The App is Back! Don’t forget to download the NBC Sports EDGE app to receive real-time player news, mobile alerts and track your favorite players. Plus, now you can check out articles and player cards. Get it here!
It wasn’t a 10-under 61, but Matthew Wolff’s second round of 3-under 68 was enough to maintain his first-round lead heading into the weekend at Mayakoba. Holding a two-stroke edge over Scottie Scheffler, the 22-year-old has utilized a conservative game plan up to this point in the World Wide Technology Championship.
Laying up off the tee, the long-hitting Wolff has found the short grass with regularity, leaning on his iron play to propel him up the leaderboard. Effectively avoiding the mangroves of El Camaleon, the former Oklahoma State Cowboy has carded 16 birdies to lead the field in said category. Despite all the good, Wolff stumbled coming home Friday evening, making a pair of bogeys over his final three holes to let much of the field back into the tournament.
While Wolff holds the lead at 13-under, it’s the rest of the leaderboard that first had my curiosity and now has my attention. When looking at those players currently inside the top-20, the parallels drawn to the states of Oklahoma and Texas are undeniable.
As Wolff is not the lone Oklahoma State Cowboy in contention with defending champion Viktor Hovland once again in the fold at 10-under, Talor Gooch one-stroke worse at 9-under, and Charles Howell III not far behind them.
Then you have those players who attended college just south in Texas with Scheffler and Doug Ghim representing the Longhorns and Carlos Ortiz leading the charge for Mean Green. They aren’t the only players with ties to the Lonestar State as Sergio Garcia, Ryan Palmer, and Andrew Landry all currently reside in the south.
Landry has won in his home state just as Aaron Wise, Russell Henley, Billy Horschel, and Martin Laird have. Throw in Matt Kuchar’s strong play at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play at Austin Country Club, Anirban Lahiri’s top-5 finish at the Valero Texas Open last season, and there is a clear connection in play.
None of this matters now, but may be an angle in for next year’s event and should be noted. As for this edition of the World Wide Technology Championship, our friends at PointsBet Sportsbook still have Wolff as the favorite with 36-holes to go. At +350, his overnight odds of +500 have been nearly slashed in half as he searches for his second victory on the PGA Tour.
On our end, the second round was a success with Scott Piercy coming through in his three-ball at just about two-to-one odds. We have a few players in Horschel, Kuchar, and Joaquin Niemann not too far off the pace, but I don’t mind adding another to the arsenal for good measure.
Editor’s Note: Play for FREE! Download the NBC Sports Predictor app, make picks and win huge, weekly jackpots. Get started here!
Updated Odds to Win (Odds Via PointsBet):
+350: Matthew Wolff
+550: Scottie Scheffler, Viktor Hovland
+800: Justin Thomas
+1200: Carlos Ortiz
+1800: Billy Horschel
+2200: Aaron Wise
+2500: Sergio Garcia
+3000: Talor Gooch
+4000: Russell Henley, Ryan Palmer
+5000: J.J. Spaun
Round 3 Plays (Odds Via PointsBet):
James Hahn (+12500 to win):
We saw a glimpse of it in the afternoon wave, but winds are expected to be present in the third round, potentially gusting up to 20 mph at some stages. If the case, I don’t mind chancing Hahn as oddsmakers seem to be in slight disagreement about his prospects. With this number ranging from +9000 to +13000, I see a touch of value in PointsBet’s number and will be invested at +13000.
The reason being is for two straight starts, Hahn has been incredible at avoiding the big number. Carding back-to-back rounds of 67, the recently turned 40-year-old sits at 8-under and five-strokes off Wolff’s lead. Seventh in Round 3 scoring average last season on the PGA Tour, I am hopeful Hahn puts his best foot forward tomorrow.
Obviously liking him to some extent coming into the week – having had him in our first-round leader selections – Hahn has continued his steady play. With only two bogeys up to this point, the two-time winner on the PGA Tour sits in a tie for 11th in driving accuracy while hitting 66.67 percent of his greens in regulation.
He must convert his scoring opportunities at a more efficient clip over the weekend given the deficit, but he may have hinted at things to come with his putting performance on Friday. Needing only 1.55 putts per green in regulation in Round 2, Hahn improved on the greens and if able to do the same over the next 36-holes, he has a fighter’s chance to capture his first title since 2016.
PointsBet is our Official Sports Betting Partner, and we may receive compensation if you place a bet on PointsBet for the first time after clicking our links.
