Golf best bets: Outright picks for the Wells Fargo Championship
From left: Will Zalatoris, Harris English and Hideki Matsuyama.
We were so close to cashing Jake Knapp at 100-1 to win the CJ Cup Byron Nelson last week, but he stumbled in the final round to finish in eighth place. Here’s who we like in this week’s event, the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, N.C.
Hideki Matsuyama (+3000 DraftKings)
There aren’t many players swinging it better than Hideki Matsuyama right now. The Japanese star has gained strokes off the tee in eight of his last nine starts and strokes on approach in four of his last five. He had a disappointing T38 at The Masters in his last start, but his previous four finishes were T7, T6, T12 and win.
Quail Hollow is a ball striker’s paradise, and Matsuyama proved that with a T5 finish at the 2017 PGA Championship. The 32-year-old is playing great golf right now, so it’s surprising to see nine names ahead of him on the odds board with no Scottie Scheffler in the field.
Will Zalatoris (+4000 FanDuel)
There are plenty of reasons to not like Will Zalatoris this week. For one, he withdrew from his hometown CJ Cup Byron Nelson last week due to a back flare-up. He also has just one top-40 finish in his last four individual starts, and he lost strokes putting in all four. Oh, and he shot 4-over par and missed the cut in his lone start at Quail Hollow in 2021.
We’re throwing all of those red flags out the window this week because of the 40-1 price. Any time Zalatoris opens above players such as Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Corey Conners, Akshay Bhatia and Alex Noren on the odds board, we’re going to take it. Quail Hollow is a perfect fit for Zalatoris on paper because it’s a long, challenging golf course that demands precise ball striking, and he plays his best golf on the toughest layouts.
Harris English (+7000 FD)
Like Zalatoris, English plays his best on long, challenging courses because he’s a fantastic driver of the golf ball and a great putter. The American ranks 16th on the PGA Tour this season in total driving and 27th in strokes gained from putting.
English’s worst statistical category this season has been his iron play, but he ranked second in the field at last year’s Wells Fargo Championship in strokes gained on approach en route to a T3 finish. He’s also gained strokes from putting every time he’s teed it up at Quail Hollow, which isn’t a surprise considering he grew up in Georgia and feels comfortable on these southeast courses.
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