Usually, the CJ Cup is held annually on South Korea’s Jeju Island. For this year, it will be held at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas before returning to Asia in 2021.
This year’s event will have a field of 77 players after reigning FedExCup champion and tournament favorite Dustin Johnson had to withdraw following a positive test for the coronavirus.
- Date: Oct. 15-18, 2020
- Par: 72 / Yardage 7,527
- Purse: $9.75 Million / Winner: $1.75 Million
- TV: Golf Channel and NBC (Sat.-Sun.)
Betting Overview
Since this is a different course, approach play is going to be key here, especially with strokes gained. Obviously, there are other scenarios you could look at here, but this tells a different story.
When you look at the top five players in strokes gained approach over their most recent 24 rounds, these include the likes of Johnson, Russell Henley, Justin Thomas, Brandan Steele and Matthew Wolff.
Looking at the top five players in total strokes gained with their most recent 24 rounds, this shows Johnson, Xander Schauffele, Scottie Scheffler, Matthew Wolff and Harris English.
As you can see, there are a handful of excellent golfers at work here. If these players can have strong tee-to-green play, they will be in great shape here. On top of that, tight collars will make getting around the green very important.
Odds For This Event
With Johnson out of the tournament, Jon Rahm’s +1000 odds become the best in the field at BetUS. Right behind him are Thomas at +1200, and Rory McIlroy and Schauffele, who are both at +1300.
Potential Winning Picks
The former No. 1 golfer in the world, Brooks Koepka, won this event in 2018. However, we have seen a different player from him having issues from an injury. He is returning from rehabilitation after two months being sidelined, so he could arguably put up an interesting game and has odds of +2400.
Thomas has won this event two times and is also the defending champion. The No. 3 golfer in the world rankings will definitely be the more interesting one to bet on due to his most recent play and consistency.
Patrick Cantalay is the 14th-ranked golfer in the world rankings. He just recently tied for eighth at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open with a score of 18-under par. Even though he did not win that event, he has shown that he can put up excellent numbers, and that could translate over to this event. His odds are +2400 to get the win in this tournament.
Ranked second in the world, Rahm hasn’t played since tying for 23rd in the U.S. Open. Still, he has been right on Johnson’s tail for much of 2020, and he could very well take advantage of Johnson’s absence from this field.
Winner of This Event
Rahm is certainly well-rested and is looking to get back on the winning track in this one. He had two wins in the 2019-20 season and is hoping to get his first one early on in the 2020-21 campaign.
Thomas will certainly be a possible challenger to Rahm, but we like the Spaniard’s chances of taking the title here. After shooting 10-over-par at the U.S. Open, Rahm certainly has some motivation for a bounce-back performance.
This will be a star-studded event, with four of the top five golfers in the world rankings facing off in addition to many more that are highly ranked. Still, when all is said and done, we see Rahm raising the trophy.
