Puerto Rico Open Picks, Predictions, Odds 2023: Lashley Favored in Search of 2nd Career Win

sportsbookreview.com
 

Nate Lashley will look to end a nearly four-year winless drought on the PGA Tour as the betting favorite for the Puerto Rico Open. Read on as we offer up our best 2023 Puerto Rico Open picks and predictions based on the best golf odds.

With the best golfers in the world competing in this week's Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club & Lodge, an alternate PGA Tour field heads to Grand Reserve Golf Club in Rio Grande for the 2023 Puerto Rico Open. Nate Lashley, who's only PGA Tour win to date was in the 2019 Rocket Mortgage Classic, enters the week as the consensus betting favorite via our best sportsbooks.

Ryan Brehm is the defending champion of this event but he's playing in Orlando this week.

Check out our top Puerto Rico Open picks and predictions as we preview the tournament and assess the odds from our best sportsbooks.

Puerto Rico Open picks

  • Erik van Rooyen (+2900 via FanDuel)
  • Brice Garnett (+3500 via Caesars)
  • Carson Young (+10000 via BetMGM)

Puerto Rico Open odds 2023

Grand Reserve Golf Club course profile

Par: 72
Length: 7,506 yards
Architect: Tom Kite

A lot of the length at Grand Reserve Golf Club comes via the two par 5s on the back nine, checking in at 600 and 630 yards. Still, they played as two of the easiest holes on the course last year, along with the other two par 5s, four par 4s, and one par 3 that played under par as 21 golfers finished at minus-10 or better. Brehm won by six strokes at 20-under par.

Grand Reserve possesses massive greens with lots of break and rolling fairways. The putting surfaces are well guarded by sand bunkers.

Puerto Rico Open key stats

  • Strokes gained: off-the-tee
  • Birdie-or-better percentage
  • Par-5 scoring average
  • Proximity: 200-225 yards
  • Sand-save percentage

Puerto Rico Open picks and predictions

Erik van Rooyen (+3000 via DraftKings)

Van Rooyen, the winner of the PGA Tour's Barracuda Championship in 2021, is the top-ranked golfer in this field and by a considerable margin. Entering this week at No. 120 in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), the South African is coming off a horribly missed cut at last week's Honda Classic but he has a top finish in 2023 of T-6 against a much stronger field than this in The American Express.

Van Rooyen's playing this event at Grand Reserve Golf Club for the first time in search of his second PGA Tour victory. While there's nothing to like about van Rooyen's performance last week and little to like about his recent form, he's just seventh by the consensus odds to win. We're getting value via DraftKings' +3000 odds to win outright, as FanDuel has him priced at +2600.

Brice Garnett (+3500 via Caesars)

Few golfers have much experience at Grand Reserve as the Puerto Rico Open has generally been used as a launching pad for newcomers to the PGA Tour. Viktor Hovland and Tony Finau are among the recent winners of this event to quickly move on to bigger and better things.

Garnett, however, played here each of the past three years with finishes of T-20, T-5, and T-7. That's recent success suggesting an eventual breakthrough at this venue for the 366th-ranked golfer in the world. Garnett also ended a slump of three straight missed cuts with last week's T-55 finish in the Honda Classic.

These odds are coming down across the market. The +3500 still available via Caesars is closer to where I originally had Garnett priced in this field and I wouldn't go any lower.

Carson Young (+10000 via BetMGM)

Young moved up to 453rd in the OWGR with a respectable T-29 finish at last week's Honda Classic. His 1.00 SG: off-the-tee and 1.05 SG: putting per round inspire some confidence in a potential long-shot winner this week.

Puerto Rico Open info

When: Thursday, March 2 - Sunday, March 5
Where: Grand Reserve Golf Club, Rio Grande, Puerto Rico
How to watch: Golf Channel, Peacock

Recent Puerto Rico Open winners

(21+. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER)
* Bonuses not applicable in Ontario.