Weekly PGA Tour Tips

---

Brooks Koepka – 16/1 – 3pts each-way

Hideki Matsuyama – 22/1 – 2.5pts each-way

Tommy Fleetwood – 40/1 – 1.5pts each-way

Sebastian Munoz – 125/1 – 0.75pts each-way

Christiaan Bezuidenhout – 200/1 – 0.5pts each-way

This is a unique Masters week. We have never had a Masters in November, but it is finally upon us after first being postponed in April with the onset of the COVID pandemic. This won't be the usual Augusta extravaganza. There won't be any fans (or patrons). There won't be a Par-3 competition or Springtime weather. However, this is still the biggest golf event of the year and the competition will be fierce. The world's best players are gathered to try and make history and win a green jacket. Bryson DeChambeau is the favourite after his US Open victory in September. His prodigious length off the tee will be a serious advantage this week on what will be a softened Augusta National course. Heavy rain is forecast on the eve of the tournament and there will be further intermittent showers later in the week. Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas follow Bryson at the head of the betting market with Rory and Xander Schauffele close behind. Picking a winner this week is not straightforward as typical Masters trends may not hold when the tournament is played in November. In searching for selections, the focus has been on recent form, course history and previous good performances in November.

Taking these factors into consideration, the headline selection for the 2020 Masters is 4-time major champion Brooks Koepka. It has been an erratic, injury-plagued year for Koepka. He has shown glimpses of his best form, but knee and hip problems got so bad earlier in the year that he pulled out of the US Open. All this seems to be behind him now as he finished last week's Houston Open off in style with back-to-back 65's on a tough course. He also has previous form at Augusta with a runner-up finish last year. He has also three previous victories in November, including the Turkish Open in 2014. Doubts over his fitness may account for him not being at the top of the market, but his current price may look inflated when he is contending on the weekend.

Another player who played well in Houston last week is Hideki Matsuyama. Japan's No.1 player finished with a 63 and looks to have all aspects of his game firing, including his putting. He has had numerous strong performances at Augusta with a 5th place in 2015 and T-7th in 2016 being the best. He also has three November wins on the Japan Tour. He goes well at this time of the year and is clearly playing well and relishing this week's challenge.

Tommy Fleetwood has been inconsistent since professional golf returned in June after the first lockdown. His game looked somewhat rusty initially, but a third place in Portugal and a playoff defeat at the Scottish Open showed his game was back to its best. He doesn't have a massive amount of Masters experience with a tied-17th in 2018 being his best showing, but he won't mind any inclement weather this week. He also plays well in November given his win at the Nedbank this time last year. He has already had two runner-up finishes in majors and can go one better this week.

Sebastian Munoz has been on a serious upward trend since his breakthrough PGA Tour victory just over a year ago. He managed to finish 8th at the Tour Championship in the summer and carried this good form into the new season with a top-10 at the CJ Cup the best of his performances.. This is his debut appearance at the Masters, but he would have been inspired by the win of Carlos Ortiz, his college teammate, at Houston last week. 

The final selection for this week is up and coming South African player, Christiaan Bezuidenhout. While Bezuidenhout only made it into the top 50 in the world  last year, he has shown that he is comfortable playing in America with a series of solid performances. He also has secured some major experience with a decent US Open showing. Probably the main reason for his selection is that he lost out in a playoff at the Dubai Desert Classic earlier in the year. This event was won by Danny Willett and Sergio Garcia in the years that they won their green jackets, so this form might point to a good debut from Bezuidenhout.