OLYMPIA FIELDS, IL – AUGUST 30: Jon Rahm of Spain smiles with the tournament trophy after his … [+]
The penultimate event of the 2023 PGA Tour season is this week’s BMW Championship. It’s the second leg of the FedExCup Playoffs, and Olympia Fields Country Club just South of Chicago is the host course for the first time since 2020 when Jon Rahm made a dramatic 66-foot putt in a walkoff playoff win over Dustin Johnson.
- Course: Olympia Fields Country Club
- Yardage: 7,366 yards, Par 70
- Location: Olympia Fields, Illinois
- Dates: Aug. 17-20, 2023
Key stats and course form
The classic, tree-line parklands course is expected to play firm and fast. The more heavily contoured greens make premium putting on Poa/Bentgrass a prerequisite for success as players shoot for a top prize of $3.6 million from the $20 million prize pool.
Just 50 players remain in the running for the huge $18 million payday awarded to the winner of next week’s Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.
Leading Favorites Odds to Win 2023 BMW Championshipp
Leading favorites and contenders golf odds from FanDuel Sportsbook refresh periodically and are subject to change, including on props and live betting.
The odds below provide a moving target of the leading favorites and contenders to win the BMW Championship this week. Beyond the odds is a FanDuel win simulations model which is based on long-term scoring trends, recency adjustments, and field-strength weighting.
72 Hole Winning Score: 272.5
FedEx Cup Playoffs Overview and Eligibility
Tommy Fleetwood is up to No. 10 in the FedExCup Standings, and secure to make top 30 and play in the Tour Championship next week in Atlanta. Fleetwood has yet to win on the PGA Tour, but remains in excellent form with his 22nd career top-5 finish last week at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. That’s the most top-5’s of any player on the PGA Tour without a win in the last 40 years, according to PGA Tour stats guru Justin Ray.
Better than a 50% chance of rain is in the forecast Thursday morning at Olympia Fields. Temperatures near 80 degrees and warmer over the weekend with sunny skies and light winds as the leading challengers shoot for pars and birdies Saturday and Sunday.
Notable Tournament matchups and odds for the 2023 BMW Championship
Tournament match-ups vary from leading online sportsbooks, and we’ll post here later Tuesday as provided by the oddsmakers. I chip-in selected bets with strokes gained stats as you evaluate the course and fire for fairways and green on your picks and props for the BMW Championship. Selected tournament matchups below from FanDuel Sportsbook and/or BetMGM.
- Rory McIlroy (-145) vs Patrick Cantlay (+120)
- Scottie Scheffler (-145) vs Jon Rahm (+120) – Bet Rahm
- Xander Schauffele (-115) vs Viktor Hovland (-110)
- Tommy Fleetwood (-125) vs Max Homa (+100)
- Tyrrell Hatton (-115) vs Collin Morikawa (-105) – Bet Hatton
- Rory McIlroy (-110) vs Scottie Scheffler (-110)
- Jordan Spieth (-180) vs Lucas Glover (+130)
- Jon Rahm (-115) vs Patrick Cantlay (-105)
- Tyrrell Hatton (-135) vs Sungjae Im (+115)
- Jordan Spieth (-110) vs Max Homa (-110) – Bet Spieth
- Rickie Fowler (-120) vs Russell Henley
- Brian Harman (-110) vs Sungjae Im (-110)
- Cameron Young (-130) vs Sam Burns
- Jason Day (-110) vs Wyndham Clark (-110)
- Si Woo Kim (-115) vs Cam Davis (-105)
- Sahith Theegala (-130) vs Denny McCarthy (+110)
Popular Types of Golf Betting Odds
Types of bets and how to read the odds
- Winner: Bet on who will win this week’s PGA tour event
- Finishing Position Odds: Bet on a golfer to finish in the top 5, top 10, top 20 or top 40 in this week’s golf tournament
- Round Leader Betting: Golf odds on who will win the first round, second round, third round, and fourth round separately.
- Golf Matchup Betting: Prop bets on which golfer will finish better in the tournament head-to-head between the two golfers listed for each matchup.
BMW Championship Picks
According to FanDuel’s Brandon Gdula, who is also a golf betting contributor for Golf Digest, key strokes gained stats and other categories of importance this week include:
- Approach
- Driving Distance (and Tee to Green)
- Total Strokes Gained (Difficult Scoring)
- SG: Putting (Bentgrass)
Check back for the Golf Digest picks from the team of contributors and added information you can bet on.
Beyond the leading favorites and most bet players this week, I’m taking a shot on Tyrrell Hatton to win and finish top-10. Despite not ranking in the top-15 of this week’s PGA Tour power rankings, Hatton is a solid fit with supportive stats this week. The 31-year-old Englishman has gained at least 2-strokes ball-striking in nine straight starts. He’s among the best in the field longer term when putting on bent/poa greens, and has a proven performances profile when playing on firm and fast golf courses. Hatton will still be key player to bet on including in select tournament matchups.
You can bet on it.
