Viktor Hovland can boss the top Scandinavian market in the Pebble Beach Pro-Am according to Ben Coley, who has a 4/1 double to consider.
Golf betting tips: Pebble Beach specials
2pts Hovland top Scandinavian, Day top Australiasian at 4/1 (Sky Bet)
VIKTOR HOVLAND was bound to be popular this week but while the case for him is sound, I felt the price was short enough at a general 28/1. This in effect means he's been trimmed for finishing 10th in Phoenix, whereas Scottie Scheffler is a full point bigger having been third. Chris Gotterup, the champion, is about the price he was last week, while runner-up Hideki Matsuyama is out from 25/1 to 45+ on the exchanges.
Why is it that Hovland should be the one we take from Phoenix? Well, there are two reasons. One is that he'd never played well there before, which sets him apart from Scheffler and Matsuyama. Two is that he now returns to the scene of his 2018 US Amateur win and subsequent US Open 12th; a course he loves, albeit one where he's yet to finish in the top 10 as a professional.
It's a fascinating study into what influences prices and given my record on the PGA Tour over the past few months (ignoring a welcome winner in the Hero Challenge), there's a chance I'm on the wrong side of this debate. But for me, there are players here whose chances are better, but who didn't happen to have the opportunity to show where they are last week. Tommy Fleetwood is one example; Russell Henley might be another.
All this being said, Hovland is a player I expect to continue to work towards his A-game, which is undeniably among the best of the rest in this field, and if pushed I'd say he might finish around 10th again this week. Certainly, I'd be surprised if he didn't produce another promising performance, and there are two really good options when it comes to capitalising on this. Better, I think, than taking the bigger outright odds.
One is top continental European, where he's 9/4 favourite. Ludvig Aberg's form and fitness are both in doubt, Alex Noren has made a poor start to the year and the three outsiders are easy to oppose, so the stumbling block is Sepp Straka. He was 36- and 54-hole leader last year, finished close behind Hovland in Phoenix where his long-game was solid, and is plainly suited to this assignment.
And it's fear of Straka which leads me to the top Scandinavian market instead, where odds-against Hovland to beat two rivals looks good business. Those rivals are Aberg and Noren, of course, and Hovland has everything in his favour at the moment, right down to the fact that his short-game is currently better than Aberg's.
Much of what's written about Hovland at the top could also apply to JASON DAY, a Pebble Beach specialist who made my shortlist. I certainly wouldn't want to put anyone off the Aussie and expect him to do as he almost always has done and perform well in this event.
With that in mind, he's a no-brainer option in the top Australasian market, where Ryan Fox and Min Woo Lee are his opponents. The latter isn't someone I'd say fits this course, as his driving is long and wild and his approach play remains an issue; Pebble Beach is generally more about being accurate in both departments and Lee may struggle as a consequence.
Fox showed a bit more in Phoenix but is also long and inaccurate off the tee. He lacks Pebble Beach experience having missed the cut on his one start here, he's barely played in California in fact, and if Day performs to about his expected level he ought to be much too good for the New Zealander.
Sky Bet have priced up this double at a generous 4/1 under 'social media specials', which you can find here. It can also be backed at 3/1 and upwards with various other firms, or you can take Fox out of it and have Day top Australian instead, which reduces the price to around 9/4. As ever, readers I'm sure will do what they can with the options available to them.
Posted at 17:10 GMT on 10/02/26
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