Defending champion Scottie Scheffler, who earned victory with a 17-under-par performance 12 months ago, is once again the favourite, with the likes of Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele (18/1), Viktor Hovland (22/1) and Patrick Cantlay (20/1) ready to challenge.
The world's best face 72 holes of the 7,275-yard, par 72 course – the 13th hardest course on the PGA Tour difficulty index with an average score of 72.446 - with nine former winners scheduled to tee off in the tournament.
Those who favour punting on a former winner have Scheffler (11/2), McIlroy (11/1), Justin Thomas (22/1), Jason Day (40/1), Adam Scott (66/1), Si Woo Kim (66/1), Rickie Fowler (100/1), Matt Kuchar (250/1) and Webb Simpson (250/1) to choose from.
However, there has not been a two-time winner at the event since Tiger Woods claimed his second title in 2013.
Those edging toward recent form will look at those players who have enjoyed success on the PGA Tour in the last month. Scheffler again features after victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational last weekend, with fellow Americans Brice Garnett (500/1), Austin Eckroat (175/1), Jake Knapp (125/1) and Wyndham Clark (30/1) winning on the Tour since the start of February.
Canadian Nick Taylor (140/1) and Japan's Hideki Matsuyama (28/1) have also claimed Tour titles in the past six weeks and should be considered.
Delving deeper into the statistics, Scheffler's favouritism is further backed up by his performances this season. He leads the Tour in scoring average (69.55), birdie average (5.48), total shots gained (2.497) and greens hit in regulation (78.07%). He's also second in putting average (1.667) and fifth in scrambling from the rough (73.68%).
In six events this year, Scheffler has finished in the Top 10 five times, Top 25 six times and won one tournament. Quite frankly, if you can find any value (close to Evens) on the Top 5 (6/4) and Top 10 (5/6) finishes markets, it would be foolish not to back.
Those looking for a larger priced contender might want to look at the recent form of American Doug Ghim. The 27-year-old is currently second on the PGA Tour in scoring average (69.94), third in total shots gained (1.556), 24th in Total Driving (127), 13th in Drive Accuracy (68.55%), and 13th in greens hit in regulation (73.46%).
The factor to bear in mind here is he started the year in dire form, missing two cuts, before finding his groove and notching four consecutive top 16 finishes. A small wager on the win at 150/1 is enticing, but the real value is likely to be in the Top Finishes markets – Top 10 (12/1), Top 20 (19/4), Top 30 (13/5) and Top 40 (13/8).
Best Bets - (Double – 3.81/1)
Scottie Scheffler to finish Top 10 (5/6)
Doug Ghim to finish Top 40 (13/8)
