With the top names in golf either entered in the Genesis Scottish Open, getting a little rest before The Open Championship, or in LIV limbo, the rest will be heading into Kentucky for a crack at the Barbasol Championship.
While it's a thin field in terms of name recognition, there will be value to be found, and it could come in the form of a fresh face in the winner's circle.
We break it all down in our 2023 Barbasol Championship betting preview below, including golf odds and free golf picks.
Odds to win 2023 Barbasol Championship
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Barbasol Championship picks and predictions
Taylor Pendrith outright winner (+1,800 at DraftKings — 0.72 units)
The first golfer we're targeting this week is Taylor Pendrith, who currently sits at 18/1 via DraftKings. While I normally do not like taking the favorite in a PGA event unless I have an extremely strong feel, those odds are too long to pass up on a guy who is head-and-shoulders above 90% of this field.
Pendrith is coming off his T14 performance at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and has made six of his past nine cuts. A good ball striker, Pendrith has gained strokes this season both off the tee and tee-to-green.
Therefore, it is not surprising to see that he boasts a greens in regulation percentage north of 67%. Furthermore, he has gained strokes tee-to-green in each of his past three tournaments.
Putting has killed Pendrith’s game over the past couple of months, but it would not be shocking to see a turnaround on these bentgrass greens in Kentucky. At Oak Hill, he gained +1.67 strokes putting on a course that also features bentgrass greens en route to his T29 finish, and that was against an exponentially more difficult field than the competition he will face this week.
Finally, Pendrith has finished inside the Top 15 in each of his two career appearances at Keene Trace Golf Club.
Kevin Streelman outright winner (+3,000 at DraftKings — 0.54 units)
Another golfer to target this week is Kevin Streelman, who currently sits at 30/1 via DraftKings. The longtime veteran has certainly not played his best golf recently, failing to crack the Top 45 in any of his past four tournaments.
With that said, now could be the time to buy low. We already covered how this field is extremely watered down, but Keene Trace Golf Club favors Streelman’s game well.
First of all, he is one of the best iron players in this tournament. On tour this season, Streelman ranks 78th in strokes gained tee to green and 89th in strokes gained approach the green.
Prior to that aforementioned four-tournament downturn, he finished T9 at the Charles Schwab Challenge. That is worth noting because his best club that week was by far his putter — and Colonial Country Club also features bentgrass greens.
A strong iron player who is a tour veteran and succeeds on bentgrass greens, you will not be shocked to learn that finished runner-up here last season.
Barbasol Championship field and favorites
Yes, there is little fanfare surrounding the Barbasol Championship than the Genesis Scottish Open, with which it's sharing a weekend, but that doesn't mean it's void of excitement. This tournament has been the home to back-to-back first-time winners in Trey Mullinax and Seamus Power. Neither of them is in the field this year — Power is in Scotland — so there could be another first-time winner.
Betting favorite Taylor Pendrith has yet to claim victory on the PGA Tour. He has two professional wins on the Canadian tour, and is the 113th-ranked golfer in the world, according to the OWGR. The 32-year-old has had an up-and-down year with his highlights coming on a T7 at Pebble Beach, a T13 at the Zurich Classic, and a T29 at the PGA Championship. For now, he has the shortest odds to win, which would make him a first-time winner on tour.
Not if Lucas Glover has anything to say about it, though. The four-time tour winner (last winning the 2021 John Deere Classic), the veteran is one spot ahead of Pendrith in the world rankings but is at slightly longer odds to win in Kentucky.
Covers golf betting tools
Barbasol Championship recent winners and odds history
Let's take a look at some recent Barbasol Championship winners and their closing odds to win:
| Year | Golfer | Closing odds |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Trey Mullinax | +10,000 |
| 2021 | Seamus Power | +1,600 |
| 2020 | Not held due to COVID-19 | N/A |
| 2019 | Jim Herman | +300 (the field) |
| 2018 | Troy Merritt | +4,000 |
| 2017 | Grayson Murray | +6,000 |
| 2016 | Aaron Baddeley | +4,000 |
| 2015 | Scott Piercy | +2,000 |
Odds courtesy of GolfOdds.
Barbasol Championship FAQ
Taylor Pendrith is the current favorite between +1,600 to +1,800.
Trey Mullinax won the 2022 edition of the Barbasol Championship.
The purse for the 2023 Barbasol Championship is $3.8 million with the winner taking $684,000.
The Barbasol Championship will be held from July 13-16 at the Keene Trace Golf Club in Nicholasville, Kentucky.
