Golf picks: Barracuda Championship predictions & best bets from Diane Knox Balas

Diane Knox Balas

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Diane Knox Balas loves golf (she’s Scottish, so of course she does) but let’s just say she’s much better at analyzing golf than playing! The same cannot be said for her brother, Russell Knox, who’s a 2-time winner on the PGA Tour and fueled Diane’s initial passion for the sport. A seasoned TV and radio host, Diane has given out 8 outright winners since joining the Pickswise team in April 2022. Her general rule is she has to have three stand-out reasons for each pick and spends her time studying stats, playing form and little nuggets of information from golfers’ lives on Tour. Diane lives in Jacksonville, Florida with her husband Garrett, son Greyson and two English Bulldogs Bowser & Barkley. You can follow her antics on Twitter @KnoxyDiane and Instagram @dianeknoxbalas. For Diane Knox Balas media enquiries, please email contact@pickswise.com.

@KnoxyDiane

Tahoe Mountain Club (Old Greenwood): What you need to know

At 7,289 yards, this par-71 course will yield another low-scoring finish. Last year JT Poston got to -21 and in 2021 Lucas Glover took the title at -19. In 2018, Michael Kim smashed records with a winning score of -27.

Poston won with a superb tee-to-green game (he gained almost 3.5 strokes on the field in that department) and excellent approach/around the green play. Plus, he was coming off a runner-up finish the week prior at the Travelers (the schedule was a little different last year competed to his year).

A whole load of different skillsets can prevail around this course, and it’s not overly challenging by any means. However, you will see a lot of elevation changes, undulation on the fairways and tight doglegs, so players will have to work their entire bags to make those all-important birdies.

With 3 par-5s, those holes will serve as real scoring opportunities and the 2nd hole plays as the easiest on the course year after year.

Tree-lined fairways put a premium accuracy, but the fairways are wider than the PGA Tour average. The Kentucky bluegrass rough is definitely something to avoid, as TPC Deere Run ranks as one of the toughest courses to play from the rough.

This week is really going to be about setting yourself up for birdie chances and really capitalizing on them, and that’s easier with large greens. So, once again, I’m going to really look at approach and birdie average when making my picks as well as overall solid ball-strikers.

Knox’s Knockout Barracuda Championship picks

Stephan Jaeger (+2000, BetMGM)

Stephan Jaeger has been putting together an excellent season and could cap it off with a win this week. The German is coming off a T9 and T13 in his last 2 starts, and has an additional 5 top-25 finishes this season. He has played this tournament at this course in the previous 3 years and finished T22 last year. Players will have to score a lot of points this week and Jaeger leads the Tour in total birdies and, sitting at 60th in the FedExCup rankings, is very close to securing his place in the playoffs.

Sam Bennett (+3500, BetMGM)

Sam Bennett’s story is excellent. After winning the 2022 U.S. Amateur, Bennett punched his ticket to the Masters and ended the Sunday tied for 16th with low-amateur honors. He then turned pro and has flirted with some leaderboards, finishing T20 at the RBC Canadian Open and T29 at the Rocket Mortgage a few weeks ago. He’s in the field on a sponsor’s exemption this week, and with excellent off-the-tee stats could take advantage of this start to secure his Tour card.

Justin Suh (+4000, UniBet)

I’ve been keeping an eye on Justin Suh this year, and after some recent poor form his odds are nice and high this week. I’ll happily take him at 40/1 because this guy is talented and on the verge of some excellent play. This season, he’s finished within the top 25 6 times, and his highest finish is a T5 at the Honda. Suh is a fantastic putter and just needs a better week of ball-striking to contend at this course, where he finished T21 in 2020. He is 79th in the FedExCup standings, therefore has extra motivation to perform well and make a move into the top 70 before the playoffs begin.

Jonas Blixt (+35000, UniBet)

350/1 for a player who led the John Deere Classic a few weeks ago and finished T17 is worth a little look, plus I have to give you a real longshot. Jonas Blixt is playing on his past champion status and needs to make something happen, sitting at 190th in the FedExCup with the top 125 locking up full playing privileges come the end of the calendar year. This opposite-field events are huge opportunity weeks and anything can happen. The Swede is clearly working hard on his game to make the most of these opportunities and he proved at the John Deere that his game is in a decent spot. I’m also taking him for a top-20 finish at +900.

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Barracuda Championship prop bets

Grayson Murray top-10 finish (+650, DraftKings)

I picked Grayson Murray to win the Barbasol Championship last week and he finished T7. He has made some huge life changes, worked hard on his game and is reaping the benefits with two top-7s in his last 2 starts. This is a great price for another top-10 finish when he’s the most motivated and confident he has probably ever been.

Ryan Moore first-round leader (+8000, Unibet)

I dug deep on Ryan Moore and really like him this week — he’s 125/1 to win, and also 80/1 to lead after the first round. Moore had a good 4 days at the Barbasol and opened with a 64 to put him 1 shot back. He leads the PGA Tour in first-round scoring average, and will be looking to capitalize on his top-15 finish last week. We can get great odds for another hot start from Ryan.

Remember to also check out our Open Championship picks and Royal Liverpool props

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