*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
Sporting Life’s Ben Coley is back to run us through his selections for this weekend’s golfing action.
Firstly, he takes us to Texas for the Charles Schwab Challenge on the PGA Tour, starting on Thursday. Ben also runs us through the Dutch Open on the European Tour, which also takes place this weekend. Let’s get his verdict on the action…
WELCOME TO PADDY POWER NEWS
2022 Charles Schwab Challenge
Thursday 26th – Sunday 29th May
TV: Sky Sports Golf – Red Button
Main Selections – Jordan Spieth, Webb Simpson
I’ll start with Jordan Spieth. There’s some patience required with Spieth, obviously he let us down a bit last week, but he played really from tee to green. He’s not hole-ing puts at the moment, but it didn’t stop him winning a month ago. There’s a really good chance he comes alive on the greens here, this is a course he knows the best on the PGA Tour, he’s being playing it since 2013, he’s a winner, been second three times, and has five more top tens. In five of the last six spins around here, he’s been one of the top potters in the field, if he does that again, he’s got an outstanding chance, so he’s by far the pick of the field.
I also like the look of Webb Simpson, it’s been a difficult year for him with some injury problems at the start of the season, but it means he needs a big summer. He’s highly motivated to produce it, he played much better last week in the USPGA. And he’s got two top fives here. This is one of the handful of courses on the PGA tour where Webb Simpson is a threat, and I think he will be this week, with 8 places on offer.
Outside Picks – Davis Riley, Brian Harman
A new name on the scene for a lot of fans is Davis Riley. He’s been one of the stars of the last couple of months and you can still get a good price on him this week because he’s a debutant on the course and experience counts for a lot at Colonial. That being said, he’s one of the best young players on the planet and he’s playing like it as well. He’s been a permanent fixture on leaderboards in the last couple of weeks, including at the US PGA. He’s got a massive future and I think he’ll go well on his debut at Colonial.
Someone who doesn’t lack experience is Brian Harman. He’s made his last eight cuts here and he’s been three times in the top-10. Although he was mid-pack last week, that was on a really big, long golf course. This is, in effect, a short version. That suits him as he’s all about accuracy and he’s a great putter.
NEW! Work out your Dead Heat winnings with Paddy’s each-way betting calculator
- LIKE PADDY POWER NEWS? OR MAYBE YOU JUST LIKE TO WHINGE? TELL US WHAT YOU THINK IN OUR READER SURVEY
2022 Dutch Open
Thursday 26th – Sunday 29th May
TV: Sky Sports Golf
Main Selections – Rasmus Hojgaard, Julien Brun
Three of the favourites here were all over at the PGA last week and have to fly over from Oklahoma, which is definitely not the best way to prepare whereas Rasmus Hojgaard has been at home practicing. He’s an enormous talent, winning three times already and it’s only his third season on the DP World Tour. He played really well at the British Masters at the Belfry securing a top-10 finish and he can build on that here.
Julien Brun is one of the best rookie’s on the circuit in my opinion. He does everything well apart from he can be a bit of a wild driver. This course last year saw a very similar player win at a huge price and Brun’s got bundles of talent. He’s a dynamite putter and his irons are sharp and with the space afforded him off the tee I think he’ll go really well.
Outside Picks – Haotong Li, Lucas Bjerregaard
A couple of sleeping giants here. Lucas Bjerregard is a massive price, and with good reason as he’s been in poor form. However, Bjerregaard’s a good player on these courses when it’s exposed and there’s a bit of wind. If he can get away with a wild drive he can contend which he did last year in Scotland and in Portugal where he was runner-up at a huge price. There’s loads of risk attached to Bjerregaard but you’re getting that built in with the seven places.
As for Haotong Li, he’s back to his best this year after a tough time during the pandemic. He’s from China and couldn’t go back home for 18 months so no wonder his game suffered. Since he went home last Autumn, he’s really found his game again with a couple of top-6 finishes this year. He’s another one of those who hits it a long way and he can miss from the tee occasionally but these fairways are massive and you don’t get penalised for missing them. I think he’ll go really well this week and he’ll be my bet of the week at these prices.
Ben Coley’s Weekend Tips
2022 Charles Schwab Challenge
2022 Dutch Open
READ MORE
- Liverpool v Real Madrid Champions League betting: Paddy’s special bets for Saturday’s final
- Hodgson, Lukaku and West Ham… it’s Paddy Power end of season awards
- Who will win the Premier League title next season? Paddy Power odds for 2022/23
- Key Premier League dates for your diary for 2022/23 season as World Cup hits fixtures