The U.S. Women’s Open is barely in the rearview mirror and already the focus is set to shift this week with some of the best on the LPGA Tour making the trip to Windsor, Colorado for the Marathon Classic this week. A two-stroke penalty for a grounded club was the difference in Brittany Lang beating out Anna Nordqvist in a playoff at last week’s major tournament and while we don’t expect another controversial finish this week it’s abundantly clear that anything can happen in any given event on the LPGA Tour.
Event Details
Event: Marathon Classic
Category: LPGA
Date: July 14-17
Location: Highland Meadows Golf Course, Windsor, Colorado
World No. 38 Chella Choi has to hope for a much less controversial finish this week as she looks to defend her title at the Marathon Classic. Choi shot a final round 5-under 66 and then beat out Ha Nag Jang in a playoff to secure her first LPGA Tour win here a year ago. While she would probably love to get the job done here this year without needing a playoff, it certainly won’t be easy against a very difficult field. We’ll see Lydia Ko here as well as Brooke M. Henderson and Ariya Jutanugarn. That trio has been the LPGA Tour’s Big Three this season.
Past Five Winners
2015: Chella Choi -14
2014: Lydia Ko -15
2013: Beatriz Recari -17
2012: So Yeon Ryu -20
2010: Na Yeon Choi -14
What To Know About The Course
10 different golfers finished with a double-digit under score here a year ago and there shouldn’t be any doubt that it will take a similar score to win this event in 2016. Driving Accuracy will be important along with the ability to finish on the greens when it comes to Putting statistics. You would have to go all the way back to 2004 to find a Marathon Classic winner that finished with a final score worse than 10-under.
The Field
Choi is the defending tournament champion but she certainly isn’t the betting favorite to win this event outright. That title belongs to world No. 1 Lydia Ko, who is listed at a ridiculous +200 odds to win this week. The next closest bets on the board are Stacy Lewis and Brooke Henderson at +1000 and the drop off between the top entries is testament to Ko’s dominance on the LPGA Tour so far this season. Choi is listed at just +3300 to repeat as the Marathon Classic champion this week.
A Good Matchup To Bet: Stacy Lewis over Brooke Henderson
One of the biggest question marks regarding Henderson was how she would respond following her first-career major title win at the Women’s PGA Championship. The 18-year-old won the Portland Classic for the second year in a row but she has struggled mightily in her other three events including a missed cut at the Arkansas Championship and a 64th-place finish at the U.S. Women’s Open last week when she finished 11-over. Those numbers don’t exactly inspire confidence, but they do make her seem like a good pick to fade with Stacy Lewis in a head-to-head sports betting matchup. Lewis is coming off back-to-back top-10 finishes including a runner-up to Henderson at the Portland Classic so she should be motivated to deliver a strong performance at the Marathon Classic this week.
Top-Five Pick: Lydia Ko
As ridiculous as Ko’s +200 betting odds for this week’s tournament appear to be, they might actually be justified based on her production this season. Ko has registered four straight top-five finishes including a win at the Arkansas Championship and a third-place finish at the U.S. Women’s Open last week and there is every reason to expect her to continue her strong play this week. Ko actually won this event two years ago in 2014 and after posting just one victory in her last eight starts she should be motivated to deliver another impressive performance at the Marathon Classic as the closest thing to a lock to finish in the top-five this week.
Top 10 Odds To Win The Marathon Classic
Lydia Ko +205
Brooke M Henderson +1015
Stacy Lewis +1015
Ariya Jutanugarn +1550
Anna Nordqvist +1550
Ha Na Jang +1650
Haru Nomura +2250
Brittany Lang +2250
Chella Choi +2550
Christina Kim +4050
