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PGA Tour CJ Cup at Shadow Creek 2020 Odds and Picks

Michael Harrison

by Michael Harrison in Golf

Updated Oct 13, 2020 · 1:18 PM PDT

Justin Thomas
Justin Thomas has won the CJ Cup twice in the first three years. (Photo by Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire)
  • The CJ Cup at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas tees off Thursday, October 15th
  • The event features a fantastic field including five of the top six players in the world
  • We’ve narrowed down the golfers with the best chance of emerging victorious and provided the best value bets below

In the first three years of the CJ Cup’s existence as a PGA Tour event, it was held in South Korea during the Asian swing. With COVID-19 causing the schedule to be shuffled around, this tournament is now being held in Las Vegas at Shadow Creek – the course used for the match between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson in 2018.

This will mark the return of Brooks Koepka, who hasn’t played in two months while he’s been nursing injuries, with the 2018 champion of this event last missing the cut at the Wyndham Championship.

Excluding the US Open, this marks by far the best field in the early part of the wraparound 2020-21 Tour season, with many of the big guns teeing it up this week.

2020 CJ Cup at Shadow Creek Odds

Golfer Odds
Jon Rahm +850
Justin Thomas +950
Xander Schauffele +1200
Rory McIlroy +1300
Matthew Wolff +1600
Collin Morikawa +2100
Patrick Cantlay +2300
Tyrrell Hatton +2700
Daniel Berger +2800
Hideki Matsuyama +2800
Tommy Fleetwood +2800
Brooks Koepka +3000
Matthew Fitzpatrick +3100
Viktor Hovland +3100
Scottie Scheffler +3300
Harris English +3800
Sungjae Im +3800
Joaquin Niemann +4200
Louis Oosthuizen +4500
Jason Day +4500

Odds taken October 13th from FanDuel

Justin Thomas With Best History at This Tournament

Justin Thomas has had good vibes at this tournament, having won the inaugural edition in 2017 and then again last year, albeit at a different venue.

Since 2015, JT has won at least one Tour event in the Fall – with the exception of 2018 – making this yet another perfect opportunity to continue that narrative.

He’s also been trending in the right direction, finishing T-2 at the Tour Championship and adding another Top 10 at the US Open. In ten of his last twelve tournaments, he’s gained at least four shots on the field tee-to-green, which bodes well on a track that is largely unfamiliar for most players since it’s never hosted an official tour event.

With there being so many big names competing and all sporting similar odds, you’re getting a tiny bit more value on Thomas at +1200 over Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy.

Last Three CJ Cup Winners

Year Winner
2019 Justin Thomas (-20)
2018 Brooks Koepka (-21)
2017 Justin Thomas (-9) playoff

*All three were won on a different golf course

CJ Cup at Shadow Creek Best Value Picks

  1. Tyrrell Hatton (+2000): Coming off a victory in his previous start at the European Tour’s prestigious BMW PGA Championship where he won by four strokes. Has been contending more in the states in 2020, with five top-10’s, including his first victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. T-6 and T-14 in first two times competing at the CJ Cup.
  2. Paul Casey (+5000): Had made six straight weekends before uncharacteristically missing the cut at the Shriners Hospitals Open. Included in that was a runner-up at the PGA Championship to go along with a pair of other top-20 results at big time tournaments like the US Open and BMW Championship. Posted a pair of top-20’s at this tournament in 2017 and 2018. Has corrected his issues on the greens, gaining strokes on the field in each of his last five times competing.
  3. Bubba Watson (+10000): Great long shot with big time potential upside. Bubba tends to go in and out of playing solid golf and then disappearing for months at a time but he’s been on the upswing, posting five straight made cuts, with all but one of them being T-31 or better. Has gained shots on the field in eleven of his last twelve tournaments off the tee. His putting has been his downfall, but he’s often streaky with the flatstick. Boom or bust candidate at these odds.
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