Bets of the Week at the Drive On Championship at Golden Ocala

Photo provided by Ben Harpring

The Bets of the Week are looking for a replica of past historical performances as the LPGA Tour heads to Golden Ocala, home of horses and multiple homages to famous golf holes.

The opening Florida swing comes to a close, and success in the Sunshine state and the start to the season is a significant factor for selection this week.

Another odds update, as I’m adding Draft Kings to the list for outright odds, along with Bovada, MyBookie, and Intertops. Notably, Draft Kings isn't quite as homogenous in odds as Bovada and MyBookie. Full odds will have them all listed, and each player bet on will have their website with the best odds posted.

Lexi Thompson (+1200)

Her seven consecutive year win streak may be over, but don’t sleep on one of the most consistent finders of the winner circle on the LPGA Tour. Thompson is flashing a “buy zone” in her game, with her worst finish of 7th place in her last three starts and tied for second last week. The American has had a second-place finish in the preceding two events before her victory in three of her previous six wins, dating back to the LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship in October of 2015.

2015

Evian Championship- 2nd

Sime Darby- T25

LPGA KEB Hana Bank- Win

2016

Pure Silk Bahamas- T17

COATES Championship- T9

Honda LPGA Thailand- Win

2017

ANA Inspiration- 2nd

VOA Texas Shootout- T17

Kingsmill- Win

Ricoh British Women's Open- T11

Cambia Portland Classic- T21

Indy Women in Tech- Win

2018

LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship- 13th

TOTO Japan Classic- T19

CME Group Tour Championship- Win

2019

Pure Silk Championship- MC

U.S. Women's Open- T2

Shoprite LPGA Classic- Win

Thompson has a propensity to be a streak player and is amid an upswing. Thompson has 12:1 odds everywhere, but at the start of the week had 14 to 1 odds at Draft Kings.

Bet: 7.5 Units to win 90 units

Jessica Korda (+2200)

Korda's Florida dominance is heavily detailed in the five takeaways from the Gainbridge LPGA, but Jessica and Nelly have both own the state of Florida golf on tour since 2017. The older Korda aims for her 6th top 10 in 10 starts since the CME Group Tour Championship in the sunshine state. As my podcast co-host Ben Harpring noted, Korda has also overcome a litany of injuries to get to where she is in 2021. The 28-year-old is coming off her birthday last week and has an opportunity to notch career win number seven in her best-performing state.

It's also worth noting the vast differential in odds for Korda. She's 16 to 1 everywhere else but gets a 38% boost to them at Draft Kings. Take the gun. Leave the cannoli.

Bet: 7.5 Units to win 165 units

Sophia Popov (+7000) MyBookie

Don't look now, but the 2020 AIG Women's Open winner is coming off back-to-back top 10s at 70 to 1 odds. Her T8 at the Gainbridge LPGA is her best finish since the victory from the home of the postage stamp, and the current Florida resident was as steady as could be last week. Her four consecutive 70s display a high level of consistency that you want in a higher-odds bet.

Bet: 5 Units to win 350 Units

Anne van Dam (+12500) (DraftKings)

The tantalizing talent plus odds handed bets haven’t gone well so far, but van Dam has 25 to 1 additional odds at Draft Kings than anywhere else. The five-time LET winner is also based in Florida, rolling off a T31 finish last week.

I’ll drop this selection to 2.5 units instead of the usual five, as it’ll still pay handsomely if the Dutch woman breaks through on American soil.

Bet: 2.5 units to win 312.5 units

Patty Tavatanakit (+17500) (MyBookie)

175 to 1 odds for Tavatanakit who has a career-low of 61 and was in the final group this past Sunday? Don't mind me. The Vision54 pedigree shined through in her performance last week, and now she's aware of how her body reacts under pressure. I think there's plenty of value at this number.

Last week was the Thai's second T5 finish of her career, joining her first-ever start at an LPGA Tour event in the 2018 U.S. Women's Open.

Bet: 2.5 units to win 437.5 Units

Bonus DFS Recommendation

Ashleigh Buhai ($7,300)

Beware the Buhai Watch! As is the running joke on the 9th Tee Podcast, Buhai doesn't get a lot of TV coverage despite some stellar place since the middle of 2020. She lost to Georgia Hall in a bid for her first career victory at the Cambia Portland Classic. The confidence from that event has carried over for her since. Including the top 10 in Oregon, the South African has posted five top 10s in her last nine starts, including two of her last three Florida tournaments.

Most impressively, that's over half of her career top 10s with 184 career starts on her ledger.

I don’t know if the peak version of Buhai has enough in the tank to win at the end of the week, but she’s more than proved capable of bringing value on the cheap to a DFS squad.

2021 Season Results

Units Spent: 50

Units Won: 0

ROI: N/A

Full Odds