Viktor Hovland hits a shot from the bunker on the 18th hole during the final round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tenn., on Sunday, August 18, 2024.
- The BMW Championship tees off at Castle Pines Golf Club in Castle Rock, Colorado, on Thursday and runs through Sunday.
- The top 50 golfers in the FedEx Cup standings will head to Colorado, with the top 30 points scorers at the end of the tournament qualifying for the Tour Championship next week in Atlanta.
- Check out the section below to learn about our favorite picks for this week’s tournament.
The BMW Championship tees off in Colorado on Thursday, featuring the top 50 golfers in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup standings. If you’ve been paying attention to golf at all this year, it will come as no surprise that Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele are currently in the No. 1 and No. 2 spots. After this weekend’s tournament, the top 30 golfers in the standings will head to Atlanta for the Tour Championship next week. Coverage for the BMW Championship can be found on the USA Network, Peacock and NBC.
BMW Championship Picks
- Hideki Matsuyama top-5 finish (+333)
- Viktor Hovland top-8 finish (+180)
I’m going to ride the hot hand. Matsuyama has been playing some incredible golf the past couple of weeks. He shot an opening-round 63 to start the Paris Olympics and ended up finishing in third place at that tournament. He won the St. Jude FedEx Cup tournament last weekend. He’s hitting the ball well right now and seems to rise to the pressure.
I’m not going to pick him to win, but I do like the value of betting Matsuyama to finish in the top 5. You can find +333 odds for a Matsuyama top-5 finish over at bet365, which is a great play.
Next, Viktor Hovland always seems to show up during the FedEx Cup Playoffs. He finished tied for second last week, shaking off a rough opening round score of 70. Last year, he won the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship the following weekend.
You can get Hovland to finish in the top 10 at +137 at bet365, but I like the slightly better odds of +180 for a top 8 finish. I think Hovland is poised to finish this season strong once again and I want in on that action.
BMW Championship Longshot Picks
- Viktor Hovland to win (+1600)
- Nick Dunlap 1st round top-5 finish (+800)
I detailed my thoughts on Hovland above and discussed how well he plays in the FedEx Cup Playoffs. So while I’m going to put a full unit bet on him to finish in the top 8 this weekend in Colorado, I’m also going to place a smaller wager on Hovland to win the BMW Championship outright.
You only have to go back to 2023 to find proof that Hovland can win on this stage. He had a good showing last weekend and I think he’s poised to do big things again this week at Castle Pines Golf Club.
As for Dunlap, he had to scratch and claw his way through the last round of the St. Jude Championship last weekend just to make the top-50 cut. By making par on the 18th hole, he vaulted from 51st to 48th, clinching his spot this week and knocking Tom Kim out of the top 50.
I’m willing to put a small bet on him to follow up that top-5 finish last weekend to clinch a spot in the BMW Championship with a strong first-round showing on Thursday. The odds for him to have a top-5 score in Round 1 are +800 at bet365. I’ll put a small wager on that and then see if he can carry the momentum forward from Sunday.
Tune into USA Network, Peacock and NBC Thursday-Sunday of this week to see which of the world’s top PGA golfers will advance to next week’s Tour Championship in Atlanta.
Adam is an avid college sports fan, covering both football and basketball. During the summer months, he’s all-in on MLB action, favoring pitcher strikeout parlays.