The Barracuda Championship could be the hardest tournament to handicap this season. It took me a while, but I finally settled on a bet that might be a sleeper pick.
With this week’s second One Bet, $100, I’m taking Robby Shelton to finish in the top 10 of the Barracuda Championship. I found BetMGM had this proposition bet at +650.
Last week, I bet on Kevin Streelman to finish in the top 10 at the Memorial Tournament. He didn’t. In fact, Streelman finished tied for 54th after shooting four rounds in the 70s.
One Bet, $100
| This Week’s Pick | Last Week’s Result | Season Total |
| Robby Shelton Top 10 | Lost: Kevin Streelman top 10 | 1-9, -$580 |
This week’s pick is a bit of a flyer. I couldn’t pick Shelton out of a lineup, to be honest, but the 24-year-old does have a couple of factors I like, and which should benefit him in this week’s event.
Shelton Could Fly Under Radar
It would be easy to dismiss Shelton because he is not a known quantity. Shelton is playing in his second full season on the PGA Tour, but his first since 2017. He’d been banging around the Korn Ferry Tour for the last couple of years before earning a promotion to the PGA Tour in 2019.
This season has been mixed for Shelton. He began the year with two top-10 finishes before the season was suspended for 12 weeks. He’s struggled since the June 11 restart at the Charles Schwab Challenge. Shelton missed the cut there, and in the next three events he played. He told reporters last week at the 3M Open that he needed to take a break and work on his game.
“The swing just hadn’t been feeling great, hadn’t been making putts,†Shelton said. “The game’s hard. So I just went home this past week and kind of worked with my coach and just got a little more upright and the swing started feeling back to normal a little bit.â€
His work paid off. He finished tied for third at the 3M Open, his highest career finish on the PGA Tour. Shelton said his game is finally coming together.
“It does feel good. I’ve been working hard at it, just kind of going up the ladder,†Shelton said. “I’ve had a couple [of] top-10s this year. and was really looking forward to a top-5 this week. That was awesome.â€
Shelton Ready for Another Top 5
Though Shelton hasn’t won on the PGA Tour, he has two victories on the Korn Ferry Tour, and one on Canada’s Mackenzie Tour. The experience he gained on the mini-tours should eventually translate to the PGA Tour. He said his confidence level is much higher than it was a year ago.
“Just to see my game’s trending going into the playoffs, I haven’t played this late in the season,†Shelton said. “So just to see my game progressing this late is really cool to see.â€
It was tempting to take Shelton to finish in the top 5. The odds are at 14/1, and it could be a huge payday. I like him in the top 10 much better, however. He’s never played in this event, and that does worry me. I do think, however, he will thrive at the Barracuda Championship and get another top-10 finish.