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PGA betting: 2 players to wager in the Top 20 market at the BMW Championship

The penultimate event of the PGA playoffs is this week in Delaware at the Wilmington Country Club for the BMW Championship. The top 70 players in the rankings will take to the South Course in hopes to be one of the final 30 to advance to the season-ending Tour Championship.

This will be the first time Wilmington Country Club will host a PGA event, which means there is no course history for reference. What we do know is that South Course is a par 71, extends over 7,500 yards long. Despite a thick rough, it has wide fairways with few hazards and bentgrass greens. The course should be fairly easy to navigate for these best of the best pros.

With only 70 players in the field and no cut, the top-40 market is out of reach, but there are two players worth consideration for at least a top 20.

Aaron Wise

Top 20 +160
Top 10 +450
Top 5 +1000
To win +6000

Wise is the player I took for top-20 wagers early in the season and they never worked out. Once I started backing him in the top-40 market, those were solid plays. With top 40 heavily juiced, the risk at plus money for a top 20 will have to do. At least the risk has merit. Wise is definitely part of ‘team no putt.’ However, bentgrass is the only surface Wise is a positive putter on. In his last five bentgrass tournaments, Wise has gained strokes putting in four, resulting in three top-10 finishes, including a solo second in the Memorial Tournament in June when he gained nearly five strokes putting.

Wise is a sound ball striker, consistently gaining off the tee. Now add in his ability to putt on this surface and Wise could be a sleeper top-10 contender.

Viktor Hovland plays a shot during the final round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship on Aug. 14. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Viktor Hovland plays a shot during the final round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship on Aug. 14. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Viktor Hovland

Top 20 -105
Top 10 +240
Top 5 +500
To win +3000

It has been a minute since I have considered Hovland for any sort of PGA wager. The Norwegian went on a tear for a bit, winning three tournaments in a five-week span. However, they were really low-level strength of fields. After back-to-back missed cuts in the U.S. Open and the Scottish Open, Hovland may be turning the tide with back-to-back top-20 finishes, taking T4 at the Open and T20 in last week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship.

He has gained off the tee and on approach in three straight events, while also gaining strokes putting in five of his last six starts. Similar to Wise, bentgrass is Hovland’s best surface. However, his results don’t necessarily correlate. In his last six tournaments with bentgrass greens, Hovland’s best finish has been a T18 in the CJ Cup. What was lacking was his ball striking, while he gained putting. Now that it appears he has cleaned that part of his game, perhaps the two can mold into a contention spot this week.