Welcome back to Crush & Fade, our weekly dive into the PGA Tour where we recap last week’s drama and tee up the best bets for what is ahead.
The Memorial: A Combo of My Recent Odes from Scottie to Aviators and Back to Scottie
Nobody can stop this man, Scottie Scheffler. He is on an absolute tear. He has as many wins since May 1 as the Colorado Rockies baseball team. Let that sink in. He made close to 10 million dollars in earnings in the month of May. Let that sink in again.
He is now the fourth fastest player in history to reach 16 career PGA Tour wins, trailing only Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, and Sam Snead. He also became just the second player ever to repeat as champion at Muirfield Village, once again following in Tiger’s footsteps.
Ben Griffin is playing some wonderful golf right now. After jumping out to a huge lead on Thursday, he grinded his way into the final pairing on Sunday alongside Scottie. His overall game looked sharp, but the putter let him down at times. He had to push the envelope down the stretch to try and keep pace with Scheffler, and the pressure eventually got to him. A costly double bogey on the seventeenth sealed his fate.
Fun fact I learned this week: Ben wears aviator sunglasses on the course not just for style, but due to serious vision issues. He recently had retina surgery, and the shades help reduce the number of floaters he sees during play. So keep rocking the aviators, Ben, and kudos on your recent run of form.
Scottie, meanwhile, has now closed out nine consecutive tournaments when entering Sunday as the leader after three rounds. He just does not falter. Remind you of anyone? (Hint: it is Tiger Woods.)
RBC Canadian Open Preview
The 2025 RBC Canadian Open will be played for the first time at the newly renovated TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley on the North Course. It is a par 70 layout, stretching to 7,389 yards.
The defending champion is Robert MacIntyre, who has been in solid form and should be among the favorites this week. Rory McIlroy is also back in the field, and it is hard to bet against the best golfer on the planet not named Scottie.
It is always fun to see Canadian players rise to the occasion at their national open. I would expect at least a few of them to be in the mix on Sunday.
Sandman Top Bets
I love Rory, and who doesn’t this week? He is listed at plus 450 to win, but I am going to pass. On a brand new course, I think there are better values out there.
CRUSH PLAYS
- Corey Conners to Win at +2000
Conners represents Canada proudly every week, but this one means even more. He struggled like most did at Muirfield Village, but I think he bounces back in a big way and rides his elite ball striking into the winner’s circle. - Luke Clanton Top 10 at +400
Clanton is making his professional debut, and the hype is real. The Florida State product has been a standout in amateur and collegiate golf. I cannot wait to see how he performs in Canada this week. - Mackenzie Hughes Top 20 at +750
Hughes returns to his home country after a strong top seven finish here last year. He has been playing well enough lately to believe he can post another solid showing.
Sandman Fade
Picking fade candidates can be trickier since you are not betting against them directly, but rather avoiding players who might disappoint based on public or betting momentum. This week, I am focusing on one player.
FADE PLAYS
- Wyndham Clark to Win at +4500
- Wyndham Clark Top 10 at +450
- Wyndham Clark Top 20 at +250
Clark has lost his form a bit, and I have been fading him recently with some success. Maybe this will spark a turnaround, but until he shows more consistency, I will keep riding the fade. One of my old gambling mentors told me, you do not mess with a streak, and I am not about to start now.
Good luck this week, and may your bets land softly on the green.
The Sandman
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