Golf betting tips: Martin Matthews previews the Worldwide Technology Championship with best bets

Golf betting tips: Worldwide Technology Championship

2pts e.w. Beau Hossler at 28/1 (Paddy Power, Betfair Sportsbook 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8)

1.5pts e.w. Akshay Bhatia at 35/1 (Sky Bet 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8)

1pt e.w. Cameron Champ at 50/1 (Sky Bet, William Hill 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8)

1pt e.w. Brandon Wu at 90/1 (Sky Bet 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8)

1pt e.w. Harry Hall at 100/1 (Paddy Power, Betfair Sportsbook 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8)

0.5pt e.w. Brent Grant at 400/1 (General 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8)

After a week’s hiatus the PGA Tour returns with its annual Fall series trip to Mexico.

This year it's all change though as after the Mayakoba resort, the long term event host, ‘defected’ to LIV Golf we find ourselves at a new venue, the El Cardonal Course at Diamante.

A par 72 measuring just over 7450 yards the course has the honour of being the first track designed by Tiger Woods to host a PGA Tour event, with the 15 time Major Champion describing it as a layout designed to ‘make golfers think and make choices with different ways to play every hole’.

Situated on the pacific coast, the course boasts wide open fairways, huge elevation changes and larger than average greens. Ultimately though, with four par fives to go at and two potentially driveable par fours I expect scoring to be low.

With a field lacking any real strength in depth there are two stand out names heading the market, Ludvig Aberg and Cameron Young, both of course who have the potential to hack up in this field. I have to wonder though if the set up here will play to Aberg’s tee to green strengths, while Young, who you would expect to be suited by this course, arrives here not having played competitively for two months, which is enough to put me off.

Hossler hard to ignore

Instead then this seems an ideal opportunity for BEAU HOSSLER to finally get a win under his belt on the PGA Tour.

After bursting on to Tour with a stellar college reputation, Hossler looked set to get over the line in Houston back in 2018 before being denied on the 72nd hole and then in a play-off by Ian Poulter. Still, after that close call it looked only a matter of time until he landed that first trophy, but so far it just hasn’t happened for him.

More recently, after another solid enough season, Hossler has seriously stepped on the gas with a seventh place at the Shriners and then a runner-up finish at the ZOZO in Japan, results, which now see him sitting 51st in the Fedex Fall rankings with a place in the first two Signature Events of 2024 all but locked up.

Some great recent form from Hossler, then. However, what has really caught the eye is rather than the results coming through some hot performances on and around the greens, where his strengths normally lie, he has delivered some really solid tee to green play, the area in which he tends to struggle.

At the Shriners Hossler ranked 16th from tee to green, 18th off the tee and 17th in approach play, thus leaving his 153rd place season long ranking in the latter category firmly behind. Then at the ZOZO he was tenth in Driving Accuracy and sixth in GIR. Meanwhile, as is normally the case for Hossler, the putter has continued to cooperate.

On to this week then, and Hossler gets to tee it up on a course that by my reckoning, even if he was struggling from tee to green, would play to his strengths with its wide open fairways and large greens.

While of course there is an element of speculation here, what we do know is that the Californian teed it up in the Mexico Open in the spring and produced a strong tenth place finish, his best solo performance of the season until his sixth place at the Barracuda.

You would have to think then that the 28-year-old will be looking forward to returning to this part of the world on a similar wide open test.

There is no doubt that Hossler’s time will come and with these Fall events so often offering players a chance to make their breakthrough, I am keen to side with him to finally strike this week.

Time to back Bhatia

Next up I can’t ignore the obvious credentials of AKSHAY BHATIA.

A winner on the PGA Tour at the Barracuda back in the summer, Bhatia is no doubt destined for big things.

Understandably though at 21 years of age, Bhatia is still something of a ‘rough diamond’ and is yet to find a level of real consistency on the tour.

Aside from his win at the Barracuda Bhatia’s two best performances this campaign came in Puerto Rico where he was runner-up, and down the coast from here at the Mexico Open where he was fourth, giving us some great form on the paspalum greens in play this week.

Ranked 174th on tour for putting, what is most striking is that the youngster ranked sixth on the greens in Mexico and eighth in Puerto Rico. In addition, Bhatia also threw in a round of 63 at the Corales earlier this year on the same surfaces.

For the icing on the cake for Bhatia on the paspalum and indeed in coastal events, we only need to look at the fact that his win on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2022 came on the same surface at the Emeralds Bay event in the Bahamas, where he also posted two top tens at the beginning of this year when returning again on the Korn Ferry Tour.

So we’ve established that Bhatia appears to be something of an expert by the coast and on the paspalum but what of his form coming in to this week?

Two missed cuts came at the end of the regular season following his win at the Barracuda. However, since then Bhatia has produced three solid performances in the Fall, only shooting over par once in 12 rounds, while last time out at the ZOZO he ranked ninth for old fashioned GIR on his way to 21st.

Longer than average off the tee and strong from tee to green, it is very much about the putter for the youngster and for whatever reason he does seem to thrive on these surfaces. Our hope then is he has his normal strong tee to green game on show here and if he can then spike with the putter once more on the Paspalum, he really should thrive.

At 97th in the current Fedex Fall rankings, Bhatia knows that one really big result over the next three events could push him into the top 60 and this seems a great opportunity for him to produce just such a performance.

Time to catch Champ?

If this does transpire to be a track that suits the bigger hitters then one player I am keen to have onside is CAMERON CHAMP.

Champ was in our team last time out at the ZOZO on the back of two eye-catching efforts at the Sandersons and the Shriners, where he posted ninth and 18th place respectively.

Unfortunately, in Japan it wasn’t his week and he produced a disappointing 59th.

As we know, Champ is an enigma of a player who when it all clicks can look like a world beater, and there has been enough in his recent efforts to make me think that we should persevere with him on a layout which I expect him to enjoy.

While we are again speculating with regards to course suitability, what we do know is that Champ has shown a real liking for the Vidanta track used for the Mexico Open, finishing eighth there on the back of six straight missed cuts earlier this year and sixth there the previous year. Champ, one would think, will be relishing the prospect of a return to the Pacific Coast of Mexico on a wide-open course where he can give it a rip.

Prior to the disappointing week in Japan, there was a lot to like in his performance at the Shriners, as despite his Saturday wobble he produced solid numbers in all areas across the week, particularly on Thursday where he led the field from tee to green and was fifth in approach play.

At 127th in the Fedex Fall rankings, Champ still has work to do to secure his card and with only trips to Bermuda and the RSM to come after this week, this test by far represents his best chance. I’ll take Champ then to enjoy his time in Mexico once more and produce a big performance.

Brandon set for bold show back at the coast

Next up is another ‘horses for courses’ pick for coastal events and indeed in Mexico, BRANDON WU.

Wu finished the regular Fedex season in 57th and therefore in prime position for a place in the all important ‘next ten’ from 50-60. However, a couple of low-key efforts to follow in the Sanderson Farms and ZOZO have seen him slip into 65th spot and with all to play for.

Add these first two Fall efforts to the fact that we have to go back to June for the last time Wu finished inside the top 35 on tour, and on the face of it he is not someone who should leap off the page this week.

On the flip side, is the fact that for whatever reason Wu seems to come to life when he is by the sea, particularly when we are looking at a lower scoring track, and it is that which leads us back to him this week.

Wu first showed his liking for coastal golf when he was seventh in Puerto Rico in 2021 before he had his full card, and he then finished third in the same event a year later, a performance which came on the back of five straight missed cuts to start the year to show he can find his form out of nowhere when conditions suit. The Californian then delivered a runner-up finish in the 2022 Mexico Open, which was his best finish on tour at the time, and then added an eighth place at the Genesis Scottish Open.

On to 2023 and Wu was at it again posting another runner up finish by the coast at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am before he then produced the goods once more this year, finishing third. That’s six top tens then by the coast for Brandon in two full seasons as a PGA Tour member.

Once more we can only speculate that Wu will enjoy it here as much as he does on the Mexico Open layout. However, the obvious course similarities already noted are enough to have me siding with the one time Korn Ferry tour winner as he returns to the coast again this week.

Happy Harry at big prices

Next up for me this week is HARRY HALL.

At 88th in the Fedex Fall standings it has been a good solid debut season on tour for the Englishman. He can look forward to ‘going again’ in 2024, trying to progress further and bag that first PGA Tour win.

A look at Hall’s maiden season shows that his best result came at the Charles Schwab Challenge where he was third. However behind that his other three best finishes came when he was seventh in Puerto Rico, tenth in the Mexico Open and 13th at the Corales, giving us form on the paspalum in all the key events we are looking for here, particularly in Mexico of course.

Looking at that Mexico Open finish alongside his stats for the season and it's not surprising Hall thrived in that event. Known for his prowess on the greens, Hall sits fourth in putting on tour, while he is also solid around the greens. Furthermore, he struggles from tee to green and lacks accuracy off the tee. Clearly then, you would expect Hall to perform better on courses where his long game isn’t tested as much and his short game can come to the fore.

Following a missed cut at the Sanderson’s, Hall played nicely in his home event the Shriners to finish 26th and then followed it up with a 21st at the ZOZO on a layout you wouldn't think would be to his liking.

He arrives in Mexico with some nice momentum for a test I expect him to enjoy.

A winner on the Korn Ferry Tour last year and still only 26 years of age, Hall undoubtedly has his best golf ahead of him and on a track which will hopefully play to his strengths, I expect the Vegas-based man from Somerset to put in a big showing this week.

Grant worth a spin with conditions to suit

Finally, at huge odds I shall throw some loose change at BRENT GRANT.

As befits Grant’s odds, the case for him is built on some speculative strands.

Firstly, if we do end up with a ‘bombers paradise’ this week, what we have in Grant is one of the biggest hitters on tour as he currently ranks inside the top 20 in Driving Distance.

Secondly, in what has been an undoubtedly poor debut season for Grant, his one shining light came at the Corales Puntacana where he delivered an eighth place finish, thus giving us some good form by the coast and on the paspalum. Furthermore, his next best effort this year was when 20th at Pebble Beach, giving us another positive display by the coast. In fact, it is also worth noting that Grant grew up in Hawaii so no surprise perhaps that he enjoys a coastal test.

Aside from his eighth place at the Corales and 20th at Pebble Beach, the 27-year-old's best effort on tour this season came last time out when he ended a run of three missed cuts in a row with a 35th at the Shriners, with his normally weak putter co-operating, so some positive vibes for him to bring into this week.

All pretty speculative stuff then. However, Grant does have a Korn Ferry win under his belt and in a field that really lacks depth beyond the top three, I am quite happy to risk him at the odds.

Posted at 2255 GMT on 30/10/23

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