The first round is upon us and the first few groups are in for a chilly one (the temperature isn’t expected to crack 60 degrees until 1:00 PM). Expect some gritty golf. We’re locked in on our favorite bets to kick off the tournament and the name of the game is 3 ball matchups on Thursday. 

Enjoy the second major of the year, take in the beauty and tradition that is Oak Hill Country Club, and always remember to bet smarter, not harder.

1st Round 3 Ball Matchups

Wyndham Clark (-200) (1 unit) vs Wyatt Worthington II vs Nico Echavarria

Man oh man this 3 ball matchup feels like easy money… Wyndham Clark has made 17/19 cuts this season, he won the Wells Fargo Championship in May, he’s 21st on tour in 1st Round Scoring Average and he enters Rochester this week with 7 straight Top 30 finishes in a row (heater). Wyatt Worthington is actually listed as a PGA instructor, he’s only played in 3 PGA tournaments in his entire career (where he missed the cut all 3 tries) and he’s never posted a round under par. Nico Echavarria has missed 12/17 cuts this season, he’s never played in a major before, he’s 138th on tour in 1st Round Scoring Average and he’s a rookie. Don’t overthink it.

Justin Rose (+120) (1 unit) vs Billy Horschel vs Francesco Molinari

I love Justin Rose to get things going early this week. Rose has posted a 1st round score under 70 in 8/12 tournaments this year, he’s made 14/20 cuts at PGA Championships throughout his career (with an average finishing position of 17.79 place in those 14 made cut starts) and he’s 20th on tour in 1st Round Scoring Average. Billy Horschel only has 2 Top 25 finishes in his last 10 majors, he’s 149th on tour in 1st Round Scoring Average and he missed the cut the only time he’s played Oak Hill CC. Francesco Molinari has missed the cut at 5 of his last 7 majors, he’s 110th on tour in 1st Round Scoring Average and he’s only posted 1 round under par at Oak Hill in his career. Don’t sleep on Rose! The tenured vet still has some gas (and he loves PGA Championships).

Jason Day (+110) (0.65 units) vs Keegan Bradley (+200) (0.35 units) vs Bryson DeChambeau

If this feels like a DeChambeau fade, that’s because it is. The self proclaimed golf scientist is fresh off a missed cut at the Masters in April where he didn’t post a round better than 74 and his inconsistent ball striking/issues around the green are a true recipe for disaster at Oak Hill CC. Jason Day is playing some of the best golf of his career at the moment, coming off last week’s victory at the AT&T Byron Nelson (where his worst round was a 69). Day already has 7 Top 10 finishes this season, his 1st Round Scoring Average is less than that of Bradley and DeChambeau and he tied for 8th at Oak Hill the last time he played there. Keegan Bradley has 3 Top 25 finishes at majors since 2021, he already has a win this season, he posted a 19th place finish the last time he played at Oak Hill (1st round of 69 that year) and the guy lives to play Northeastern courses. The scientist should check his hypothesis… 

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