Niall Lyons has five tips for the Myrtle Beach Classic in South Carolina.
Myrtle Beach Classic
The Myrtle Beach Classic will be held at the Dunes Golf and Beach Club, South Carolina.
With the introduction of Signature events and the limited fields there it leads to these opposite field events being slightly stronger than what they used to be and with a new course and new event on the rota here we have plenty to study.
Myrtle Beach Classic Tips
- 2pts each-way D.Berger 28/1 (1/5 8) Bet365 8 place market
- 1pt each-way C.Hadley 50/1 (1/5 8) Bet365 8 place market
- 1pt each-way J.Stanger 70/1 (1/5 7) Coral, Ladbrokes
- 1pt each-way M.Nesmith 100/1 (1/5 8) Bet365 8 place market
- 1pt each-way J.Suh 100/1 (1/5 7) Coral, Ladbrokes
Robert Trent Jones Sr was the designer here and the course looks an interesting one. A par 71 at 7,347 yards the course certainly isn't short and with narrow enough fairways it should provide a fair test for this field.
We have no stats from this course obviously so it may be prudent to point towards form in this state. For that we can look to Harbour Town and the RBC Heritage where narrow fairways feature also and results there could be a fair clue.
Congaree golf course in this state also held the Palmetto Championship and the CJ Cup a couple of years ago. Bar clues hidden beneath players' stats lately these may be the leaderboards worth looking at for potential contenders.
Daniel Berger at 28/1 (Eight Places)
It would be foolish to ignore the class act in this field and the time may be approaching for Daniel Berger to get back into the winners enclosure.
Following an 18 month lay off there have been signs of life, most notably with a solid long game. That hasn't necessarily translated into results in the past few months and that has largely been down to him comfortably having his worse year with the putter during his career. It has let him down on multiple occasions this term and last week at Craig Ranch were the first signs of positivity with that club.
He ranked 43rd on the greens for the week which is a significant improvement in that stat compared to the rest of the year. 17 under par at the Byron Nelson should give him a fair amount of confidence coming to a track with tight fairways that should play to his strengths.
Just how much length off the tee will come into the equation is anyone's guess here, but if the premium is on hitting fairways then Berger will have a significant advantage on the rest. He arrives here off the best result since he returned to action and this presents a huge opportunity to cash in.
2pts each-way D.Berger 28/1 (1/5 8) Bet365 8 place market
Chesson Hadley at 50/1 (Eight Places)
Chesson Hadley looks one to take chance on this week around the 50/1 mark and add to his sole PGA Tour victory, that too in an opposite field event in Puerto Rico just over 10 years ago. Since then Hadley has been remarkable consistent only losing his card once since, mostly down to a really hot putter over the years.
That touch with the putter deserted him in Texas which is a real shame as he performed well off the tee and on approach. Similar played out at the Byron Nelson where he was 1st in approach play on day one shooting seven under par, despite languishing in 75th for sg on the greens that day.
A poor day with the irons on day two saw him shoot 2 over and miss the cut from being in a tie for second spot after day one. In between he was 8th in the Zurich alongside Greyson Sigg so there has been plenty to like about the standard of his golf lately.
If he finds form with the putter he could be a credible threat to the market leaders here in South Carolina.
1pt each-way C.Hadley 50/1 (1/5 8) Bet365 8 place market
Jimmy Stanger at 70/1 (Seven Places)
Jimmy Stanger is in the early stages of his PGA Tour career and so far he has fared extremely well almost managing a victory in Puerto Rico back in early March.
14th at the American Express and 23rd in Punta Cana mean he has gotten some valuable early experience in his quest to become a PGA Tour champion.
He drove the ball well last week at the Byron Nelson but underperformed with his irons. He is long and accurate off the tee which should go far at Myrtle Beach and crucially he has some experience here.
He tied with Matthew Nesmith on 9 under here back in 2016 in the General Hackler Championship and having had a long spell on the Korn Ferry Tour before finally managing a victory in 2023 he is one who can take his chances in opposite field events as he has already done with his effort in Puerto Rico a few months ago.
1pt each-way J.Stanger 70/1 (1/5 7) Coral, Ladbrokes
Matthew Nesmith at 100/1 (Eight Places)
One triple figure shot who looks worth supporting this week is Matthew Nesmith. He is another who is woefully out of form but there have been glimpses of positivity throughout the last few months in various aspects of his game.
His long game was in excellent shape at Sawgrass where he gained shots in all departments on route to finishing 26th. A missed cut in Houston a few weeks later was despite of a good few rounds with his irons.
He drove the ball well last week at the Byron Nelson only to be let down by his iron play. Now back in his home state he could put things together.
He was freshman of the year here back in 2013 and lifted various titles when playing College golf in South Carolina. At his best he hits greens for fun and he may just be inspired by his college memories around these parts, which included winning here at Myrtle Beach back in 2016.
1pt each-way M.Nesmith 100/1 (1/5 8) Bet365 8 place market
Justin Suh at 100/1 (Seven Places)
We saw how fickle golf can be last week with Ben Kohles all but getting over the line after a string of poor results and it'd be no surprise should we see a few with a similar profile go close here at Myrtle Beach. I'm prepared to take the chance on Justin Suh who looks to have a higher ceiling than plenty above him in the market.
Following a hugely impressive 2022 on the Korn Ferry Tour culminating in him winning the season ending Tour Championship, he performed impressively on his first full season on the main stage with three top 6 finishes, one being the Players Championship at Sawgrass.
With tight fairways and water meandering it's way throughout the layout this could turn out to be a similar type of test to Sawgrass.
Suh is long and straight off the tee which should bode well for his chances here and although he isn't in the best of form I look to his price of 100/1 and think the handicapper certainly isn't ahead of his mark in a field of this quality.
1pt each-way J.Suh 100/1 (1/5 7) Coral, Ladbrokes
