In the first year of designated events, it certainly feels like they are happening a little too frequently.
If you elevate too many events then it becomes the new baseline or standard event.
That might be a conversation for another day but we have another designated event this week at the Wells Fargo Championship.
The host course is Quail Hollow Club which returns to the hosting duties after a one-year break due to the 2022 Presidents Cup.
The course is long and tricky. Turning in an under-par score is considered a success and reaching double digits under par will put you in contention.
With that in mind, let’s look at the betting markets to see what stands out.
Viktor Hovland - Top Continental European (+120)
The Norwegian is +100 for a top-20 finish this week which is also an attractive option. He posted a T3 here in his 2021 tournament debut and also arrives with top 10s in three of his last four stroke-play events.
However, it was the Top Continental European market that caught my eye in the end since it could, in theory, allow some wiggle room for Hovland. His competition here is Stephan Jaeger, Alex Noren, Francesco Molinari, Sepp Straka, David Lingmerth, Matthias Schwab, Henrik Norlander, and Rory Sabbatini. Neither of them are particularly strong course-fit options for a beefy Quail Hollow layout.
So, I will grab Hovland here with there being a very realistic chance that he doesn’t even need a top 25 to win this market.
Joseph Bramlett - Top-40 Finish (+170)
The big hitter arrives with momentum, twirling a T10 finish at the Mexico Open.
Power is the strength of his game but he’s also gained on approach and around-the-green in three straight starts.
When you look at his top finishes this season, he has four top 15s and three of them have come on lengthy layouts (Memorial Park, Torrey Pines, Vidanta).
With another long course at Quail Hollow Club, I like the chances of seeing another “pop week” for Bramlett.
