The CJ Cup at Shadow Creek: 2020 PGA Tour Golf Betting Odds
Dustin Johnson and Jon Rahm are co-favourites on the golf odds.
This tournament began in 2017 as the CJ Cup at Nine Bridges, which was the course that hosted on Jeju Island in South Korea for the first three years. It also was the start of the Tour’s Asia Swing. In August, however, the PGA Tour announced it was moving the event to Vegas for COVID-19 reasons. It is hoped it can return overseas next year and there is no Asia Swing this fall.
It’s a field limited to 78 players (no cut) but a typical stroke-play event. Devout golf fans may remember Shadow Creek Golf Course as the host of “The Match” made-for-TV exhibition between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson on the American Thanksgiving weekend in 2018, which Lefty won. It was such a success that those two staged another one earlier this year and included Tom Brady and Peyton Manning at a course in Florida. Tiger and Peyton beat Lefty and Brady.
No doubt because the PGA Tour was also in Las Vegas last week for the Shiners Hospitals for Children Open as well and the players don’t have to fly such a long way to play this year, it’s a very strong field with four of the world’s Top 5 players all in action. The only one not is No. 5 Bryson DeChambeau.
Shadow Creek is quite long at 7,530 yards or so – at a bit of altitude – and plays to a par 72. It was designed by renowned architect Tom Fazio at the behest of Las Vegas magnate Steve Wynn. It’s one of the most expensive courses to play in North America and you must be a guest of MGM Resorts.
The CJ Cup at Shadow Creek Golf Odds
Johnson and Rahm are each priced +1000. DJ was last in action at the U.S. Open, where he tied for sixth. That was Rahm’s last tournament, too, and he was T23.
Justin Thomas won the first CJ Cup in 2017, as well as in 2019. Brooks Koepka won it in 2018. Again, it was a different course/continent, but Americans are the only winners of this event.
Thomas is +1200 this week. Koepka hasn’t played in two months due to injury and is +2500. Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele are each +1400. Tony Finau is +3300. Notable because he had to pull out of last week’s event after testing positive for COVID-19.
Canada’s Corey Conners finished T14 last year following a final-round 66. He was the only Canadian to play it in 2019. Conners is +8000 this week. He was most recently in action two weeks ago at the Sanderson Farms Championship and was T17. Mackenzie Hughes is +10000, Adam Hadwin +12500 and Nick Taylor +50000. Hadwin played last week at the Shriners in Vegas and was T34. Martin Laird won that in a playoff but is skipping this week. Hughes last time out was third in the Dominican Republic a few weeks ago. Taylor has missed the cut in back-to-back events.
The CJ Cup at Shadow Creek Golf Predictions
The winner is Ian Poulter at +6600. He’s in fine form with a T6 and a fifth in his past two tournaments, both on the European Tour.