The PGA Tour will shift to Bethesda, Maryland and the Congressional Country Club for the Quicken Loans National this week. It will be a much different scene than what we saw at Oakmont for the U.S. Open last week. Obviously, a lot of big names will be absent from the action as they’re either recovering or taking a break after the second golf major of the year. Troy Merritt looks to defend his title against a field that won’t be nearly as strong as the competition from last week’s major tournament.
Event Details
Event: Quicken Loans National
Category: PGA
Date: June 23-26
Location: Congressional Country Club, Bethesda, Maryland
Merritt won this tournament last year when it was played at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia but this year’s tournament returns to its original host course. There appears to be a strong correlation between Congressional and Muirfield Village and we will lean on that angle when it comes to breaking down the field for this week’s event.
Past Five Winners
2015: Troy Merritt -18
2014: Justin Rose -4 (Playoff)
2013: Bill Haas -12
2012: Tiger Woods -8
2011: Nick Watney -13
What To Know About The Course
The first three winners of this event at Congressional ranked fifth, 10th and fourth for Driving Distance but have the last three winners have each ranked outside of the top-30 in that category. Driving Accuracy has become a more important statistic with the six winners ranking 21st in that department on average. It will be important to hit the ball well off the tee but accuracy and putting well will be just as big of a factor. Each of the six winners at this course ranked inside the top-17 in Greens In Regulation and inside the top-13 in putting so keep an eye on those categories heading in to this tournament.
The Field
Merritt’s win at this tournament last year has even less of an influence on this year’s event since it’s being held at a different venue and that is reflected by the fact that he is listed at +15000 odds to win outright. Rickie Fowler is the top-ranked golfer in this week’s field and he will play the role of betting favorite at +1400 odds followed by Patrick Reed at +1600 and Jim Furyk at +1800 odds. Marc Leishman, Charley Hoffman, Justin Thomas, Brendan Steele and Byeong Hun An round out the list of this week’s betting favorites in a clear indication of how different of a feel this week’s tournament will have in comparison to the U.S. Open last week.
A Good Matchup To Bet: Jim Furyk over Rickie Fowler
Fowler might be the betting favorite but we prefer to fade him this week following three consecutive missed cuts at The Players Championship, the Memorial Tournament and the U.S. Open last week. Fowler has really struggled to find his form and we would prefer to fade him this week with the prediction that trend will continue. Meanwhile, Jim Furyk is coming off an impressive runner-up finish at the U.S. Open last week and his course form figures include four top-10 finishes in eight starts here. Furyk should be a reliable option to wager on this week and we like him to best Fowler in the head-to-head betting matchup.
Top-Five Pick: Patrick Reed
Reed is coming off a missed cut at Oakmont but he wasn’t the only talented golfer to struggle at the U.S. Open and at least on paper he appears to be an excellent pick to bounce back this week. This will be his third trip to Congressional and considering he improved from a 34th place finish to an 11th place finish over his last two appearances at this course we are banking on that trend continuing with another positive step towards a victory. Reed has registered nine top-10 finishes in 18 starts this season and we like him as a strong pick to finish in the top-five at the Quicken Loans National this week.
Top 10 Odds To Win The Quicken Loans National
Rickie Fowler +1250
Patrick Reed +1850
Jim Furyk +2050
Ryan Palmer +2250
Marc Leishman +2550
Gary Woodland +2550
Brendan Steele +2850
Charley Hoffman +2850
Justin Thomas +2550
Russell Henley +3550
