This article is part of our Golf Picks series.
World Wide Technology Championship Betting Preview
The PGA Tour returns to action following a week off for this week's World Wide Technology Championship at the Tiger Woods designed El Cardonal in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. With just three tournaments left in 2024, the race to make the top 125 in the FedExCup Fall Standings in in full force and the field is headlined by tournament favorite Max Greyserman at 16-1 odds. Last year, longshot Erik van Rooyen (80-1 odds) picked up his second Tour victory by two strokes over Matt Kuchar and Camilo Villegas.
Last year was the first time the event was at El Cardonal (par-72, 7,452 yards) after previously being held in Riviera Maya, and the players had no issues picking this course apart as van Rooyen won at a whopping 27-under and the cut reached 5-under. Although we don't have any strokes gained data to draw from, we know from last year that as is the case with many resort courses, the venue has wide fairways and provides ample birdie opportunities. Players are faced with minimal rough and that's going to put more of a premium on distance over accuracy. Around the green play will not be much of a factor as the greens are incredibly big and players will hit them in regulation at a high clip. Last year, van Rooyen missed just four fairways and 10 greens all tournament! Overall, I'm targeting longer hitters, birdie makers and those that have a good track record on easy/resort courses such as Kapalua (The Sentry), Black Desert Resort (Black Desert Championship) and Vidanta Vallarta (Mexico Open.
All odds via DraftKings Sportsbook as of 1:00 PM ET Wednesday
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Best Ball Strikers
These golfers have gained the most strokes off the tee and on approach combined across their last 20 rounds:
- Austin Smotherman: 1.27
- Doug Ghim: 1.16
- J.J. Spaun: 0.92
- Joseph Bramlett: 0.82
- Nick Hardy: 0.79
Smotherman tops the list despite having mixed his time between the PGA and Korn Ferry Tour this year as he's on conditional status, but he's shown quality ball striking having led the field in SG: Off-the-Tee in Napa and was third on approach at the Sanderson. He played well here last year, closing with an eight-under 64 to finish T23 and makes for a sneaky placement wager or as a low-cost DFS option. Another player that's been in good form with his long game is Bramlett, who has finished sixth and third in SG: Tee-to-Green over his last two tournaments. The issue is that he's gained strokes on the greens in just five events all year. He's certainly a darkhorse at 75-1 odds and could find himself in contention with a decent putting week.
World Wide Technology Championship Bets: Outright Picks
J.J. Spaun (28-1)
We can see from the stats above that Spaun's been driving and hitting his irons well as of late. All six of his top-25s this year have come since June and that's included a T3 at the Wyndham at a T6 in his most recent start in Japan.
Keith Mitchell (28-1)
Mitchell tends to be hit-or-miss - four missed cuts in his last eight starts but three top-15s as well. It was just a month ago that he had the lead late in the final round of the Sanderson before finishing one out of playoff.
Rico Hoey (35-1)
Hoey found a new level during the summer swing when he posted three top-10s in a four event stretch and has had a nice fall that was highlighted for a T3 at the Shriners. Led by his driving play (ninth in SG: Off-the-Tee this season), his upside is almost as high as anyone in the field.
World Wide Technology Championship Bets: Top-10 Wagers
Joe Highsmith (5-1)
Highsmith is trending in the right direction, making all four of his cuts this fall with three top-20s. The 24-year-old doesn't necessarily stand out in any category but is 51st in driving distance and GIR, and also gaining strokes in every category except for putting.
Alejandro Tosti (13-2)
At 128th in the FedExCup Fall Standings, the next three weeks are crucial for the Tour rookie. He's gained over a stroke per round off the tee in each of his last three tournaments, most recently finishing T9 in Vegas.
Matt NeSmith (9-1)
NeSmith is gaining strokes on the season both off the tee and on approach, which isn't something you'd expect from someone that's 9-1 to top-10 in this level of a field. He has a pair of top-10s over his last eight starts as well.
World Wide Technology Championship Bets: Head-to-Head Matchups
Beau Hossler (-115) over Lucas Glover
Hossler has played pretty well this fall, posting three top-25s across his last four starts that was highlighted by a playoff loss in Jackson. He had a good showing here last year, recording three rounds of 67 or better to finish T15. Glover on the other hand had a mediocre T59 finish, and I don't think he's the best course fit as he's not long off the tee and his game isn't predicated on making a ton of birdies.
Patrick Fishburn (-115) over Patrick Rodgers
Fishburn has had a quiet but solid first season on Tour in which he had three top-10s during a four event stretch a few months back. He's seventh in SG: Off-the-Tee this year. Rodgers had had an okay fall – one top-25 but only bested nine golfers in Japan in his last start. Fishburn has finished better than Rodgers in three of the four events they've played together this fall.
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