Nothing major? Koepka driving
modest betting action
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[August 13, 2020]
Brooks Koepka followed a
runner-up finish by being in contention at last week's PGA
Championship before stumbling on Sunday.
Despite the strong recent results, bettors are not flocking to the
30-year-old in a modest field at this week's Wyndham Championship in
Greensboro, N.C.
Koepka will be teeing it up for the sixth consecutive week and is
one of only three top-10 players in the field. He is the second
betting favorite at most all sportsbooks, but bettors aren't
flocking to the action. Koepka was responsible for only six percent
of the handle and five percent of the outright winner bets at
DraftKings as of Wednesday afternoon.
That's compared to Webb Simpson, who was garnering a whopping 17
percent of the handle and eight percent of the total bets.
Simpson, the sixth-ranked player in the world, was +1050 at the
book. Savvy bettors know that Simpson is from nearby Raleigh, N.C.
and has a win and a pair of runner-up finishes among his seven
top-10 finishes in 11 career starts at Sedgefield Country Club.
Koepka is +1200 at DraftKings. However, he hasn't played in the
event since 2015 and while Koepka has seven career PGA Tour wins,
that's a relatively modest total for a four-time major champion.
Koepka has a reputation for working on his game during regular Tour
stops to build toward the bigger events, and this is the final event
before the FedEx Cup playoffs.
Bettors have been more interested in England's Justin Rose (+2300)
and Tommy Fleetwood (+2000).
Rose was also in contention until late on Sunday until settling for
ninth place at TPC Harding Park, and was responsible for nine
percent of the handle and five percent of the total bets at
DraftKings.
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Brooks Koepka plays from the rough on the 2nd hole during the final
round of the 2020 PGA Championship golf tournament
at TPC Harding Park. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
Fleetwood is playing for the fourth consecutive week since traveling
over from Europe ahead of the busy slate of marquee events that
began with the PGA Championship. He has yet to win on U.S. soil, but
has improved his results each of the past three weeks. Bettors have
taken notice, with Fleetwood bringing in six percent of the handle
and five percent of the total bets.
Another popular bet has been Brendon Todd.
Already a two-time winner on Tour this season, Todd was a junior
rival of Simpson's in Raleigh. Todd was also garnering six percent
of the handle and six percent of the total bets at DraftKings, where
he was also leading the field with nine percent of the total bets to
be the leader after the first round at a +5000 moneyline.
Todd's 69.0 first-round scoring average is tied for fifth on the PGA
Tour this year. He was tied for the lead after the first round last
week and was two shots off the opening-round lead the week before.
Another player more popular among betters than Koepka has been Kevin
Kisner (+2900, six percent of handle, five percent of bets). The
Aiken, S.C. native has also enjoyed consistent success over the
years at Sedgefield. Like Todd, Kisner was +5000 to lead after the
first round, but only three percent of the total bets were coming in
on him.
--Field Level Media
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