Free Expert Picks and Predictions

Lucas Glover is rolling along a sneaky-good stretch with five consecutive Top-30 finishes and he’s been a tee-to-green machine dating back to last summer's heater that included consecutive wins and another three Top-5 finishes. The shortcoming with Glover is his work on the greens and he's more accurate than long off the tee. While his game doesn’t fit the prototypical winning profile needed at Valhalla Golf Club, Glover is in the middle of a career resurgence and has finished Top 40 in 18 of his past 25 events, including his T20 at the Masters in April.

The Englishman has quietly played the weekend in nine consecutive majors and has Top-15 finishes in two straight PGA Championships. Hatton’s T9 at the Masters in April was also his best result in a major and he’s having a solid LIV Golf debut with seven Top-20 finishes including four Top 10s in eight events. Finally, I value Hatton gaining true strokes across the board at Augusta National in April, and he’s also gained true strokes on approach in six straight majors.

This is an outlier high price for Jon Rahm through BetMGM, and aside from failing to win thus far on the LIV circuit and disappointing with a T45 finish at the Masters, there's a lot to like about his game heading to Valhalla. He’s posted Top 10s in each of his seven LIV events and he paces the tour in birdies with an average of 5.24 per round. He's also inside the Top 10 in driving distance, greens-in-regulation percentage, and putting average, and he gained true strokes tee-to-green at the Masters. He was trading in the +750 range to win the PGA Championship a year ago at a track that probably doesn’t provide the same advantage as Valhalla does for his game. I’m also betting him at -105 through bet365 for a Top-20 finish to complement this outright ticket.

The Mystics will finish bottom of the league in 2024, but it’s not because of their defense. Washington should rank among the stingiest teams in the league but can’t complement those efforts with points. This team lacks a go-to scorer and is asking role players to pick up the slack. New York ranked among the best defenses in the land last season, tightening the bolts even more in the second half of the schedule. The Liberty had many bench players roll into camp late and given this spread, game script says those reserves will get some run Tuesday as they use this opener as a glorified scrimmage. This total has already dipped close to three points from the opener of 166 O/U, but I still like the Under.

The Storm stacked their roster in hopes of running with Vegas and New York but much like we saw from the new-look Liberty last season, it will take time for those new pieces to come together. Seattle has one of the best starting fives on paper, however, lacks depth. Minnesota is one of the deeper rosters in the WNBA, especially in the backcourt, and has a elite talent in Napheesa Collier impacting the outcome on both ends of the floor. My power ratings aren’t bullish on the Storm like the bookies, setting this spread more in the Seattle -5.5 range rather than this near double-digit line (which is dropping to -8.5 at some shops).

I’m grading the Sparks higher than most this season, due to their depth and fantastic coaching from Curt Miller. Los Angeles has been able to put up points in the preseason, getting contributions from all over, and faces an inconsistent Dream defense. Atlanta will be without top offseason addition Jordin Canada, which stretches this lineup a little thin for Game 1. My power ratings listed the Dream as -1.5 road chalk, not 6-point faves. I'll take the extra points on the home team.