The DA Weibring and Steve Wolfard designed TPC Four Seasons Resort © Four Seasons Resort
Dustin Johnson 14/1 © James Kennedy
The PGA Tour rocks up at the TPC Four Seasons Resort for the Byron Nelson Championship. The 18-hole, par-70 course measures 7,166 yards and has recently received a major redesign by former PGA Tour player DA Weibring and Steve Wolfard of Golf Resources Group.
The new layout was designed to be a tough challenge for professional golfers, while still giving recreational players a course that they too could enjoy playing and not be overwhelmed by.
Originally designed by Jay Morrish with player consultancy from Byron Nelson himself along with Ben Crenshaw. The course opened for play in 1983, it features rolling hills, indigenous oak and mesquite trees, numerous bunkers and small scenic lakes on a number of the holes including the two finishing holes.
My tips to win:
Dustin Johnson 14/1 – with StanJames – took a couple of weeks off after his disappointing finish at the Players Championship. But if you look back over the two tournaments before the Players they were the first time that he had finished outside of the Top 6 – apart from a missed cut – in six starts and maybe the six month ban from the tour and the mental fatigue of competing each week had taken its toll. But after a rest I think we will see Johnson back in the thick of it again come Sunday
Jason Day 18/1 © Keith Allison
One player who seems to get his scheduling right is Jason Day 18/1 – with StanJames – which made that 81 at The Players to miss the cut a very big surprise. Jason has a win and three other Top 5s this year from ten starts and the Australian’s first win on the PGA Tour came in the 2010 Byron Nelson Championship, so this tournament must hold a special significance for Jason who I expect to do well here this week.
Charley Hoffman 35/1 – with Bet365 – has had a couple of Top 10 finishes over the TPC Four Season track. Hoffman has been playing well since the Texas Open at the end of March, when he went on to have three Top 15 finishes on the spin which included his ninth place finish at The Masters. Charley was back inside the Top 10 at last week’s Invitational at Colonial and I expect him to be in one of the final pairings this weekend.
My each-way tips:
I did tip Ryan Palmer 40/1 – with BetVictor – last week but he went and missed the cut – his second in a row – in fact he has not played well in his last four events after getting off to a great start earlier in the year. Ryan had only been outside the Top 25 once from his first seven starts, that include three Top 10s and a runners-up. Palmer does have a runners-up finish in this event and a couple of Top 25s, but he has also missed several cuts, but if he gets off to a good start like he has done before on this track, then I expect him to see it through and be challenging this week.
Marc Leishman 40/1 © Keith Allison
It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster year for Australian Marc Leishman 40/1 – with Bet365 – he has missed three cuts so far this year, but he seems to have got himself together and over his last four events he’s had a Top 10 finish at the WGC Match-Play and started well in last weeks Invitational at Colonial where he opened with a 66. Marc had a third place finish here last year and has only been outside the Top 12 once since 2009, so look out for him to come back to form this week.
My outside tips:
There are a couple of good outside bets this week Danny Lee 125/1 – with Coral – has started to come into form and he has had two Top 20s on this track, but I am going to plummet for a player I tipped last week, Jason Dufner 100/1 – with BetFred – Jason has a win and a Top 10 here in the last four years and it looks like he has started to get his head back on his golf. Dufner had a couple of good rounds at last weeks Invitational at Colonial and coming back to a track he seems to enjoy will hopefully kick in some positive vibes and I think he’s worth a shout at these odds.
For a full updated list of betting odds during the tournament go to planetgolfreview.com
