Betting Preview for the 2021 Cologuard Classic

There are lots of storylines brewing this week in the Grand Canyon State. Phil Mickelson aims to win for the third time in three tries – something that’s never been done in the history of the PGA Tour Champions.

Bernhard Langer is hoping to visit the winner’s circle for the first time since his triumph here 12 months ago, while Jim Furyk makes his return to his old stomping grounds. Among the 85 men teeing it up at the Omni National Tucson Resort, they’ve combined to win 419 PGA Tour events and strike out 3,084 MLB batters. Shout out to John Smoltz.

The Catalina Course is an attackable par-73 track featuring five par-5s, so expect to see birdies and eagles flying around in bunches.

With that, let’s get you geared up with a few Cologuard Classic predictions.

A quick look at Mickelson’s game log on the PGA Tour screams, “Fade Lefty.” Phil has missed four of his last eight cuts and hasn’t cracked the top 40 in more than six months.

On the flip side, Mickelson is a perfect 2-2 on the “50 and over-circuit” and sports a spiffy 65.5 scoring average in his six completed rounds. His track record in Tucson is particularly stunning, winning the Tucson Open three times between 1991-1996. This includes emerging the 1991 edition as an amateur – the last amateur to win on the PGA Tour.

2021 marks the seventh playing of the Cologuard Classic, each time at the Omni Tucson National Resort. A bunch of par fives and three days of sunshine typically breeds some pretty low winning scores.

Speaking of low scores, Mark O’Meara hit the ground running during the first round in 2019 and never looked back. The former Masters and British Open champ closed out his opening nine in round one with a Champions Tour record eight consecutive birdies.

Mark shot 10-under par (solo-17th) here during his title defense in 2020, and he’s finished 17th or better in each of his past two Champions Tour starts. Lurking at the alluring price of +50000 at XBet, you may want to consider tossing a few bucks on O’Meara when making Cologuard Classic picks.

The Ryder Cup Captain is coming off a T4 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, where he delivered four rounds in the 60s. If that’s not impressive, check out his last nine rounds on the PGA Tour Champions:

67, 68, 67, 66, 66, 67, 67, 64, 67.

Want more evidence that Stricker is a sure thing in Tucson?

Steve has played in each of the past four Cologuard Classics. He’s never finished outside of the top-6.

I’m not in love with his +550 price tag, but it’s not anything egregious. Stricker is sitting at +500 at a few of the top bookies.

Mickelson and Furyk are the obvious choices, while Jerry Kelly makes a lot of sense at +2500. Then again, sleeping on Kevin Sutherland could be a costly mistake.

Talk about a golfer arriving in Tucson showing good form, the 56-year-old West Coast native is 30-under-par in his last six rounds with nothing higher than 69. Once you start glancing at PGA Tour Champions statistics, Sutherland becomes even more captivating.

I could go on and on, but I think you catch the drift. Quietly, Kevin Sutherland is playing as consistently good as any member of the Champions Tour. 1st and 4th in his last two appearances; 11th or better in 12 of his 16 starts.

Between stabbing on the three favorites and rolling the dice on Kevin Sutherland, one of these picks for the Cologuard Classic has a great chance at panning out. Of course, don’t go too overboard betting on the Champions Tour – there are three other professional golf tournaments you may want to peruse.

Two PGA Tour events kick off Thursday, while the LPGA’s first full-field event of 2021 is on the docket as well.

To immerse yourself in the action, enjoy the links below.