2020 Northern Trust Early Betting Preview: Reed, Hatton and Na Should Provide Value at TPC Boston

The 2019-20 PGA TOUR regular season is in the books and 42-year-old Jim Herman, who opened at +75000 ($10 bet wins $7,500) at DraftKings Sportsbook, is your Wyndham Champion. Before his win at the Barbasol last season, Herman missed 16 of 19 cuts, and this season, Herman missed 11 cuts before winning the Wyndham.

The first leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs will kick off with the 2020 Northern Trust at TPC Boston, which will be different from last season's venue, Liberty National GC.

TPC Boston had been an annual stop on the playoff schedule since 2007, but with the TOUR changing from four tournaments down to three, it now rotates every other year, so we haven't seen a tournament here since 2018.

Past winners at TPC Boston include Bryson Dechambeau, Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy (x2), Rickie Fowler and Henrik Stenson.

The top-70 at the Northern Trust's conclusion will move onto the BMW Championship at Olympia Fields CC. A few notables outside the top-70 are Harold Varner III, Rickie Fowler, Brooks Koepka and Tommy Fleetwood.

Let's take a look at a few golfers who should be on our radar before the odds come out on Monday morning.

Patrick Reed

Reed looked great all week, but couldn't string enough birdies together in the middle rounds to contend at Sedgefield.

Reed book-ended his Wyndham Championship with two solid rounds (65, 64), and on the weekend, gained 4.5 strokes with his irons, which ranked third behind Denny McCarthy and Si Woo Kim. In the end it was another top-10 finish for Reed, who now has three of 'em since the hiatus.

Reed has now gained strokes with his irons and putting over the previous two weeks and he should have a ton of confidence coming into the Northern Trust with three top-six finishes at TPC Boston.

He's also the 'defending champion' even though it's at a different course from last season.

Tyrell Hatton

Hatton's missed cut at the PGA Championship didn't come from poor iron play but a faulty putter losing 3.7 strokes in two days. Hatton was able to gain the same about (+3.7) with his irons, an area of his game that has been stellar since the restart ranking 35th in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green. The Englishman has only played in four events since the restart and already has two top-five finishes.

The majority of approach shots at TPC Boston come from 175-plus yards into these small greens, and Hatton is one of the best long-iron players on TOUR ranking second in proximity from 175 to 200 yards and 14th from 200-plus yards over the last 50 rounds.

Kevin Na

Before the missed cut at the PGA Championship, Na had four straight tournaments gaining strokes with his irons and putting ranking inside the top 30 in approach and fifth in putting. TPC Boston should have fast, bentgrass greens, and Na ranks 24th in Strokes Gained: Putting in these conditions.

The American also sports one of the best long-iron approach games on TOUR ranking 18th in proximity from 175 to 200 yards since the restart.