This article is part of our DraftKings Euro Tour series.
BMW PGA Championship
Location: Virginia Water, Surrey, United Kingdom
Course: Wentworth Club, West Course
Yardage: 7,284
Par: 72
Tournament Preview
The Rolex Series begins this week, and with that comes bigger purses and stronger fields. Most of the top European players will be at Wentworth Club to try to win the European Tour's flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship. There is plenty of course history with the tournament being held at Wentworth Club since 1984. There was a course redesign, which is said to have made the course play easier with improved greens and less bunkers. Wentworth Club is a tree-lined parkland course with water appearing on only a few of the holes and bunker-protected greens. Ball strikers have flourished at this course. Recent form will once again be strongly considered among the ball strikers.
Key Stats to Winning at Wentworth Club
Greens in Regulation
SG: Tee to Green
SG: Approach
SG: Putting
Past Champions
2017 - Alex Noren
2016 - Chris Wood
2015 - Byeong-hun An
2014 - Rory McIlroy
2013 - Matteo Manassero
DraftKings Picks (with odds)
Paul Casey, $10,800 - (12/1)
My favorite play above $10,000 this week is Casey. He has yet to finish outside the top 20 at a European Tour event this season, and already won this year, claiming victory at the PGA Tour's Valspar Championship. He also finished T5 his last time out at the Wells Fargo Championship on the PGA Tour. This is a home game for Casey, who regularly plays at Wentworth Club and cites the venue as one of the reasons he plays golf. Casey enters this week with much positivity and confidence, and that seems to mean only one thing: a special result.
Andrew Johnston, $8,200 - (40/1)
"Beef" has been coming along nicely this season. missing the cut in only one of his last six starts, and that was partly due to the unique format of the Super 6 Perth. His last three finishes have been T12, 2nd and T12. He has all the stats to back up a play here, ranking 7th in GIR, 2nd in SG: tee to green and 6th in SG: approach. Johnston has performed well at Wentworth Club the last couple years with a T21 in 2017 and T7 in 2016.
Jorge Campillo, $7,800 - (66/1)
Campillo has been on a hot streak, missing only over his last 10 starts. He has been close to victory many times this season with five top-5 finishes. His record will make him a chalk play, but a win does seem to be coming. Campillo is ranked 15th on tour in GIR and 13th in SG: putting. His last two starts at Wentworth were T40 in 2017 and T15 in 2016.
Andrea Pavan, $7,100 - (90/1)
Looking further down the list, Pavan stands out as an undervalued play. He has had a half dozen top-20 finishes this season and has finished as high as T3. Last week was a quick exit at the Belgium Knockout, but prior to that finished T9 in Sicily. Pavan is ranked 19th in GIR on tour and is 2nd in SG: approach. He is also sinking putts, ranking 28th in SG: putting.
