Matt Cooper looks ahead to the final round of the Austin Championship and has a couple of recommended bets.
Golf betting tips: Austin Championship final round
2pts win Ben Kohles at 10/1 (General)
1pt e.w. Tommy Morrison at 30/1 (1,2,3,4 1/5 Betfred, Star Sport)
Trace Crowe heads into the final round of the Austin Championship on the Fazio Canyons Course at Omni Barton Creek holding the lead on 14-under 202, an effort that was kickstarted by a first round 62.
As he seeks a first PGA Tour title, he’ll be feeling the pressure of the chasing pack because 13 players are within three shots of him and 18 are within four.
Chad Ramey, Sami Valimaki and Erik Van Rooyen share second on 13-under with Max Greyserman and Ben Kohles tied for fifth on 12-under.
It’s also important to note that, with yet more bad weather forecast (it’s following the PGA Tour around at the moment) tee times have been pushed forward and will start at 1pm in Britain with the contenders going out from around 2.30pm.
Crowe was third in the Bank of Utah Championship in early October (his best PGA Tour finish) and T11 on his penultimate start in the Mexico Open. He’s a two time winner on the Korn Ferry Tour (in 2023 and 2025) and both those wins came from a 54-hole lead – the first of them also came on a Tom Fazio design (as this week’s test is).
He was keeping it simple in his post-third round interview. “Just keep doing what I’m doing,” was his stated plan for Sunday. “Just got to drive it on the fairway. It’s going to be challenging tomorrow (with the forecast persistent rain). Keep your head down, be patient and just see where it puts us at the end. Have to make a few putts. Another golf tournament.”
It won’t be quite so simple to execute such a plan and there will be significant pressure. He’s rated a 7/2 chance and looks ripe for taking on.
Ramey is a winner at this level – he took the Corales Puntacana Championship in 2022 which is yet another Tom Fazio design. He has, however, only ever finished top three in a PGA Tour individual event on one other occasion (last year’s WWT Championship). He’s the outsider of the trio in second on 9/1.
Valimaki is on the eve of his defence of the RSM Classic and has played limited golf this year following rehabilitation on a wrist injury. He was T13 on his penultimate start in Spain, but has had the odd twinge in the wrist and the predicted cold and rain isn’t likely to help. He’s best price 13/2.
Making up the three players in second is the South African Erik Van Rooyen who is yet to make his way into downtown Austin but has taken to the vibe and the geography because it reminds him of Pretoria where he went to primary school: “I kind of feel at home.”
He also likes the test. “I love this layout, I love the elevation changes,” he said on Saturday, and he’s not frightened by the weather forecast: “I was just telling someone, kind of happy I played the Irish Open a couple months ago because it was absolutely brutal, so maybe I’m a bit more prepared than some of the boys tomorrow.” (Note: he didn’t add that he missed the cut at Doonbeg.)
Van Rooyen has four top 10 finishes on Fazio designs, including fifth at Caves Valley and second at PGA National. He was also sixth on his penultimate start in the Mexico Open. He’s available at 7/1.
We’re going to take this leading quartet on, however, and first pick is BEN KOHLES. The 36-year-old has had plenty of chances to land a first PGA Tour title this year, and some will poo-poo his chances of breaking the duck after repeated failures.
He was second at this stage in the 3M Open and finished ninth, second again after three rounds in the Biltmore Championship and finished T15, third at halfway in Japan and finished T17, second after round on in Bermuda and finished T17, and sixth at halfway last time out in Mexico and finished T25. Before all of this, he was top six all week when third in the John Deere Classic.
This Sunday, he’s not the hunted, which he has so often been on those recent occasions. He can take a slightly different mindset into the round: that there is something to be gained rather than protected.
And he does own five wins on the second tier, including one this year – and it was on a Tom Fazio design at Thornblade. He’s also on home turf as a Texan – and his best-ever PGA Tour finish (second) came in the Lone Star State in last year’s CJ Cup. We’ll take him at 10/1.
Among those on 11-under are the red-hot Austin Smotherman. He’s aiming to land a third win in a row and has plenty in his favour beyond the two wins in Utah and Bermuda – his Fazio form. He was a winner at Thornblade in 2025, sixth at The Glen Club the same year and second at PGA National this season. He’ll tempt many at 18/1.
We’ll take the recently turned pro TOMMY MORRISON instead. He got to the last 16 of the Amateur Championship at Ballyliffin in weather that was frequently cold and often very wet, so he has that in his favour.
He also has the confidence of a first year that has seen him win at The Glen Club (Fazio ticked) and add a couple of seconds, also on the second tier.
This is only his second-ever PGA Tour start but he is familiar with the test, saying Friday: “I feel pretty comfortable in Austin. It feels like home to me. We played this course a bunch when I was here in college. I really like the layout. I know the lines and feel comfortable on some tee shots that maybe don’t suit guys’ eyes. I’ve seen it a lot. Short answer, I feel great.” We’ll take him to spring a surprise at 30/1 each way the top four (he’s available 33/1 win only).
Posted at 09:35 GMT on 15/11/25
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.
