Viktor Hovland will be looking to continue the steady progress he has made since turning pro following an impressive performance at the US Open as he travels to this weekend’s PGA Tour event as a +1600 co-favourite on the John Deere Classic odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Hovland closed out his amateur golf career in spectacular fashion. After claiming low amateur honours at this year’s Masters, Hovland smashed Jack Nicklaus’ record for low score by an amateur at the US Open to become the first golfer in two decades to take home low amateur honours at both events in the same year.
The 21-year-old Norwegian has carried that strong play over into his professional debut, and is coming off a solid 13th-place finish as a +2800 wager on the golf odds at last weekend’s 3M Open. That has lifted him to the top of the board alongside Collin Morikawa going into first-round action of the 2019 John Deere Classic on Thursday morning at TPC Deere Run.
Morikawa has also impressed in his professional golf debut. The 21-year-old, who played his collegiate golf at UC-Berkeley, turned in the best performance of his short career last weekend, claiming a share of second place at the 3M Open while sporting +7000 odds, and has shot 66 or less in four of his past eight rounds.
Hovland and Morikawa are not the only youngsters looking to make their mark at this weekend’s John Deere Classic. Matthew Wolff, who made his professional debut alongside Hovland at the Travelers Championship, is coming off his first PGA Tour victory at the 3M Open to pay out at +12500 at online betting sites. The 21-year-old closely trails the favourites on the John Deere Classic odds, joining veteran Lucas Glover as a +2000 wager.
Joaquín Niemann, a 20-year-old native of Santiago, Chile, also sits among the betting favourites at +2500 heading to TPC Deere Run. After turning pro last year, Niemann has endured somewhat of a roller coaster ride this season, missing the cut on six occasions to date, including four of his past 11 tournament appearances.
However, the 2018 Latin America Amateur Championship winner has shown signs of a turnaround in recent outings, turning in fifth-place results at the Travelers Championship and the Rocket Mortgage Classic, but was forced to settle for a share of 23rd place last week at the 3M Open as a +3300 wager.
Niemann is joined on the John Deere Classic odds by past winners Ryan Moore and Brian Harman, veterans Kevin Streelman and Charles Howell III, and budding Korean star Sungjae Im, while last year’s winner Michael Kim lags at a distant +40000.
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