2020 Major Odds: Bryson DeChambeau Becomes Betting Favorite Following PGA Win
You can’t bet on Bryson DeChambeau at the Workday Charity Open this week, but some U.S. sportsbooks sites have made him the favorite to win all three major championships following his three-stroke victory at the Rocket Mortgage Classic on Sunday.
Once known as a mad scientist, DeChambeau swapped his lab jacket and protective goggles for tanks and a weightlifting belt at the end of the 2019 season. The 26-year-old had a makeover, gaining nearly 50 pounds over the last year.
The results have been astounding.
DeChambeau is using the extra weight to hit the ball farther than ever. Turns out, hitting the ball 50 yards past your peers is quite the advantage.
Buff Bryson — the obvious nickname for his inevitable WWE guest appearance — hasn’t finished outside of the top 10 since the day Patrick Mahomes won Super Bowl MVP. That makes seven consecutive top 10s for the golfer who looks more like a fullback.
During that span, DeChambeau has simply played a different course than his competition.
Since returning from the virus-induced golf hiatus, DeChambeau has gained 20.5 strokes off-the-tee, shooting 14 of his 16 rounds in the 60s. On Sunday, DeChambeau became the first golfer in 15 years to lead the field in strokes gained off-the-tee AND putting during the same tournament.
DeChambeau is taking the week off after playing and traveling for a month straight but hopes to carry the momentum into golf’s revised major championship season.
Unsurprisingly, oddsmakers have kept their eyes on DeChambeau, moving his major championship odds accordingly. Jeff Sherman, oddsmakers and VP of Risk Management at SuperBookUSA, tweeted on Sunday that DeChambeau is now a 10-1 favorite for each major championship event.
Not all sportsbooks are making as big of an adjustment as Sherman and SuperBook. At FanDuel Sportsbook, you can still bet on DeChambeau +1200 to win the PGA Championship, +1400 to win the U.S. Open, and +1200 to win the Masters.
Can TPC Harding or Winged Foot Slow Bryson Down?
Only Rory McIlroy sits ahead of DeChambeau for the first major championship of 2020. In a normal year, all four majors would have already concluded, but in light of current events, things will tee off with the PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park on August 6.
Just three months ago, when the PGA was joined by the European Tour, LPGA, PGA of America, The R&A, USGA, and Augusta National Golf Club to release a revised schedule of events, DeChambeau was +3300 to win the PGA Championship at DraftKings Sportsbook with similar prices to the other two remaining majors. Unfortunately, the R&A canceled this year’s Open Championship, taking away any grand slam opportunity.
But if DeChambeau can get off to a hot start at TPC Harding, you can bet we’ll be talking about a possible three-run home run.
TPC Harding won’t be easy for the slugger. The municipal course’s fairways have been thinned by 60 percent with ankle-deep rough, something DeChambeau will have to consider when he tees off in San Francisco next month.
Though he averaged 350 yards, DeChambeau only hit 59% of fairways at Detroit Golf Club, which is arguably the easiest course on Tour. In terms of driving accuracy, DeChambeau has hit fewer fairways in four other tournaments this year.
[Bet on DeChambeau +1200 to win the 2020 PGA Championship at FanDuel Sportsbook!]
Missing fairways at Detroit Golf Club is one thing, but missing them at the PGA Championship and U.S. Open is another.
Like Harding, Winged Foot will also be protected by deep, penal rough.
DeChambeau has never finished inside the top 10 during a major. In fact, out of 14 attempts, he has missed the cut six times. Of course, two of his attempts came as an amateur and the other eight were before he completely transformed his body and swing.
So will DeChambeau’s game translate on golf’s most stringent tests or could these courses be Bryson-proof? I’m hesitant to bet against him regardless of the course. Still, both the PGA Championship and U.S Open will be an interesting betting and DFS experiment when it comes to DeChambeau’s new style.
Aside from being atop the golf odds sheets, the buzz following DeChambeau is sure to make him a popular PGA DFS pick, as we’ve already begun to witness in recent weeks. If he becomes popular enough during the U.S. Open and PGA Championship, there will be merit to fading him and hoping he finds enough trouble.
With Augusta National being the best course fit for the slightly errant bomber, that’s what I hope will happen.
[Bet on DeChambeau +1400 to win the 2020 US Open at PointsBet!]
Dechambeau +1600 to Win the 2020 Masters
Expect DeChambeau to have his way alongside the Azaleas in Georgia, so long as he doesn’t make himself sick from pimento cheese.
Augusta National is lenient from the tee box, and it fits DeChambeau’s weird and often quirky style. He was low amateur at the 2016 Masters, tying for 21st overall. He has made it to the weekend in all three of his Masters appearances thus far.
Moreover, DeChambeau is better suited to earn a green jacket than ever before. We watched Bubba Watson win twice by turning Augusta’s par 5s into par 4s while taking insanely aggressive lines with his driver. This strategy left Watson hitting short irons on his second shots on no. 13.
In 2019, Tiger Woods was able to bring the driver out of the bag at Augusta and claim his first major championship in over a decade. And despite not winning, Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson have also taken advantage of the course with their distance.
All things considered, DeChambeau +1600 at PointsBet to win the Masters is worth grabbing right now. Not only are his odds shorter at most sportsbooks, but just look at the line movement behind DeChambeau in 2019. His Masters odds opened at +6000 and finished +2000 before teeing off that Thursday.
DeChambeau’s game is in better shape than it was last season. And if Sherman’s odds at SuperBookUSA are a sign, then golf odds for DeChambeau are likely to only get shorter the longer you wait.
[Bet on DeChambeau +1600 to win the 2020 Masters at PointsBet!]
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Image Credit: USA Today Sports Images