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After a short break, the PGA Tour is back this week. Top-tier golf returns to California, where the Fortinet Championship will be played at Silverado Resort in Napa.
A regular stop on the PGA Tour, the Fortinet Championship takes place on the North Course at Silverado Country Club, which has hosted this event for nine years having first staged it back in 2014.
After things got very interesting and a little different in the run-up to the FedEx Cup finale, we’re now back to normal with a regular 72-hole stroke play event that carries the usual 36-hole cut. Last year’s winner Max Homa is back to defend his title, and with many big players missing from the field, the 32-year-old is quite a strong favourite to get the job done.
What is Each-Way betting?
Contents
Ahead of this tournament, we’re here to snuff out some each-way value in the pre-tournament betting, but let’s first go over the basics of each-way betting in golf.
If you’re unfamiliar with each-way betting, then it’s really quite simply. It’s hugely popular when it comes to golf too. Most people bet on golfers each-way, and here’s how it’s done:
An each-way golf bet is essentially two bets rolled into one. You’re placing one bet on the golfer to win and another on the golfer to finish in one of the nominated places, typically second, third, fourth and fifth. Ahead of some tournaments, some bookmakers pay more than five places, while not all bookmakers pay out on the same number of places, so it’s always a good idea to compare and check bookmaker place terms before striking an each-way golfer wager.
So, let’s say you wanted to have £10 each-way on Max Homa ahead of the Fortinet Championship. You’d be placing £10 on Homa to win and £10 on Homa to place. You’ve placed the bet as one, but remember, this is essentially two different bets. In this case, if Homa wins, you’ll be paid out on both parts of the each-way bet. If he doesn’t win but finishes in one of the places, say fourth, then you’ll be paid out on just the place part of the bet. Should Homa fail to hit the places, then you’ll lose both parts.
You’re basically betting on a golfer to win but also paying for a little bit of insurance in the event that he goes close without quite getting then job done. Using the example provided above, you’ve placed a £10 each-way bet on Max Homa at odds of 8/1. Your total stake is thus £20 (£10 win + £10 place). If Homa wins, you’ll be paid out £90 for the win bet (£10 x 8 + stake = £90). You’ll also be paid out on the place part of the bet, which pays out at one fifth of the full odds, so in this case 1.6/1, which means receiving £26 for the £10 stake. Therefore, if Homa wins, you’ll receive a full payout of £116. If he places, you’ll get just the £26.
Each-way betting tips for the Fortinet Championship
Let’s get into it and pinpoint the best-looking each-way bets ahead of this tournament.
Justin Thomas @ 16/1 (eight places, Boylesports)
Justin Thomas hasn’t exactly been at the forefront of the game in recent months. In fact, he’s well and truly slipped under the radar, failing to feature as the FedEx Cup climaxed. However, that doesn’t mean that he won’t soon be back at the top of the game, and as we’ve seen before, he’s a dangerous player to dismiss. For me, in Napa this week, he’s impossible to avoid in a field that is far from the strongest. There are lots of big-name players missing this week, and I really would not be surprised if the two-time major winner took advantage of that.
After all, JT is no stranger to playing well at Silverado’s North Course. Back in 2015, he finished third in Napa, before again making the top-ten with an eighth place finish a year later. He then skipped this tournament in both 2017 and 2018, finishing fourth in 2019. This will be his first time back at Silverado since that fourth-place finish.
If we look at the strokes gained stats from this tournament since 2016, then we can see that Thomas is pretty much top dog in this field. He ranks second in the field for strokes gained: total, while if we remove those players to have played only four rounds or less at Silverado during that time, then Thomas ranks top of the pile for strokes gained: approach, strokes gained: tee-to-green, strokes gained: ball striking and strokes gained: total. Such numbers are not at all easy to ignore. What’s more, those numbers are more than enough for me to think that the former world number one can bounce back to form here and thus 16/1 is well worth taking in the early betting.
Sahith Theegala @ 16/1 (eight places, PaddyPower)
Another golfer who has enjoyed himself in Napa in recent times is Sahith Theegala, who despite not featuring at the end of the FedEx Cup race, has been in rather solid form of late. The man currently ranked 23rd in the world has hit then top 15 in each of his last two events.
Theegala has played in each of the last three renewals of this event, making the cut every time, while he finished in a very respectable sixth place a year ago. Agauin, if we’re looking at players in this field who’ve played more than four rounds at Silverado’s North Cours, then only Justin Thomas has performed better in terms of strokes gained: total. In his 12 previous rounds at the Californian venue, the 25-year-old, has gained a very solid average of 1.42 strokes per 18 holes, so we really should not be surprised if he’s up there fighting come Sunday afternoon. At odds of 16/1, I’m betting that’s exactly what he’ll do.
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