It’s never happened before in the history of the PGA Tour, and this year, it will be happening. Instead of the four events that we’re accustomed to in the FedExCup playoffs, the PGA has decided to have just three tournaments instead. To kick off the postseason, we have the 2019 Northern Trust this weekend hosted at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, New Jersey with a purse of $9,250,000.
According to the online betting site Bovada, Brooks Koepka is listed to take this weekend’s first playoff tournament at +800. Up next, we have Rory McIlroy in second place at +1100 odds, followed by Jon Rahm in third at +1400. Afterwards, Dustin Johnson comes in the No. 4 spot listed with a +1600 figure, and then Justin Thomas rounds out the top five for us at +1800. In the sixth position, Justin Rose comes in with a mark of +2000, followed by a tie for the seventh-place between Rickie Fowler and Patrick Cantlay at +2200 odds. Rounding out the top 10 is another tie, this time for ninth between Tiger Woods and Tommy Fleetwood at +2500.
The Northern Trust will be Tiger Woods’ first tournament since The Open Championship in Northern Ireland where he would miss the cut. It’s also only his fifth appearance since claiming the Masters championship back in April.
As far as the tournament itself, Northern Trust will be carried at Liberty National this season, the first time since the 2013 campaign. In that tournament, Adam Scott would take the victory, and coming into this year’s edition, Scott is listed with +4000 odds to win.
The winner of the Northern Trust will take a total of 2,000 FedExCup points, so with the points being quadrupled, you can expect some super competitive golf this weekend. And that’s not all, these points can eventually lead them to the Tour Championship and also a chance to win a whopping $15 million. The Tour Championship is being held at East Lake in Atlanta, Georgia. For next week’s event at Medinah, just the top 70 players in the standings will be eligible to participate. As a result, 55 golfers will find themselves outside of the cut before we arrive to the BMW Championships. Again I say, expect vastly competitive golf this weekend.
At the Northern Trust, Bryson DeChambeau would take the victory and will be back this year to defend his championship. In the third round, he pull a score of 63 that would include nine birdies. As a result, he would enter the final day with a four-shot lead that would transition into a four-stroke victory. But here’s the problem for DeChambeau coming into the 2019 edition of the tournament: Last year’s Northern Trust was hosted at Ridgewood Country Club, located in Paramus, New Jersey.
As far as Liberty National Golf Club is concerned, you’re looking a 7,360-yard golf course that is also a par 71. It also happens to an incredibly gorgeous course with the most beautiful view of downtown New York City, as well as the Statue of Liberty. It’s considered to be one of the best skyline golf courses in the PGA, and that was made possible thanks to investments of over $300 million put into the development. What used to be an industrial wasteland, is now a key destination on the PGA Tour.
The Northern Trust hosted at the Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, New Jersey kicks off on Thursday, August 8 and will be held until Sunday, August 11. The opener of the FedExCup playoffs will be nationally televised and broadcasted on CBS and GOLF. Jim Nantz, who also does the lead play-by-play announcing for the NFL, will be calling the final two rounds of the Northern Trust. The first tee time on Thursday is at 7:10 AM and will feature golfers Brian Harman, Matt Every, Adam Schenk, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Joaquin Niemann and Michael Thompson.
Other notable tee times are:
Let’s go over the favorites to win the 2019 Northern Trust and review their chances to take the first 2,000 points of the FedExCup playoffs. Afterwards, I’ll give you my official prediction to win the tournament and my long-shot pick to ride with for a major payday.
Brooks Koepka once again enters a tournament as the top-dog favorite, and it’s perfectly understandable when you look at his flashy numbers. In his last five appearances, Koepka has compiled three top-five finishes in that stretch. He would suffer a 65th place finish in the 3M Open and then would take a 57th place hit in the Travelers Championship, but check out the rest of his recent resume: He would be the victor at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, claim the No. 4 spot at The Open Championship and then the second position at the U.S. Open. If you notice, when the brights lights are on, that’s when Koepka shows up. With this being a playoff event this weekend, you better believe Brooks Koepka will be among the favorites on Sunday — and in a pretty position to get his first career Northern Trust win.
He may have missed the cut in two of his past five tournaments, but in the other three, it was pure elite performances for Rory McIlroy, including a victory, a top-five finish, and a top 10 finish. Coming into the Northern Trust in excellent form, it’s no surprise that McIlroy is listed as the second favorite in the odds. His two missed cuts would come in The Open Championship and the Memorial Tournament pres. by Nationwide, but after that, it’s superior performances: He would win the RBC Hamilton, take a fourth-place position at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational and he would take the No. 9 spot in the U.S. Open. With the playoffs now here, expect Rory McIlroy to be in top form and deliver one of his top performances.
Jon Rahm is another one who is coming into the Northern Trust in excellent form. In his last three appearances, he would tally three top 15 finishes, including one of those being in the top 10 and the other being in the top three. Needless to say, Rahm is also a threat to win this weekend’s Northern Trust. In his last five appearances, he would tally two missed cut marks in both the Charles Schwab Challenge and PGA Championship. After that, however, it was nothing but elitism for the Spaniard. He would take the third-place finish in the U.S. Open, the No. 7 spot in the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational and then he would land the 11th position in The Open Championship. As one of the top-dog favorites coming in, you can expect Rahm to retain that status on the final day of the tournament.
He may have a Northern Trust victory on his resume, but Dustin Johnson isn’t coming into this year’s edition with the best form. His best mark would be two 20th place finishes at each the RBC Canadian Open and WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. After that, it would be a 35th place finish at the U.S. Open, a 51st mark at The Open Championship and he would miss the cut altogether at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. With that being said, I would pass on any wagers including Dustin Johnson. There’s zero value with his +1600 odds. I’m not seeing him do well in a tournament where the stakes are this high and the competition is this intense. Pass on Dustin.
Justin Thomas isn’t coming in with the worst form, but it isn’t the best either. His best finish would be the No. 11 spot at The Open Championship, however, it doesn’t drop off that far from there. He would miss the cut at the U.S. Open, but check out his other performances: Thomas would finish in 12th at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, 20th at the RBC Canadian Open and then he would place No. 36 on the leaderboard at the Travelers Championship. I personally would pass on Justin Thomas with a bet, but I wouldn’t blame you for trying to take advantage of his +1800 odds.
Placed at +2000 odds, Justin Rose would be another solid pick to make due to a nice stretch of performances giving him good form for the Northern Trust, and this would include a third-place finish at the major tournament of the U.S. Open. He would suffer a 58th place finish in the Charles Schwab Challenge, but that’s the only bad tally that he would put up. Rose features an elite third-place finish in the U.S. Open, the No. 11 spot in the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, the 13th position in the Memorial Tournament pres. by Nationwide and he would put himself in 20th at The Open Championship. As you see, Rose isn’t in bad form, and I wouldn’t blame you for trying to take advantage of his +2000 odds. There’s certainly a lot of value there.
Patrick Cantlay is yet another golfer with profitable odds placed at +2200. In his last five performances, his worst would be a ranking right below the 40 mark, and his best would be a victory. That win would come in the Memorial Tournament pres. by Nationwide, and his next best result would be a 12th place tally in the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. After that, it would be a top 15 placement with a 15th finish in the Travelers Championship. He would also take a 21st mark in the U.S. Open. The previously-mentioned worst performance of his would be a 41st place finish in The Open Championship. As you see though, there’s certainly a lot of profitability here.
He would do great with a sixth-place tally in The Open Championship, but other than that, there’s just way too much inconsistency for me to take Rickie Fowler in a wager. He would have another solid performance in 14th at the Memorial Tournament pres. by Nationwide, but after that, there’s nothing to brag about: He would take the 43rd mark at the U.S. Open, finishing 46th in the Rocket Mortgage Classic and then would miss the cut altogether at the Charles Schwab Challenge. There’s plenty of profitable golfers in this tournament, but Rickie Fowler isn’t one of them.
Despite having 81 career wins, Tiger Woods has never achieved a victory at the Northern Trust, so it’ll be interesting to see how he does this weekend in a playoff atmosphere, especially considering how he would miss the cut in his last appearance at The Open Championship. Woods wouldn’t be a bad bet to take either at +2500, and no, not just because he’s the legendary Tiger Woods. With the exception of missing the cut at The Open and the PGA Championship, there’s nothing but solid results with the rest of his stretch of recent performances: First at the Masters Tournament, ninth at the Memorial Tournament pres. by Nationwide and 21st in the U.S. Open. Tiger Woods is always going to provide value, and that won’t change here in the Northern Trust. Solid pick with a lot of value for sure.
Tommy Fleetwood is coming into the Northern Trust in excellent form. After a 48th place finishes in the PGA Championship and 65th at the U.S. Open, Fleetwood would shoot up the leaderboard in the 13th position at the Travelers Championship. After that, it would be pure elitism for Tommy Fleetwood with back-to-back top-five performances: He would place in second at The Open Championship, and he would take the fourth tally at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. Fleetwood is coming into the Northern Trust at the top of his game, and as a result, those +2500 odds of his are very profitable. A very, very good pick right here. Also, keep in mind: The Englishmen doesn’t have a career victory as of yet, but he’s definitely long overdue. It’ll eventually come, and it may happen this weekend.
Danny Willett would be a superb long shot pick to make, especially at a massively profitable +10000 odds. Coming into the Northern Trust in great form, he has nothing but solid finishes on his recent resume except for a 48th place finish in the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. Just check out the numbers for yourself: Sixth at The Open Championship, eighth at the RBC Canadian Open, 12th at the U.S. Open and 27th at the Memorial Tournament pres. by Nationwide. Entering this weekend, I see nothing but cha-ching signs when I look at Danny Willett. Place him as your long-shot wager.
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