The WGC-Workday Championship at the Concession is being played in Bradenton, Fla., this week after moving from Mexico City due to COVID-19 concerns. It’s the first PGA TOUR event at the Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin-designed course.
The name of the par-72, 7,474-yard layout is a tribute to a two-foot putt that Nicklaus conceded to Jacklin in the 1969 Ryder Cup. It resulted in the first tie in the history of the Ryder Cup.
The WGC events always attract stellar fields, with most spots reserved for the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR). Only three eligible players opted out, including Tiger Woods, who is recuperating from back surgery.
The top 15 players in the rankings are all at the Concession, almost ensuring a star-studded leaderboard come Sunday afternoon.
Last year, Patrick Reed shot a final-round 67, including birdies on the 15th, 16th and 17th holes to beat Bryson DeChambeau by a stroke for his second WGC title. Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy also finished in the top five after 54-hole leader Justin Thomas faded to a tie for sixth after a closing 73.
As has been the case for most of the 2021 wraparound season, Dustin Johnson is the clear betting odds favorite.
Max Homa wins at Riviera Last Week
In the Genesis Invitational last week, Max Homa missed a three-footer on the 18th hole on Sunday that could have given him the win over Tony Finau. Instead, they went to a sudden-death playoff, where Homa found himself up against a tree after his drive on the short par four 10th hole.
He found a way to make a par and won on the second playoff hole for his second PGA TOUR win when Finau failed to get up and down from a greenside bunker. On this site last week, we identified Homa as an underdog pick at +7000 odds. Meanwhile, Finau failed in his bid to add a second title to his 2016 Puerto Rico Open.
Betting Favorites for WGC-Workday
As has been the case for most of the 2021 wraparound season, Dustin Johnson is the clear betting odds favorite. Despite a disappointing 1-over-par 72 in his final round at last week’s Genesis Invitational, he still managed his fifth top 10 finish in six 2021 season tournaments. Oh, and just for good measure, that sixth start ended up in a tie for 11th.
Johnson is at +325, an almost unbelievably low number considering the strength of the field. Rahm, the second-ranked player in the world, is at +850. Xander Schauffele at +1100, Patrick Cantlay at +1400, and the aforementioned Finau at +1600 round out the top five.
The next three players on the odds list all failed to make the weekend at last week’s tournament and will be looking to bounce back with better performances. A lack of a cut in the WGC tournaments makes it possible to recover from a poor first or second round.
McIlroy has odds of +1650 to complete a career sweep of the four WGC events. Just behind at +1850 are Thomas and reigning U.S. Open champion DeChambeau, who is trying to shake off the rust from a lack of recent tournament play.
