PGA Betting – BMW Championship Predictions/Picks
Golf Odds – Harrington turns FedEx Cup into three-horse race
Even though NFL Week 1 odds kick off on Thursday, there is also the beginning of the third event of the FedEx Cup playoffs, the BMW Championship at Cog Hill. Camilo Villegas won last year at Bellervie, but everyone will be focused on Steve Stricker and Tiger Woods, which suit Padraig Harrington just fine.
Woods is the favorite at +150 after finishing T-11 at the Deutsche Bank Championship, but that’s misleading because he shot a final-round 63 after struggling all week with the putter. But he returns to Cog Hill, where he’s won in 1997, 1999, 2003 and 2007, and he’ll have extra motivation as he was passed for first place in the FedEx Cup standings.
Stricker is the man that passed him, and the veteran is rated at +1400 this week after winning the Deutsche Bank Championship with a birdie on the final hole. Stricker won at Cog Hill in 1996, and he finished third here in 2007, following up with a T-10 last year at Bellervie. He’s finally proving to be a legitimate online betting adversary to Woods, now let’s see how he holds up under the pressure.
Jim Furyk is listed at +2000 after a T-8 at the Deutsche Bank Championship, and he finished T-14 at Cog Hill in 2007. He also won here in 2005, but you should go with a player like Scott Verplank instead, as he offers better value for betting management players at +5000. Furyk has been slumping as of late, while Verplank has two straight top-10s, including a runner-up result at the Deutsche Bank Championship. Verplank won at Cog Hill as an amateur in 1985, and came in T-30 in 2007.
Pick: While everyone waits for a Stricker-Woods duel, Padraig Harrington will be laying in the shadows, plugging along as he has all season. Harrington’s T-4 last week was his fourth top-10 in a row, and his third top-five in four outings. He didn’t do too well here in 2007, finishing T-55, but he’s playing with a lot of confidence after his early-season struggles.
2009 BMW Championship Prediction
He also thrives on big events, and there aren’t more mentally tough players on the Tour than Harrington, who should be in your weekend sports picks.
