncertainty over how Woods will play this week, nobody is ruling out the possibility that he’ll show at least some of his vintage form. As for Tiger, he says he’s thrilled to be competing at the 150th Open Championship.

“For the most part of my rehab, I was just hoping that I could walk again, Woods said. “But lo and behold, I’ve played championship golf this year. And once I realized that I could possibly play at a high level, my focus was to get back here at St. Andrews to play in this championship being, as I said, it’s the most historic one we’ve ever had. I just didn’t want to miss this Open here at the home of golf.�/p>

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