Rory McIlroy will look to pick up where he left off when the PGA Tour resumes this week. The world’s top-ranked golfer has finished among the top five in each of his six appearances this season, and he is set to tee off at the 2020 Charles Schwab Challenge as a strong +750 betting favourite at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
McIlroy’s steady run dates back to the beginning of last season. The 31-year-old Northern Irishman reclaimed his perch atop the golf world with a spectacular campaign that featured three wins and 14 top-ten finishes, and he also has one win to his credit so far this season going into this year’s edition of the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas.
A lack of familiarity with the course at Colonial could be a concern for McIlroy, who will make his first-ever appearance at this event when he tees off on Thursday. But with McIlroy keeping busy during the three-month pause in the PGA Tour, he might enjoy an edge over rivals who have remained idle.
The closest competitor to McIlroy on the Charles Schwab Challenge odds is Jon Rahm, who sits as a +1200 second favourite at online sports betting sites. A trio of top-three finishes prior to the pause has helped lift Rahm to No. 2 on the World Golf Rankings, capped by a third-place performance in his last outing at the WGC-Mexico Championship. However, the young Spaniard has produced mixed results at this event, recording top-five finishes in his first two appearances before missing the cut last year.
Further down the Charles Schwab Challenge odds, Justin Thomas is listed as a +1600 wager, ahead of Bryson DeChambeau and Webb Simpson at +2200. Dustin Johnson is joined by Brooks Koepka and Rickie Fowler at +2500, while a trio of players lag at +2800 including Patrick Reed, Im Sung-jae, and Xander Schauffele.
It has been feast or famine this season for Thomas, who has six top-ten finishes to his credit including wins at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and the CJ Cup at Nine Bridges, but also missed the cut in two of his four final outings before the pause.
DeChambeau was enjoying a breakthrough campaign before the Tour was halted, recording top-five finishes in four of his most recent six outings, but has missed the cut in three of four appearances at this event. A heartbreaking playoff loss at the Waste Management Phoenix Open marks one of three top-three finishes this season for Simpson, who has also finished among the top five in two of his past three appearances at Colonial.
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