Quicken Loans National

Odds to Win Tournament

The TOUR heads to Bethesda for the Quicken Loans National after an eventful U.S. Open this past weekend. Dustin Johnson was the story of that tournament, as he finally broke through and won his first major. It was quite the redemption for Johnson, who blew last year’s tournament with a three-putt on the 18th hole. Now the golfers will shift their attention to this week’s event and Tony Merritt was the winner here a year ago. He shot an 18-under to defeat Rickie Fowler by three strokes and both guys will be in this year’s field. Joining them will be guys like Jim Furyk, Patrick Reed, Marc Leishman and Brendan Steele. Most of the world’s top golfers will be using this week to rest. With that out of the way, let’s now take a look at who might be coming away victorious on the 7,569-yard course on Sunday:

Patrick Reed (18-to-1) - Reed has not yet won a tournament this season, but he has been all over the top of the leaderboard and this could be his best chance to win yet. Reed has three second place finishes on the season and six other top-10 finishes as well. He’ll now head to Bethesda and get to face a field that is void of the top golfers on the TOUR. He is already one of the most talented golfers himself, so it’s just a matter of him keeping it together and finding a way to stay poised throughout the weekend. He’s worth putting a few units on at 18-to-1 though.

Justin Thomas (27-to-1) - Like Reed, Thomas is yet another player with all of the talent in the world. He performed admirably at the U.S. Open last week, finishing tied for 32nd and he should have his sights set on winning this tournament. Thomas finished tied for third at THE PLAYERS and has a golden opportunity to win his second tournament of the year, as he won the CIMB Classic in early November. The key for Thomas will be accuracy with the irons. If he can hit his approach shots well then he’s a tremendous value at 27-to-1 and is worth putting a unit or two on for the weekend.

Keegan Bradley (70-to-1) - Bradley has had one of his worst seasons as a pro in 2016, but he is still a very talented golfer and this could be an opportunity for him to turn his season around and start to build some confidence. Bradley finished nine-over at the U.S. Open, but he was 12-under and tied for eighth place at the Memorial Tournament just two weeks before. If he can channel that type of play then he will certainly be a threat to win this one. The field for this event just might be weaker than any we’ve seen thus far and it’s a golden opportunity for Bradley to pick up a win. He’s worth putting a unit or so on at 70-to-1.

Tony Merritt (130-to-1) - Merritt won this event a year ago and is still receiving some absurd odds at 130-to-1. Not only did he win this event in 2015, but he also happened to have set a tournament record with his 18-under score and 266 aggregate. The golfers won’t be playing on the same course that they did a year ago, but he might be able to lock in and find his game in this one. It also doesn’t hurt that Merritt has had a decent season thus far in 2016. He finished tied for 11th at the Northern Trust Open, tied for third at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and tied for 17th at the Dean & DeLuca Invitational. He’ll be looking to win his first title of the year on Sunday, but it always helps to be returning as the top dog.