Horses for Courses: Multiple wins not strange at Silverado Resort

Returning to the well has proven a decent play in the past at Silverado Resort in Napa, California, host of the Procore Championship.

In recent times, both Max Homa and Brendan Steele won the title in back-to-back years, meaning finding the horses for this course might be higher on the importance list than other weeks.

Sahith Theegala (+1100) arrives for the fifth consecutive season. The 2023 champion tied the tournament scoring record (21-under) and added his third result of T14 or better in four visits. The Californian etched his name to the list of winners from the Golden State. The Orange, California, native and Pepperdine alum is the fifth native son to win since 2014.

Strokes Gained: Approach

The 2024 season stats for players in the field this week

The fairways at Silverado annually provide some of the most difficult fairways on TOUR to find from the tee box. Only averaging 20 yards in width, the slender strips have ranked in the top six toughest to hit over the last seven years. Playing from the sprinkler line should produce aggressive shots, but judging irons and wedges from 2.5 inches of Bluegrass/Ryegrass rough will need to be on point.

Max Homa (+2000) had his streak of two consecutive years as champion snapped with T7 in 2023. Picking up his fourth top-10 result in eight visits reinforces the love for golf in this part of the world for the man born and raised in Burbank, California. Only four of his 30 career rounds at the North Course have been over par.

Par-4 Scoring

The 7,123 yards playing to par 72 suggests that Par-5 Scoring should be the order of the day. A deeper dive reveals that the four par 5s and the par 3s rank annually in the upper half of the tougher tests on TOUR. With only two of the 10 holes measuring over 430 yards and neither stretching past 458 yards, the par 4s will provide scoring chances.

Brendon Todd (+3300) joins Theegala as the only player to cash in the top 10 over the last two events. The steady veteran signed for T6 in 2023 after T9 in the 2022 event. Adding T22 in 2021, he’s found the top 25 in three consecutive tournaments. The excellent driver of the golf ball can also roll the rock. In five of six visits to California wine country, the three-time TOUR winner has posted T26 or better.

Scrambling

The winning score over the last four editions is a shade above 19-under. Posting rounds of 72 or better are required to keep up on the resort course and to contend on the weekend. With only two penalty areas, 53 bunkers, and rough fewer than three inches, keeping crooked numbers off the card is required. The Bent/Poa annua grass greens, dealing with excessive heat recently, will not be pushed to the limits. Over the last three events, players in the top 10 posted only five rounds above 72. Matt Kuchar owns two of them!

Oddsmaker’s extras

Matt Kuchar (+5500): The next step for the nine-time winner on TOUR is getting it over the finish line on Sunday. Cashing T7 in 2023 and T12 in 2022, the savvy veteran has posted 73 in each final round.

Maverick McNealy (+2000): Posting 18-under and falling one shot short to Max Homa in 2021 would have won seven of the 10 Procore Championships at Silverado.

S.H. Kim (+12500): Finishing second on debut in 2023, the South Korean joined Theegala as the only players to post four rounds in the 60s for the week.

Eric Cole (+4000): The experienced rookie circled 23 birdies on his 2023 debut and finished fourth.

Troy Merritt (+22500): The veteran racked up T16 in 2021 and circled 23 birdies in 2023 for T7. Hey, everyone needs a longshot!

-Odds courtesy of BetMGM-

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