The Northern Trust Open 2019 Preview, Predictions and Picks

Tournament Details

Date: Aug 8–11, 2019

Aug 8–11, 2019                                                       

Watch on: CBS, GOLF

Purse:$9,250,000                                                              

Course: Liberty National Golf Club 7,370 yards, par 71

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History

This week is host to one of my favorite non-major tournaments of the year. It will be played in my home state of New Jersey and at an absolutely beautiful golf course. The Northern Trust Open will be played at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, New Jersey for the third time in its history. In 2009 and 2013 it was also held here. Finally after a 6 year break, It will once again be the first stop in the FedEx Cup playoffs which was won by Justin Rose last year despite the huge rush made by Tiger Woods winning the last event the tour championship. The top 125 players in the FedEx Cup standings will be in attendance with only the top 70 after this tournament moving on to the next round. Players will be fighting to keep their season alive for sure. If they fail to show up here we won’t see them until next season in Hawaii.

Past Champions

2014 -Hunter Mahan

2015 – Jason Day

2016 – Patrick Reed

2017 – Dustin Johnson

2018 – Bryson DeChambeau

Preview & Important Statistics

This course sits right off of the New York Harbor which will ramp up the winds around the course all week. The winds will be strong and very sporadic, so the players will always have to take caution off the tee and the fairway. The key to conquering this course is to just get on the green in regulation. The greens are true and not that difficult if you can hit greens in regulation you will have no problem finding birdies and eagles all week. For that reason, let’s take a look at some of the notable leaders of GIR in the tournament.

Notable GIR Leaders

1.Corey Conner

3.Taylor Gooch

8.Matt Kuchar

9. Brooks Koepka

10. Scott Piercy

These are the leaders in GIR within this tournament. Matt Kuchar is always in contention I wrote him up in my last article at the Open Championship and he had a mini-run going on but fell short. He is the definition of consistent but just falls short of the win most of the time. I love him for a top 10 finish this week. Koepka is a threat in any tournament he is in. Especially this one. If he decides to use his driver off the tee he will have a huge advantage with some of these shorter holes around the course. However, it won’t just be his power that is needed but also his driving accuracy nothing boosts your greens in regulations like Fairways in Regulation.

Notable FIR Leaders

1.Chez Reavie

2.Ryan Moore

3.Jim Furyk

9. Kevin Kisner

13. Francesco Molinari

Francesco is by far my favorite player on this list especially with the odds he holds at +4500 GREAT VALUE. He also will have a boost at this venue considering he has more experience in these windy conditions considering his years on the European tour. Kevin Kisner isn’t a bad dark horse pick. But the rest of these players are flyers. I wish there was more to talk about here but unfortunately there isn’t.

Lastly, will we look a bit into scrambling. To win on the PGA Tour you have to be able to get up and down or you are just doomed to fail. Fleetwood is currently first in scrambling and also coming off a great second-place finish at the Open Championship. He is similar to Kuchar, always in the mix but rarely on top. Again another player I like for a top ten finish in this tournament. Like Molinari, he also should be used to the windy conditions. Webb Simpson is currently ranked second in scrambling and is coming off a near-win in the Wyndham Championship. He’s in form and trending in the right direction. Yet another great choice in this top tier field. Francesco Molinari is also near the top of the list yet again ranking 11th… really liking him this week. If he is hitting greens this week he can easily take this one down. If you were expecting me to talk about tiger I just can’t go there. He hasn’t shown anything since his masters win.

Market Leaders (@Draftkings)

Brooks Koepka +850

Rory Mcilroy +1100

Dustin Johnson +1800

Jon Rahm +1800

Webb Simpson +2000

Picks

Matt Kuchar top 10 Finish +450 @ Draftkings

Tommy Fleetwood top 10 Finish +300 @ Draftkings                             

Francesco Molinari Champion +4500 @ Draftkings (Value Play)

Brooks Koepka +850 Champions @ Draftkings

(I would play Webb but that price is terrible he is just being bet on because of his great performance last week. So I will stay away)