Welcome to Ryder Cup 2.0, the Las Vegas version.
Okay, so it’s not actually the Ryder Cup. This week’s CJ Cup @ The Summit in Las Vegas, however, certainly has that feel (and many of the same high-profile players).
After spending last week at TPC Summerlin, the PGA Tour moves down the road to the Summit Club, a Tom Fazio design.
Many of the guys have teed it up at TPC Summerlin before (the Shriners event has been played there for decades). The Summit Club, though, replaces Shadow Creek as the CJ Cup host course and is going to be brand new for quite a few.
The exclusive Summit Club is a stunning venue. You’ll have to take our word for it as it’s extremely private, so don’t call up for a tee time.
The best-of-the-best, 78 players in all, will see action as nine of the 12 US Ryder Cup squad and eight members of Team Europe will play.
That includes the No. 2 player in the world, Dustin Johnson, as well as other US hotshots like Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Brooks Koepka, Xander Schauffele, and others. Team Europe also has its share of Ryder Cup talent on-site including Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland, Sergio Garcia, Paul Casey, and more.
To say it’s going to showcase golf’s best talent would be an understatement. Add in the fact that it will be most fans’ first look at this amazing Fazio course, either as a spectator at the event or on the TV broadcasts, and it’s must-see golf.
Odds To Win The CJ Cup @ The Summit By BetMGM
- Dustin Johnson +1200
- Xander Schauffele +1200
- Justin Thomas +1200
- Collin Morikawa +1600
- Rory McIlroy +1800
- Jordan Spieth +2000
- Sam Burns +2500
- Tony Finau +2500
Let’s Start At The Top
Now is the time it starts to get rocking and rolling for the 2021-2022 wraparound season. It’s officially the fourth event of the season, but it will be the first time some of these guys have teed it up in a full-field event.
Sure, 17 of these guys played in the Ryder Cup, but this is a different kind of animal. There are no teammates to help out if you have a bad swing or two. It’s back to being all on you and your swing.
And that brings up a whole lot of questions to delve into as we look for a winner. We won’t bore you with all of the questions that come to mind, but one is going to be front and center starting this week.
Can anyone slow down Dustin Johnson?
Johnson Comes In Red-Hot, Kinda
After going 5-0-0 at the Ryder Cup, Johnson, one of the sports betting apps favorites this week at +1200, is one of the hottest players around (along with Patrick Cantlay who finished off the last season in style and was named Player of the Year).
Johnson had been hot-and-cold in his final six events in the last wraparound season. Over those events, he had four top 10s and two missed cuts.
But the final two events before the Ryder Cup, the BMW Championship (T-6) and the Tour Championship (solo eighth) appear to have put him back in top form. Add in that stellar performance in the Ryder Cup and he may be all set to look at leaping Jon Rahm and getting back into that No. 1 spot in the world.
With Top Talent Comes Tough Choices
Up and down the odds list this week, you’ll find enough great numbers to tempt you to put down a couple of bucks. But when it’s time to finally step up to the betting window, which players offer the best chance to cash in that ticket?
After Johnson, the big boys shine brightly right at the top of the list. One we like is Morikawa at +1600. He’s been struggling a little recently as he was battling to overcome a back injury suffered early in his Olympics week. Now healthy (at least according to him), he’s a hometown boy now – playing out of the Summit as his home course – and teeing it up here definitely gives him an edge.
Like Johnson, he’s coming off a solid showing in his first Ryder Cup where he went 3-0-1. If his back is healthy, the home cooking of playing in Vegas at a course he now calls home certainly could result in Morikawa winning his sixth PGA Tour title at the ripe old age of 24.
Longshots Need The Perfect Storm
With this event bringing in many of the big names (the field is limited to the top 60 from last season’s FedEx Cup points standings plus sponsor exemptions), longshots will need to have everything go their way to find their way into the winner’s circle.
Russell Henley at +6600, one such longshot, may have just what it takes. He was T-21 at the Shriners event last week, also in Vegas, and finished T-3 in this event last year at Shadow Creek so teeing it up in Vegas agrees with his game.
We know, it’s asking a lot to beat some of the world’s best in this kind of spotlight event. But that’s why they play the tournament. Just look at last year’s CJ Cup. Jason Kokrak, who plays plenty of golf at Shadow Creek where this event was last year, had one of those magical weeks and walked away with the crown. It was his first PGA Tour title in his nine-year career.
And where did Kokrak start the week in the betting world? Try +6600 (the same number as Henley this week).
Like we said last week: stranger things have happened.
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