STAR GOLF PREVIEW: Fortinet Championship

A new season of the PGA Tour, a new season to try and find some long odds winners. After the shortest off season in all of sport, the PGA Tour returns for its 2023/24 season writes BLUE HORSESHOE.

The first stop is to Napa Valley California for the Fortinet Championship. The Silverado resort and spa has the been the venue for this tournament for the last seventeen years, so there’s plenty of course form to dig through. It’s a par 72, 7,123 yard layout so distance off the tee’s is not a prerequisite here. All the stats point to the advantage lying with elite ball strikers. If you’re solid with your approach game, you’re set to go well here. Max Homa is the defending champ and is back to tune up his game for the Ryder Cup. He’s clearly the class horse of the field but let’s see if we cant unearth a couple of contenders with slightly more palatable odds.

Blue Horseshoe Loves …

Eric Cole ⭐ ? CLICK TO BET NOW
I was a huge fan of this guys game throughout all of last season when he came up on my radar. He went close more times than I care to think about, but I’m keeping the faith. This guy’s game is quality, particularly in the areas of ball striking and putting. Cole will get that maiden PGA Tour win soon.

Austin Eckroat ⭐ ? CLICK TO BET NOW
Eckroat’s strength is his ball striking ability. He’s another player who went desperately close to winning his first PGA Tour event last season. Eckroat looks to be an exciting talent and this course looks tailormade to his game. He didn’t go particularly well here last year, but that was at the start of his journey as a PGA Tour player. He’s a different prospect now with a year of experience under his belt and I expect him to perform far better this week.

Davis Thompson ⭐ ? CLICK TO BET NOW
Thompson started his season well here last year, finishing in a tie for 9th. He went on to lose in a playoff at the American Express and few weeks later and looked to be a very exciting young talent in the game. As the season progressed his results fell away somewhat. I think the break and a return for a new season to a venue he played well at last year could be just the spark Thompson needs. He looks to be a player of real ability when his tail is up.

Mark Hubbard ⭐ ? CLICK TO BET NOW
Hubbard (pictured above) had a top twenty finish here last year. That’s no surprise because his form record across his entire PGA career is far stronger on shorter courses such as this, where the emphasis is on ball striking. He has amassed a bunch of top ten and twenty finishes on courses with a similar profile and I think he should be in the mix again.

RECOMMENDED BETS
BACK ERIC COLE 1pt each/way at 28/1 (⭐ ? CLICK TO BET NOW)
BACK AUSTIN ECKROAT 0.5pt each/way at 55/1 (⭐ ? CLICK TO BET NOW)
BACK DAVIS THOMPSON 0.5pt each/way at 45/1 (⭐ ? CLICK TO BET NOW)
BACK MARK HUBBARD 1pt each/way at 55/1 (⭐ ? CLICK TO BET NOW)

EW Terms 1/5 odds, 7 places 

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PROFIT/LOSS (SEPTEMBER 2023): PROFIT 0.49 points
(Excluding ante-post recommendations CLICK HERE)

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