PGA 2018 CIMB Classic Betting Preview & Prediction

The 2018-19 season in the PGA Tour is underway, and this week’s event is the first of three consecutive weeks of tournaments in Asia: Malaysia’s CIMB Classic. Pat Perez won here a year ago, but Justin Thomas is probably the biggest name connected with this tournament. He won his first victory on the PGA Tour here three years ago and then picked up the repeat in 2016, leading to a five-victory season that would include his first major as well as Player of the Year and the FedEx Cup championship. At this course (TPC Kuala Lumpur West), the average winning score here for the last three editions has been 24.3 shots under par. Take a look at the player odds and then review our sports betting predictions for the winner.

PGA 2018 CIMB Classic Betting Preview & Prediction

🐦 @JustinThomas34 can up-and-down from anywhere. pic.twitter.com/xFvWXy0j6C

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) 11 de octubre de 2018

• Justin Thomas +500
• Billy Horschel +1400
• Ryan Moore, Xander Schauffele +1600
• Paul Casey +2000
• Gary Woodland, Marc Leishman +2200
• Keegan Bradley +2500
• Cameron Smith +2800
• Brandt Snedeker, Byeong Hun An +3000
• Rafael Cabrera Bello +3300
• Emiliano Grillo, Kyle Stanley, Louis Oosthuizen +3500
• Branden Grace, C.T. Pan, Danny Lee, Kevin Na, Kevin Tway +4000
• Beau Hossler +5000
• Chez Reavie, JB Holmes, Pat Perez, Peter Uihlein +5500
• Anirban Lahiri, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Sam Ryder, Si Woo Kim, Thomas Peters +6600
• Austin Cook, Brian Gay, Jhonattan Vegas, Kevin Chappell, Stewart Cink,
• J.J. Spaun, Troy Merritt +8000 Jason Kokrak, Jimmy Walker, Bronson Burgoon, Andrew Putnam, Brendan Steele, Chesson Hadley, Jamie Lovemark, Jason Dufner,
• Nick Watney, Scott Piercy, Tom Hoge +10000
• Brice Garnett, James Hahn, Joel Dahmen, Keith Mitchell, Ryan Armour, Scott Stallings +12500
• Michael Kim +15000

Given the lack of elite competition in this field, you have to include Justin Thomas despite the low value that he represents. He has more talent and credibility than just about every other golfer here, and he has those two wins here in the last three years. He has cracked the top 25 in six straight singles tournaments and has finished at least -5 or better in seven of his last 10 tournaments. Xander Schauffele has a lot more value than Thomas despite being one of the best players in this field. He came in third at the BMW Championship and seventh at the Tour Championship, and he has also been consistent, finishing outside the cut just twice since the U.S. Open. There are other players here with more experience on this particular course, but he did finish third here in 2017. Given that consistency and the track record here from a year ago, I’m including him on my card. Gary Woodland has made every cut since the Players Championship and has cracked the top 25 in six of his last seven tournaments. He finished in the top 30 here a year ago and finished as the runner-up in both 2013 and 2014. He brings a lot of money line value, and his track record here makes him worth the risk. Kevin Na carried off the win at the Military Tribute and has four top-25 results in his last five tournaments. For the 2017-18 season, he was seventh in the PGA Tour in sand save percentage and 27th in birdie average. He doesn’t win a whole lot of tournaments, but he has made it into the top five here twice in the last four years as well as the top ten six years ago. He’s another solid dark horse consideration. Ryan Moore took second last week at the Safeway Open, which was a nice way to begin the new campaign. He has two CIMB Classic titles and finished in the top 10 here in 2010 and 2015. He has five straight top-20 finishes at the CIMB Classic. Given his track record on this course and given his money line value, he’s one to think about adding.