The PGA Tour's second consecutive Signature Event commences Thursday with the Truist Championship at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina.
While many of the world's top players return to the field this week, there are more ways to bet on the tournament than just who will emerge victorious on Sunday.
For more instant gratification, we turn to the first-round leader market to find value on who will sit atop the leaderboard when play comes to an end on Thursday.
Here are my favorite Truist Championship first-round leader picks and PGA Tour predictions for Thursday's opening round.
Truist Championship First-Round Leader Picks
Truist Championship FRL Pick: Ludvig Aberg
Odds: +2200 · BetMGM
Ludvig Aberg was the first-round leader in his most recent appearance at the RBC Heritage. At 22-1, he is worth backing to lead the field again after Thursday’s opening round.
The driver is arguably the most important club in the bag at Quail Hollow Club. This is a bomber’s course that hosted last year’s PGA Championship, where each of the top-four finishers ranked inside the top 25 in the field in strokes gained off the tee.
No other strokes-gained category showed a similar trend.
That profile benefits Aberg, who ranks in the 94th percentile on the PGA Tour in strokes gained off the tee and in the 92nd percentile in driving distance.
Truist Championship FRL Pick: Sam Burns
Odds: +3300 · BetMGM
Another golfer worth targeting in Thursday’s opening round is Sam Burns. Few players are more dangerous off the tee than Burns, who is one of the longest hitters on the PGA Tour.
Entering this week, he ranks in the 77th percentile in strokes gained off the tee and in the 84th percentile in driving distance. While distance is a major advantage at Quail Hollow, fairways remain difficult to hit.
As a result, success out of the rough following long drives is often key at this course.
This season, Burns ranks above the PGA Tour average in birdie-or-better percentage from the rough.
