*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
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Czech Masters
Wilco Nienaber
You want big hitters in the Czech Masters and it was very much the case last year where big hitters finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd. So I’ve gone with the biggest hitter of them all, Wilco Nienaber. He’s in really good form and was just outside the top 20 last week on a course where you needed to probably be a little more accurate than he is.
Here at The Czech Masters he can just go to town off the tee and if he can just stay out of trouble, and there’s not a lot of it, then I think he can go really, really well.
Antoine Rozner
The other one I like is Antoine Rozner. He’s another big hitter, probably a bigger hitter than he gets credit for. He’s inside the top 20 in distance and has won a couple of times. The only problem of late has been the putter and it’s really been a problem for him on links greens which are very, very different to what he’ll get here.
He’s won in Prague before on the Challenge Tour and I think he’s a class act at the price. Rozner I like but it’s Nienaber who I’m really excited about.
BMW Championship
Scottie Scheffler
The market tells you that one of maybe a dozen players could win and we should get a world-class champion here and it’s very much a case of trying to find the right one. I’ve been a bit contrarian, I suppose, and have gone with Scottie Scheffler. He missed the cut last week but I watched his first round, he could have birdied the first two holes and then everything that could go wrong did go wrong.
That happens sometimes but five of the last six times he’s missed the cut, when we’ve seen him next he’s had a chance to win. I expect him to bounce back again. He’s second now in the FedEx Cup, Cameron Smith, who’s third, isn’t playing this week so it’s a massive chance for him to take advantage. I think he can bounce back very, very quickly.
Joaquin Niemann
I’ve also got an eye on Joaquin Niemann at probably about twice the price of Scheffler. He was a winner for us back in February when he was the all-the-way champion at Riviera. This is a different test and it will suit him. He’ll be better on these greens than last and it was only the putter which kept him out of the top 5 or 6 at Southwind.
He’s far better on the grass they use this week. He’s another who’s got stacks of power off the tee and he can make birdies with the best of them. Joaquin Niemann is a huge talent, just outside the top 15 in the FedEx Cup, he could make a late bid for that jackpot.
Mackenzie Hughes
The reason I’ve gone for Mackenzie Hughes is that two years ago in this event he was in a very, very similar position in the FedEx Cup and he needed to finish in the top 10 to make it into the Tour Championship. He did it with the best up and down of his life. He finished 10th so we didn’t get an each-way payout but he was in the mix all week.
He actually hit the ball a bit better last week. He’s a fabulous putter and usually struggles off the tee but there are wide fairways here. He’s got an extra bit of motivation in the fact he’s one of the international players who know this is their final chance to impress Trevor Immelman and get on the Presidents Cup team. He needs a top 10 finish and I thought as the rank outsider he’s worth a very, very small bet.
Maverick McNealy
The other one at a big price is Maverick McNealy who has got a good chance here. He’s looking to be a first-time winner and is long off the tee and a brilliant putter which is a great combination because the greens here are absolutely massive so there’ll be a lot of three puts. Hopefully McNealy can avoid those.
He’s been showing in the last three to six months that he’s edging towards that first PGA Tour win. His dad is reportedly a billionaire but he’ll be getting closer to him if he can go and win that $15m FedEx jackpot next week! To do so he’ll need a big week here.
This weekend’s golf tips
Czech Masters
Wilco Nienaber
Antoine Rozner
BMW Championship
Scottie Scheffler
Joaquin Niemann
Maverick McNealy
Mackenzie Hughes
*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
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