5 picks our expert loves

Welcome to our weekly PGA Tour gambling-tips column, featuring picks from GOLF.com’s expert prognosticator, Brady Kannon. A seasoned golf bettor and commentator, Kannon is a host and regular guest on SportsGrid, a syndicated audio network devoted to sports and sports betting, and is a golf betting analyst for CBS Sportsline. You can follow Brady on Twitter at@LasVegasGolfer, and you can read his picks below for the 2025 Procore Championship, which gets underway Thursday at Silverado Country Club in Napa, Calif. Along with Kannon’s recommended plays, you’ll also see data fromChirp Golf, a mobile app that features both free-to-play and daily fantasy golf contests where you can win cash and prizes with each round and tournament.

Did everyone enjoy that little, two-week break? Since Tommy Fleetwood successfully captured his first-ever PGA Tour victory at the Tour Championship, golf in the states has been off for the past couple of weeks while the opening of football season has dominated the sports landscape. But golf is back for a tweener season, if you will, and at the end of the month, of course, we also have the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in New York.

Welcome to the FedEx Cup Fall. Beginning this week in Napa, California, the Procore Championship will be the first of seven tournaments between now and mid-November to determine an additional 30 players who will keep their Tour cards for the upcoming 2026 season. The top 70 in the FedEx Cup standings who advanced to the playoffs last month are already qualified for the 2026 campaign. Those who are able to get themselves into the top 100 in FedExCup points during this fall swing, will also secure Tour status for the 2026 season.

The North Course at Silverado Country Club in Napa is the venue for this week’s event, and speaking of the Ryder Cup, every member of the U.S. team is in the field this week except for Xander Schauffele and Bryson DeChambeau. Silverado is a short course at just over 7,100 yards and plays to a par 72. The winning score proposition bet at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook is 266.5, meaning 21.5 under par. The fairways are narrow and tree-lined but the rough is short and not very punishing. Of course, we are in Northern California and the combination of Bentgrass and Poa Annua greens is not uncommon in these parts.

I like efficiency off the tee at Silverado more than I do Driving Distance but a little length doesn’t hurt either. I looked at Strokes Gained: Off the Tee and Good Drives Gained. Approach play is key as it always is. Players will have to negotiate many doglegs this week, so ball-striking will be very important. Maybe most important though will be approach play from 100-150 yards and also Scrambling. And then of course, I looked at Strokes Gained: Putting on a blend of Bentgrass and Poa Annua.

2025 Procore Championship odds: U.S. Ryder Cup team dominates favorites

By:

Kevin Cunningham

Just three correlated courses for me this week and those are TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas. Similar length, tree-lined fairways, very non-penal rough, and emphasis on Scrambling. Pebble Beach, which shares the Northern California characteristics and also Poa Annua greens – and again, an emphasis on Scrambling. Finally, Detroit Golf Club, where they play the Rocket Classic. Driving efficiency, Scrambling, and wedge play from 100-150 are some common ground here with Silverado.

Maverick McNealy (29-1)

You have to wonder if missing out on the Ryder Cup team will have him gunning for something extra impressive this week. He’s really been playing the best golf of his career for the last year and finished runner-up here in Napa and at Pebble Beach, both in 2021. He also has top-10 finishes at both TPC Summerlin and in Detroit. Having grown up at Pebble Beach, McNealy is very familiar with the area and the golf course and is one of the best putters in the field.

J.J. Spaun (29-1)

I’m not sure what is going on in J.J. Spaun’s head right now, coming off by far the very best ever season of his career and now headed to play in his first-ever Ryder Cup but I do like him as a very good fit for this golf course. He is very efficient off the tee, a great ball striker, and having grown up in Southern California, he too is very familiar with these putting surfaces. He’s been as high as 11th and ninth here in Napa, top-10 at Summerlin and in Detroit, and has been as high as 16th at Pebble Beach.

Davis Thompson (50-1)

This was one of the first players that jumped off the page to me this week because he is such a good driver of the golf ball and his wedge play from 100-150 yards is a strong suit. That has translated well at the correlated courses too. In addition to a top-10 finish here in Napa in 2022, he took fifth at TPC Summerlin in 2024 and was runner-up in Detroit that same year.

Davis Thompson at the 2024 John Deere Classic.

Getty Images

Andrew Putnam (200-1)

Now we get into a couple of triple-digit bombs. Putnam is another west coast guy who grew up in Washington, went to school in Southern California, and currently lives in the Phoenix area. He’s finished top-20 at TPC Summerlin four times. He’s been as high as sixth at Pebble Beach and just earlier this summer, he finished eighth at the Rocket Classic in Detroit. Putnam is very efficient off the tee and is excellent on approach, especially from inside of 100 yards. Like McNealy, Putnam also owns an elite short game.

Taylor Montgomery (225-1)

The Las Vegas native has also shown that he can play very well in nearby California. One of the best putters in the game, Montgomery took third here in Napa in 2022. Over the last 24-rounds, he ranks 17th in this field for Birdies or Better Gained and is second for Strokes Gained on the Par 5s. If the work off the tee can match his short game chops this week, this longshot will contend once again.

Who Chirp Golf users are picking this week

This information will be updated upon receipt.