After a long, two-day offseason, the 2020/21 PGA TOUR campaign is set to begin with the Safeway Open at Silverado Country Club in Napa, Calif.
This field looks very different from the ones we've seen over the past month at the PGA Championship and during the FedEx Cup Playoffs. It isn't every week that you see Phil Mickelson (+2200), Si Woo Kim (+2200) and Brendan Steele (+2200) top the odds as co-favorites.
Here are our favorite matchup bets for the 2020 Safeway Open:
Jason Sobel
Chez Reavie (+100) over Emiliano Grillo
Reavie is the world’s 41st-ranked player; Grillo is 148th. Reavie is more reliable, with six top-30 finishes in his last dozen starts; Grillo is more volatile, with just two top-30s in the same amount of starts.
So, why is Reavie the ‘dog in this matchup? One reason might be simply that the short-knock life doesn’t get enough respect from the books. Another is that Grillo is a former winner of this event, though that was five years ago and he was playing much more consistent golf at the time.
In any case, neither of those reasons are enough to keep me from loving Reavie in this mis-priced matchup.
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Josh Perry
Brendan Steele (+100) over Si Woo Kim
I’ll just go with the guy who has the proven track record on this course. Steele is solid form. He’s made seven straight cuts on Tour. He’s also made all six cuts at this course, including a couple of wins. Si Woo may be the favorite, but we know how volatile he can be. So I’ll take the consistent player as a small underdog.
[Bet this matchup at FanDuel and get a $1,000 risk-free bet.]
Matt Vincenzi
Cam Davis (-120) over Talor Gooch
Coming off of an impressive performance at the Northern Trust, Cameron Davis should have an even better showing at the Safeway Open. Silverado is a ball-striker's paradise, and not many golfers in this field have been striking it as well as Cam. His ability to gain strokes on the field both off the tee and on approach should make him a strong play this week.
Alternatively, Gooch has lost strokes off the tee and on approach in his past two starts including losing an abysmal -6.8 strokes in his most recent start at the BMW Championship.
I’ll take the superior tee to green player at Silverado.
[Bet this matchup at DraftKings and get a $1,000 sign-up bonus.]
