Day’s Going Back To Massachusetts

Three wins in four tournaments sees Jason Day head the betting for the Deutsche Bank Championship at 6/1 this week.

The Tournament
The Deutsche Bank Championship made its debut in 2003, and is unusual for a PGA event in being played from Friday through to Monday. It received a significant boost in prize money and prestige when it became part of the Fed Ex Cup play-offs in 2007. It’s the second of the four play-off tournaments, restricted to the top 100 players in the Fed Ex rankings as of the end of last week’s opening play-off event, The Barclays.

The Course
The venue for the Deutsche Bank Championship is the TPC Boston, in Norton, Massachusetts. It’s a par 72 of just 7,241 yards, so is not a venue where big hitters will be at an advantage. The layout has undergone several alterations in the last decade and with plenty of birdie opportunities, particularly on the home stretch, it is no longer regarded as a particularly challenging course.

In The Bunker
After a superb run of form that included a second Major and five top-five finishes, Jordan Spieth finally faltered at the Barclays last week, missing the cut after two poor rounds. He is of course quite capable of bouncing back at a venue where he made the top four in 2013, but with two other strong options at the top of the market, he doesn’t look that appealing and at odds of 9/1 he looks opposable this week.

Recommended Bets
Jason Day’s extraordinary run of success continued in Boston last week as he picked up his third win in four tournaments, thanks to weekend rounds of 63 and 62. Usually, a winning streak like that would be enough to squeeze all of the value out of his price.

Although, for a player of his proven talent in this sort of form, at a venue where he has twice made the top three, odds of 7/1 look worth taking.

Rory McIlroy returned to the top of the world golf rankings at the weekend, thanks to Jordan Spieth’s missed cut, and he looks a good bet to strengthen his hold on that position in Boston. He played his way into form last week, finishing with two solid rounds, and with Spieth and Jason Day making the top of the antepost market pretty crowded, McIlroy is on offer at a tempting 9/1 for a tournament that he won in 2012, and in which he also made the top five last year.

The final name to add to your shortlist is Henrik Stenson. He has been playing himself into form in recent weeks, finishing sixth at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational, and last week chasing home Jason Day to record his best result since March. He’s only played this event three times, but he won it in 2013 and in his current form is sure to be in contention. Back him at 15/1 to win his first title of the year.

*Prices correct at time of publication