This week, golf pros from around the world will be stopping off in beautiful La Quinta, California for the 60th annual Desert Classic PGA Golf Tournament. This tournament is played each year as part of the PGA’s Tour and is opposite of the Euro Tour’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. Safe to say that a majority of the pro golfers will be playing at one of these two tournaments this week.
This is the first year that the Desert Classic is being called by its current name. Last year, this tournament was called the CareerBuilder Challenge and was won by Jon Rahm. Rahm went to extra rounds with Andrew Landry and won in the playoffs.
Rahm is back this year, along with Landry, who finished 2nd, and Adam Hadwin, John Huh, and Martin Pillar, who rounded out the top 5 last year, are all back competing for their first win on tour this season.
The tournament is played over 3 courses, 1 of which is considered one of the easiest courses and 1 that is considered the 4th hardest on the PGA Tour. The tournament will be played at the PGA West Stadium Course, PGA West Tournament Course, and La Quinta Country Club. Each of the golfers will play one round at each course, with the golfers making the cut playing the final round on Sunday at the Stadium Course.
The courses play out as follows:
- PGA West Stadium Course – 7,266 yards – Par 72
- PGA West Tournament Course – 7,204 yards – Par 72
- LA Quinta Country Club Course – 7,060 yards – Par 72
Each golfer will get the chance to play at each course over 3 days, as there is no normal 36 hole cut on this tournament. Instead, each golfer will play 3-rounds of golf and then a cut will be made after the 54th hole.
The following golfers are a handful of golfers that should compete for the top prize at the Desert Classic.
The Favorites
Jon Rahm +600 – The only thing that you can’t like about Jon Rahm is his horrible odds. No one really wants to bet a golfer at 6/1 but you could make an argument that he is the best golfer for this course. Rahm won last year’s tournament and is back to defend his crown. He is long off the tee, has decent Greens in Reg numbers and when his putter is on, he is phenomenal.
Justin Rose +900 – Again, not really liking the odds so I personally won’t bet him but I wouldn’t fault you if you did. This will be Rose’s first time playing here at La Quinta but if he starts out 2019 like he played in 2018, it will be no trouble for Rose to find his way to the winner’s circle.
The Value Guys
Patton Kizzire +4500 – Kizzire seems to really play well at this time of the season and this year has been no different. He finished in 8th place at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and 13th place at the Sony Open. Really hasn’t had great course history here but with his recent form superseding those numbers, he is worth a shot.
Sungjae Im +5000 – Im came in 16th place last week at Sony Open and now returns to California where he should like the course a bit more. He has not played here, so this will be his first time on the course but the numbers really suit his game.
The Longshots
Bud Cauley +9000 – I don’t understand why Cauley is at this price, but we can’t complain, we just take it and enjoy the price. Cauley has played here the last 3 years and finished in 3rd place in 2016 and 14th place in 2018 and 2016. He definitely doesn’t belong at this strong of odds and can absolutely steal this tournament on a good week!
Ryan Armour +12000 – Most people probably haven’t followed Armour much but he is due for a big season. He is coming off a 22nd place finish at the Sony Open and has now finished in the Top 22 in his last 3 tournaments. He hasn’t played well here at La Quinta but his recent form sort of overtakes those trends due to him really playing well lately. At 120/1, he is worth a look for sure!