Established in 1999, the first WGC event of the year, the WGC Workday Championship, has a new name and a new venue for 2021. Formerly known as the WGC Mexico, it has hopped over the border and across to Florida for this year’s edition.
As with any World Golf Championship, the new sponsors are enjoying a strong field with the world number one at the head of the betting odds market. There are plenty of challenges however and, as Dustin Johnson discovered at the Genesis Invitational, he is going to have to lift his game even higher to maintain his run of trophies this season. So here we go with our WGC Workday Championship predictions, full preview and picks.
A tie for eighth place on Sunday represents a relatively disappointing return for Dustin Johnson following a prolific run of results. The finish has, however, done nothing to affect his standings for this week’s tournament and DJ will start as favorite at odds of around 6/1.
As well as being the world’s number one ranked golfer, Johnson has won this event three times on two different courses. He has some way to go before he matches Tiger Woods’ record of seven wins but the change of venue won’t faze him.
One man who enjoyed a better four days and a welcome return to form was Jon Rahm. A tie for fifth was his ninth top 10 finish in the last seven months and he ranks highly in relevant stats on Tour which could get him over the line on Sunday. Rahm is the second favorite at a best of 10/1.
Behind the two market leaders, there is a gap to Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele who are both quoted at 16/1 in places. Rory was a distant runner up behind Dustin Johnson in 2019 but it is Schauffele who has the greater levels of consistency coming into Thursday.
Moving through the pack is Patrick Cantlay, Justin Thomas and Tony Finau all at 18/1. Finau just missed out on victory as he lost to Max Homa in Sunday’s playoff and, incredibly, that was his third runner-up finish in his last three starts.
Justin Thomas was a runner up in this tournament, behind Phil Mickelson in 2018 but a missed cut last week keeps him at a longer price.
Also in the chasers are Tyrrell Hatton, Brooks Koepka, Viktor Hovland and Webb Simpson who can all be found at 22/1 in places. Of the four, Hovland is in better shape following his fifth placed finish on Sunday but Koepka will threaten as he tends to lift his game for the bigger tournaments.
As a two-time winner and the defending champion this week, there will be definite interest in Patrick Reed as he heads the outside bunch. Reed is listed at best odds of 30/1 and returns to the PGA Tour for the first time since his five-stroke victory at Torrey Pines.
Behind Reed, Sungjae Im is available at 40/1 while Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler and Joaquin Niemann are all at 45/1. Further back, Tommy Fleetwood is on offer at 50/1 while our most recent winner on Tour, Max Homa, is among a clutch of players at 66/1.
Also at 66/1 is 2012’s WGC Championship winner Justin Rose who sits in the same price bracket as Will Zalatoris, Jason Day and Louis Oosthuizen. Clearly there is strength in depth to this week’s field but what will it take to get over the line? We are nearly at our WGC Workday predictions and picks for this preview.
Our WGC Workday Preview’s Picks & Predictions with Course & Betting Trends
After a four year spell in Mexico, the WGC Championship returns to Florida. The Doral Course in Miami previously enjoyed hosting duties but this time it is over in Bradenton at the Concession Golf Club.
It is a relatively standard par 72 at a shade under 7,500 yards and it was the product of a joint design project between Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin. Large greens and extensive sand traps are typical of any Nicklaus course and that is what we see here. Accuracy off the tee should be a key factor in preparation for an approach to Bermuda grass greens which are expected to come in at 12 on the Stimpmeter.
There have been 21 previous editions of this tournament and, interestingly, 16 of them have been won by just five separate golfers. Multiple winners are exceptionally common with Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Patrick Reed all lifting the trophy at least twice.
Whether that trend will be relevant in 2021 is debatable as there is a new venue but both Johnson and Reed have won at two separate courses. The man in our frame has yet to win and USA Betting is keeping faith with Justin Thomas. The death of his grandfather and the circumstances surrounding the loss of a sponsor have offered unwelcome distractions but we all know that he will be back in the winners’ enclosure before too long.
It’s a case of picking the right time and, as his odds drift, we’re backing JT to get on the comeback trail. Add in some promising top 10 finish wagers and we’ll look to get back to winning ways in Florida. So these are our WGC Workday predictions:
- Take Justin Thomas to win @ +1800 with Bovada, Intertops & BetOnline.
- Go with JT (best at +165 Intertops, BetOnline), Webb Simpson (+275 BetOnline), Patrick Reed (+275 Intertops) and Kevin Kisner (+850 BetOnline) for top 10 finishes.
Matt Harris is a golf and soccer expert for USA Betting. His other area of specialist knowledge is cricket. He is well known in sports journalism and contributes articles to a plethora of big-name websites and media outlets. Titles that he writes or has written for include: Betfair, BetVictor, Unibet & Just Bookies.