The best betting props for the Palmetto Championship

The hardest puzzle ever is accredited to American philosopher and logician George Boolos, who published it in 1996. It’s as difficult to explain as it is to solve, but if you’re desperate to crack it there are 6,000 odd words online to blow your mind. My point is, that 25 years later, I think I might have found an even trickier puzzle.

It’s waiting for us in South Carolina at the Congaree Golf Club. The Palmetto Championship makes its first appearance on the PGA Tour and is a one-off to replace the Canadian Open during the pandemic.

The puzzle we are left with is a course that has only been open a few years, but we know was designed by Tom Fazio and was awarded the best course built in the last decade. At 7,655 yards this par 71 is a long one and there is little-to-no rough, so plenty of power off the tee is a positive no matter if you lose a bit of accuracy.

There’s plenty of sand and it’s said to play firm and fast, while John McNeely, the managing director of the course was quoted as saying, "The successful guys are going to manage and miss the ball to the proper place and do a good job pitching."

If it wasn’t tricky enough already, we are only a week out from the U.S. Open, which is another factor to consider with some of this field playing in qualifiers on Monday. But, despite the prop bets being fiendishly tricky to solve, this event looks set to be a cracker, and will be played on a course that is very easy on the eye. George Boolos, eat your heart out.

Matchbet: Brooks Koepka to beat Dustin Johnson (-106)

What has happened to Dustin Johnson? The World No. 1 shot a record breaking 20-under-par on his way to winning the Masters at Augusta last November, but in the eight months since his form has plummeted. He opened the year by finishing 11th in the Sentry Tournament of Champions, and eighth in the Genesis Invitational, but in his seven tournaments since he has only finished in the top 25 once.

He missed the cut at the Masters and the PGA Championship, and was outside the top 45 in the Valspar Championship, Players Championship, and WGC Workday Championship.

Brooks has put some tidy form together in between having a knee operation and a superb spat with Bryson DeChambeau. Koepka won the Phoenix Open and was runner-up in the Workday Championship before surgery, but returned to finish second in the Championship last month.

Back the hot hand to defeat DJ.

Top 40 Finish: JT Poston (+120)

Poston secured his spot in the U.S. Open on Monday, and that will fill him full of confidence here. In 2019 Collin Morikawa and Erik van Rooyen qualified for the U.S. Open and went onto both finish in the top 20 in the Canadian Open. Two years earlier, Stewart Cink qualified for the U.S. Open and later that same week finished 10th in the St. Jude Classic – after leading through 54 holes.

Going back 10 years, Harrison Frazer qualified for the U.S. Open and immediately won the St. Jude Classic – his only win on Tour. The little moral boost a player can get after qualifying for the U.S. Open can spur them on, and JT Poston is no different.

Poston only lives about an hour away from Congaree, so he has more course experience than most players teeing up here, and he’s a solid bet to finish in the top 40.

Matchbet: Ian Poulter to beat Alexander Noren (-114)

Englishman Ian Poulter is quietly putting together a nice run of form, finishing third last time out in the Charles Schwab Challenge. In the last couple of months he has put in solid efforts to finish in the top 30 of both the Masters and the PGA Championship.

Poulter ranks seventh on Tour for shots gained putting and 21st for shots gained around the green, which could be two key stats here. He also ranks in the top 30 for sand save percentage, which is a quirky stat that might be relevant this week.

Alex Noren’s form isn’t bad at all. He broke a run of four straight top 25 finishes since April when he came 55th at the PGA Championship, but bounced back in style to finish 13th in the Memorial last week.

But Poulter’s hot putter gives him the edge in this matchup, and he can win the head-to-head.

Top 40 Finish: Camilo Villegas (+188)

This is a little bit more optimistic after Villegas missed the cut at the Memorial last week and put in a poor third round on his way to shooting 6-over-par in the Charles Schwab Challenge before that. However, Villegas does have four top 25 finishes in his last seven starts, including most notably finishing eighth in the Honda Classic and 11th in the Valspar Championship.

Both of these performances are attention grabbing because they are played on Bermuda Greens and if his putter was firing there, we can hope it will be red-hot again this week.

The Colombian ranks 26th on Tour for shots gained around the green and 16th for sand save percentage. If he can dial in his irons, he has a chance to put in another solid showing.