By Eric Cohen
So close, yet so far away…the story of my Sunday watching golf.
While my NFL picks, mostly lousy to begin the 2020 season
ticked upward on Sunday, I wasn’t focused on those late
afternoon results all that much. Instead I was watching my top
pick for the golf pool last week, Matthew Wolff, lose in a playoff at
the Shriners Hospital for Kids Open in Vegas. It was an
exhilarating finish…but all credit goes to fellow Scottsdale, AZ
resident Martin Laird for some really fantastic shots and putts late
Sunday afternoon.
Seeing a potentially big win ticket on Wolff go down in flames
though…not going to lie, a pretty lousy feeling.
Time to get back on the horse though for this week’s tournament,
the CJ Cup, relocated this year from South Korea to Shadow
Creek in Las Vegas. Last time we saw this tree-filled course in the
desert was 2018 during the Tiger-Phil pay-per-view match which
ended in a sham chipping contest.
Shadow Creek is located outside of Las Vegas and is for the “high
rollers” only…so I have to assume Harry has played there once or
twice before? (By the way, having played a round with him last
week, Harry’s game is impressively coming around…mine, not so
much).
Being that the field is limited to less than 80 and it’s a no-cut
event, this one feels like a true WGC event in the middle of the
fall. With so many big names in the field, I’d be quite surprised if
someone outside the top-15 betting choices was the winner.
Once again the rules for our challenge:
Each week, Harry, Parlay Kid, Producer Michael and I will get a
simulated $200 to bet…$100 on golfers to win that week’s
tournament and another $100 to be spread amongst top-5, top-
10, top-20, and other prop bets. We’ll track the progress to see
who does the best and whether we can produce positive ROIs.
Here are this week’s plays for the CJ Cup at Shadow Creek:
(Odds courtesy of Draft Kings Sportsbook)
Eric:
Last Week’s Results: Even
Total ROI: +$1822.50 (through 15 weeks)
$50 to WIN: Justin Thomas (+1200)
$30 to WIN: Xander Schauffele (+1400)
$20 to WIN: Sungjae Im (+4500)
$50 on Top-5: Xander Schauffele (+300)
$50 on Top-10: Sungjae Im (+350)
Michael (Best Bet Corner Producer)
Last Week’s Results: Even
Total ROI: +$140.75 (through 10 weeks)
$25 to WIN: Jon Rahm (+1000)
$25 to WIN: Justin Thomas (+1200)
$25 to WIN: Xander Schauffele (+1400)
$25 to WIN: Matthew Wolff (+2200)
$50 on Top-10: Matthew Wolff (+200)
$25 on Top-10: Jon Rahm (+100)
$25 on 1 st Round Leader: Justin Thomas (+1800)
Parlay Kid
Last Week’s Results: -$200
Total ROI: -$1.25 (through 14 weeks)
$40 to WIN: Justin Thomas (+1200)
$20 to WIN: Patrick Cantlay (+1800)
$20 to WIN: Tyrrell Hatton (+2500)
$20 to WIN: Collin Morikawa (+2600)
$40 on 1 st Round Leader: Matthew Wolff (+2800)
$20 on Top-10: Abraham Ancer (+350)
$20 on Top-10: Sungjae Im (+350)
$20 on Top-10: Bubba Watson (+550)
Harry
Last Week’s Results: -$200
Total ROI: -$1294 (through 15 weeks)
$50 to WIN: Jon Rahm (+1000)
$50 to WIN: Scottie Scheffler (+4100)
$50 on Top-5: Jon Rahm (+225)
$50 on Top-10: Scottie Scheffler (+350)
Find more of Eric’s sports opinions and predictions on Twitter at
@CohensCornerAZ.