By Eric Cohen
I think it’s mandatory that we skip of a week of the betting
challenge when the PGA Tour doesn’t offer live play-by-play
scoring on its website. Why they can’t take the shot tracker to
Bermuda, The Bahamas, Mexico, or wherever else, I’ll never
understand. Either way, as I texted Harry on Sunday, no more
betting on those tournaments as it’s not nearly as fun to follow
along.
So we’re one week before the biggest tournament of the year,
The Masters, which is crazy to think about since we’re in
November but such is 2020.
The Vivint Houston Open is up this week and with no prior course
history at Memorial Park Golf Course, we’re shooting blind yet
again with our picks. With five Par 5’s on the course, long hitters
who can reach them in two seem to have a major advantage at
the outset. Despite that analysis, coming off a COVID break,
Dustin Johnson, the favorite, won’t be on my card this week.
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 Vivint Houston Open:
(Odds courtesy of Draft Kings Sportsbook)
Eric:
Last Week’s Results: -$140
Total ROI: +$1682.50 (through 17 weeks)
$40 to WIN: Tony Finau (+1800)
$30 to WIN: Russell Henley (+1800)
$30 to WIN: Viktor Hovland (+2000)
$60 on Top-10: Russell Henley (+250)
$40 on Top-5: Tony Finau (+400)
Michael (Best Bet Corner Producer)
Last Week’s Results: -$200
Total ROI: -$259.25 (through 12 weeks)
$25 to WIN: Hideki Matsuyama (+2000)
$25 to WIN: Brooks Koepka (+2200)
$25 to WIN: Sungjae Im (+3500)
$25 to WIN: Mackenzie Hughes (+10000)
$40 on Top-20: Mackenzie Hughes (+335)
$30 on Top-10: Hideki Matsuyama (+250)
$30 on Top-10: Sungjae Im (+350)
Parlay Kid
Last Week’s Results: -$200
Total ROI: -$271.25 (through 16 weeks)
$25 to WIN: Russell Henley (+1800)
$25 to WIN: Viktor Hovland (+2000)
$25 to WIN: Brooks Koepka (+2200)
$25 to WIN: Scottie Scheffler (+2200)
$75 on Winning Margin: 2 strokes (+350)
$25 on Top-20: Brandt Snedeker (+450)
Harry
Last Week’s Results: -$200
Total ROI: -$1694 (through 17 weeks)
$40 to WIN: Dustin Johnson (+700)
$20 to WIN: Brooks Koepka (+2200)
$20 to WIN: Jason Day (+4000)
$20 to WIN: Corey Conners (+6000)
$100 on Top-10: Brooks Koepka (+275)
Find more of Eric’s sports opinions and predictions on Twitter at
@CohensCornerAZ.