The LIV Golf Series Lands In Oregon
Venue: Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in North Plains, Oregon
Date: June 29rd – July 2nd
Purse: $25 million
The much-talked-about LIV Golf Series makes its first debut in the states as 48 golfers descend on the great northwest this week. A somewhat improved field due to recent defections from the PGA Tour, 48 golfers will participate in the second LIV golf series tournament at the Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in North Plains, Oregon. This will be the first of five of the league's eight events that are anticipated to take place in this country. The inaugural LIV Tour event at LIV Golf London was won by Charl Schwartzel, who took home $4.75 million and will again be a part of the field.
This week the field will be playing for a whopping $25 million purse which includes ($20 million for the individual event; $5 million to be split among the leading teams).
Schwartzel will be part of the 2022 LIV Golf Portland field, which also features the likes of Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, and Sergio Garcia. According to the latest 2022, LIV Golf Portland odds by Jazzsprts.ag/*, Schwartzel is listed at +2500, while Johnson is the favorite at +700. The field for the second LIV Golf event this week at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in Oregon is a more influential group of players thanks to recent additions, although the betting favorite remains the same.
As he was in London, Dustin Johnson is the favorite, this time at +700, as projected by Jazzsports.ag/*. Trailing him is more depth than the first event, though, with Brooks Koepka, Abraham Ancer, and Patrick Reed joining the field. Louis Oosthuizen is still second on the odds board behind Johnson at +900, followed by Koepka also at +900, and Ancer at +1000.
Arguably the most high-profile name on the board this week is Phil Mickelson at +5000. Usually, a number like that on Mickelson would be worth a flyer, but Mickelson hasn't been good lately, as he finished 34th of 48 golfers in the first LIV Golf event, and he followed that up with a convincing missed cut at the U.S. Open.
In the first LIV event, a trio of South Africans filled the first three spots, including Hennie du Plessis and Branden Grace, who fell in right behind Schwartzel. I expect all three to be in contention again this week, but at +3000, as projected by Jazzsports.ag/* I would take a hard look at both Plessis and Grace, with Grace getting a little harder look. I would not be surprised to see Grace hovering around the leader board all week.
There has been a lot of buzz surrounding Brooks Koepka this week as he makes his LIV debut following his outburst to questions about the circuit at the U.S. Open and word from fellow PGA Tour players that the former World No.1 was intending to stay put before his shocking reversal. Koepka hasn't played well enough this season to warrant the +900 odds. Koepka was once one of the best golfers on the Tour, but knee injuries have seemed t slow him down, and he hasn't won since early 2021 and was 55th at the U.S. Open in his last start. I would steer clear of Koepka this week in Portland.
My pick this week is a new face on the LIV Golf circuit, Abraham Ancer.Ancer has an up and down season as his last five events produced T42, T56, and T9. Missed cut, and T32 but coming into this tournament at +1000, as projected by Jazzsports.ag/*, I see Ancer as a top buy this week. Ancer seems to shine at the bigger tournaments, as most recently, he finished 9th at The PGA Championship and has three top ten finishes and four top-25 finishes this season. I see no reason in a field not quite as competitive as he has played in all season why he shouldn't be holding the trophy come Saturday evening