World Wide Technology Championship betting tips as Viktor Hovland chases hat-trick and Scottie Scheffler returns

ByAlex Livie

Updated 02/11/2022 at 08:37 GMT

The PGA Tour heads to Mexico for the World Wide Technology Championship and Scottie Scheffler is in action for the first time since being deposed by Rory McIlroy at the top of the world rankings. He is towards the head of the betting, which is understandable given his quality. He makes appeal at El Camaleon, as does a player further down the betting at 50/1.

Scottie Scheffler does not appear the type who gets too angry, but he was probably smarting at being knocked off the top of the world rankings.

Unless you are peak Tiger Woods, it is not realistic to be world No. 1 for year after year after year, so it was always likely that Scheffler would be reeled in.

Rory McIlroy had been chipping away at Scheffler’s position for months, and victory at the CJ Cup took the Northern Irishman back to the summit of the sport.

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The World Wide Technology Championship in Mexico is Scheffler’s first start since being removed from the top of the tree, and there is a sense that he could make a statement of intent.

We tend to steer clear of the shorter-priced players in the betting, but sometimes value can be had at those prices and this is one of those weeks.

At the 9/1 mark, Scheffler makes decent appeal to get back in the winner’s circle for the first time since the Masters in April.

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Motivation is likely to be a factor, as Scheffler’s level has dipped since his stunning run of form that yielded four wins in a two-month period and he will want to prove that was not a flash in the pan.

Dig a little deeper, and it’s obvious Scheffler did not fall off a cliff after his Masters win. He finished second at the Charles Schwab Challenge, tied-second at the US Open, T3 at the BMW Championship and second at the Tour Championship, where he was overhauled by an inspired McIlroy.

At 80% of his peak form, Scheffler would make decent appeal and it’s worth chancing that he is near that number in Mexico this week.

The big concern is the putter. Scheffler has looked uncomfortable on the greens in recent starts, but he has a new short stick in the bag and a couple of weeks’ practice since the CJ Cup could have worked wonders.

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El Camaleon is not a fiendish test of putting, it is a second-shot golf course and that is an area of the game that Scheffler excels. If his iron play is up to its usual standards, he could fire at enough pins to negate fears over a suspect putter.

Scheffler has competition at the top of the betting with Viktor Hovland vying for favouritism. The Norwegian’s record at the course has not gone unnoticed by the bookmakers, as Hovland bids for a hat-trick of wins in the event.

We do believe in horses for courses, but hat-tricks in golf are extremely rare. Not since Steve Stricker landed the John Deere Classic for a third time in a row in 2011 has a hat-trick been pulled off, and for that reason alone we will swerve the talented Hovland.

Tony Finau is back in action for the first time since the Presidents Cup in September and with competitive rust a possible issue we will look elsewhere, while Collin Morikawa and Billy Horschel are not playing well enough to make appeal at their prices.

There is appeal further down the betting in the shape of Thomas Detry.

The Belgian is threatening to become the nearly man of golf, given he is still chasing a first win after a series of close calls.

He came up short once again in the Butterfield Bermuda Championship, but there was no sign of a choke at Port Royal as Seamus Power proved too good.

Thomas Detry

Image credit: Getty Images

Detry is attempting to forge a career on the PGA Tour, after years in Europe on the DP World Tour.

The standard is undoubtedly higher on the PGA Tour, but Detry is as classy as any player in the game and the type of courses on the PGA Tour have always looked like they would suit him.

We're only a few weeks into the current season but Detry has gone a long way to wrapping up his playing privileges for the following campaign already. That can free up the mind, and set Detry free to realise his potential.

In what is a Ryder Cup season, Detry will have an eye on the European team in Rome and big finishes on the PGA Tour will see him rack up points and put him in a position for an automatic slot.

Detry finished 22nd in the event 12 months ago, which was another indication of his comfort levels on resort courses.

He has always been reliable off the tee, and has improved his short game in the last couple of years.

Detry makes fantastic appeal at 50/1, given there are eight places on offer in the each-way markets.

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