PGA Betting – Zurich Classic: Picks To Win & Longshot Golf Best Bets

Justin “STLCardinals84” Van Zuiden is a lead DFS and betting analyst for RotoGrinders and ScoresAndOdds. In this week’s preview, STL will run over his favorite betting picks for the Zurich Classic.

Welcome back to the weekly golf betting roundup article! Jordan Spieth shrugged off a woeful Masters performance to secure a victory at last week’s RBC Heritage in a result that I didn’t see coming in the slightest. Sometimes, you just have those weeks. Golf is a fickle sport to tame, and some weeks you just have to take your “L” and move on.

This week brings us a weird partner-based event for the Zurich Classic. This will be played as a pairs event for the fifth time. 80 pairs of golfers will partake in the event. The first and third rounds will be played in fourball format, which is where each player plays their own ball, and the best score of the pair is taken for that hole. Scores will be very good in those rounds. The second and fourth rounds will be played in foursomes format, which is where alternate shots are taken by each player on just one ball. Scores won’t be quite as good in those rounds, though this is generally an easier course.

The nature of this event makes it a bit of an exhibition for some golfers, though there are many that take it seriously because it is important for their PGA Tour future. With that in mind, I’m scaling back the article a bit this week. This tournament is much more unpredictable than a lot of others, and that’s saying a lot in an inherently variant sport.

Here are three potential win market bets that I am looking at for this tournament!

STL’s Top Win Market Bets

Cantlay/Schauffele To Win

When you combine their skill sets, I think the Cantlay/Schauffele (+800, FanDuel) team is the best fit for this type of event. I don’t trust Morikawa and Hovland to make enough putts to contend in this format, and you know Cantlay and Schaffele will work through each other well. Cantlay has continually been in contention throughout calendar year 2022 to date, and despite some disappointing Sundays, his game is in a good place right now. Over the last 50 rounds, Cantlay ranks inside the top five of this field in every category except approach, and Schauffele is 6th in that department. They will work well together and are my official pick to win.

An/Im To Win

This is primarily a play on odds. This duo is +3200 on BetMGM and +3300 on FanDuel, but you can still get them at 40-to-1 on DraftKings. Byeong Hun An lost his full time Tour card this year, and he’s been grinding out strong results on the Korn Ferry Tour in an attempt to get full playing privileges back for next year. This event will provide him with a fantastic opportunity to fast track that possibility. We know that Sungjae Im loves teeing it up every week, and I expect their games to complement each other well. The ball striking is going to be fine. If they make enough putts, there’s a chance.

Buckley/Smalley To Win

If you simply want to sprinkle on a long shot (+15000, BetMGM), this is my favorite choice. These two golfers are a bit of an unknown in this format because they are both playing in their first full year with a Tour card. The fact that they are playing together with this as the backdrop makes them a perfect fit for this type of event. You know both will be motivated for a strong finish. Both are risk/reward golfers that can make some birdies, and I like them a lot in the format where each will play their own ball. If they can hold their own in the alternate shot rounds, they could be sneaky contenders here.

Good luck this week everyone! Let’s win some money! I’ll be back with the normal expanded breakdown next week.