The PGA Tour offseason lasted just over one week, as the Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa Valley will host the Fortinet Championship just 11 days after Patrick Cantlay won the Tour Championship for the 2020-21 season.
Unlike many of the world’s top players, No. 1 ranked Jon Rahm is back in action immediately to start the new season, just one week before he plays with Team Europe in the Ryder Cup.
Rahm historic favorite at Fortinet Championship
Rahm withdrew from Wednesday’s nine-hole pro-am competition at the Fortinet Championship, citing stomach issues. But that hasn’t stopped sportsbooks from pegging the 26-year-old as the overwhelming favorite to win this weekend.
FanDuel Sportsbook has made Rahm a +410 pick to win the tournament, an astounding number in professional golf betting. Oddsmakers haven’t posted numbers that low on a favorite since Tiger Woods was in his prime, with Westgate SuperBook telling the Action Network that it posted Woods as the +275 favorite to win the 2013 Arnold Palmer Invitational, a tournament that he won.
It’s not just Rahm’s ability or his remarkable consistency that has led to that number. It’s also the fact that many of the world’s best are skipping the Fortinet Championship, either because of the upcoming Ryder Cup, or because they’re simply taking a break after a long season.
Most top players still enjoying offseason
Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa, Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Thomas, and Brooks Koepka are all out this week. In fact, nobody in the world’s top 15, outside of Rahm, will play at the Fortinet Championship. Hideki Matsuyama (+2100) comes in as the second-highest ranked golfer at No. 17 in the world.
Second-favorite status goes to Webb Simpson, who is fetching +1500 odds, followed by Kevin Na (+1900). Rising star Will Zalatoris (+2100) also figures to be in contention this weekend.
| Fortinet Championship Odds (via FanDuel Sportsbook) | |
| Jon Rahm: +410 | Webb Simpson: +1500 |
| Kevin Na: +1900 | Hideki Matsuyama: +2100 |
| Will Zalatoris: +2100 | Cameron Champ: +3500 |
| Cameron Tringale: +3500 | Harold Varner III: +3600 |
It’s easy to see why these names top the list of likely winners. Not only are they the overall class of the field, but most of these players – Simpson and Rahm in particular – play short par 4s especially well, something that will be key at the Fortinet Championship.
Many bettors may shy away from Rahm because of the unappetizing odds. But there’s another obvious reason why that +410 number may not be worth the gamble.
As well as Rahm played last season, he only won one tournament: the US Open in June, when he held off Louis Oosthuizen by one stroke. There’s a caveat to that stat: Rahm and Na tied for the lowest raw score at the Tour Championship two weeks ago, both shooting 14-under on the course. That just wasn’t enough to catch Patrick Cantlay, who shot a very strong 11-under, which, combined with his 10-under starting score, allowed him to beat out Rahm by a single shot.