After a 4/1 winning double on Friday, Ben Coley is expecting the stars to shine brightly in round three of the Genesis Invitational.
Golf betting tips: Genesis Invitational round three
2pts Scheffler, McIlroy and Aberg to win their two-balls at 5/2 (General)
1pt Berger and Bhatia to win their two-balls at 3/1 (General)
1pt all five to win their two-balls at 13/1 (General)
Scoring did indeed get easier on day two of the Genesis Invitational and with that, the balance of power continued to shift. Denny McCarthy now stands alone as the only short driver in the mix and, surrounded as he is by some of the best players in the game, his prospects of making this his first PGA Tour win seemingly remain slim.
One ahead of McCarthy and one back of the lead in Scottie Scheffler, one behind McCarthy is Rory McIlroy, and one behind McIlroy is Ludvig Aberg. The leader isn't a household name but Davis Thompson is one of the brightest prospects in the US and so is Nick Dunlap, who rounds out the top seven along with Patrick Rodgers.
This is a serious leaderboard and the prospect of a rare Sunday showdown between two or more stars is strong. That outcome is so rare, whatever the tour, and neutrals will be hoping that McIlroy can keep tabs on Scheffler and set the stage for another memorable Sunday. Many find the bit between tournaments a little tiresome these days, but on the course the PGA Tour has been fantastic over the last few weeks.
ABERG and SCHEFFLER helped land the simplest of 4/1 doubles yesterday, winning their high-class three-balls, and without wishing to pretend golf is always that straightforward I can't find any good reason not to throw in MCILROY for today's two-ball treble.
Aberg plays with Rodgers and their statistical profiles for the week are virtually identical. Rodgers has three top-10s at this course and played his college golf in California, but keeping pace with the Swede in this Signature Event won't be easy for him.
McIlroy is in with McCarthy and it may feel like they're playing an entirely different golf course at times. McIlroy has driven the ball to his usual imperious standards and his short-game looks sharp enough to comfortably outscore a player dependent on his putter.
As for Scheffler, he's doing everything well and while Thompson does have plenty of potential, this is probably the biggest test of his career. Ultimately, odds of 5/2 that the big three all deliver seem on the generous side.
Outright punters might see McIlroy as an each-way play at 7/2 but with Scheffler virtually certain to occupy one of the three places available I'm not sure I'd take that approach and the only appealing option is Aberg at 12/1. It's no bet from me, though.
Earlier on, it's notable that Betway go evens versus 11/10 for the Taylor Pendrith-Matthieu Pavon match. I'd be backing Pendrith all day long at that price, but had scrubbed him from the list when seeing 8/15 elsewhere.
Pick of those less significant pairings is DANIEL BERGER to beat Mackenzie Hughes at just a shade of odds-on.
I've opposed both these two with Jake Knapp in their three-ball over the first two days and Knapp won once, dead-heating with Berger on the second occasion, so it would be disingenuous to suddenly build a wholly positive case for Berger here.
Ultimately I was happy to oppose him at a course which isn't a great fit, where he's only played well once, in the 2021 US Open, and against someone else I might've been happy to oppose him again today.
But this is about taking on Hughes, who drove the ball badly on day one and worse on day two. That's not uncommon for the Canadian, who isn't that long but can still be very wild, and with Berger able to match him in all other departments his far superior accuracy could count for a lot.
Shane Lowry could strike Harris English into submission but opposing a course specialist like the recent Farmers winner isn't something I'm in a hurry to do and after Min Woo Lee's abysmal second round, not even his massive power advantage over Christiaan Bezuidenhout is enough to go back in.
I do though like the look of AKSHAY BHATIA, tied for eighth now after an excellent second round but probably someone who should be in the mix with those big names and others, like Dunlap and Thompson, with whom he could be competing for a Ryder Cup pick.
Bhatia three-putted three times in a row during round one then signed off round two with a missed birdie putt from inside three feet, so if he can tidy up from close range there's no doubt his long-game is in the sort of shape required to land the place money at least.
Fourth in the strokes-gained tee-to-green statistics to far, that puts him 35 places ahead of Wyndham Clark who was particularly erratic off the tee on Friday and whose long-game remains under a bit of a cloud.
Of course, Clark is a US Open winner here in California, where he went on to add another title at Pebble Beach, and has plenty of class. But at a shade bigger than evens, Bhatia is value to demonstrate that he has more control over his ball at the moment.
Posted at 0800 GMT on 15/02/25
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.
