It feels like the idea setup for a big hitter with plenty of swagger: a Texas-sized layout of 7,403 yards featuring at least one drivable par-4. No wonder, then, that Bryson DeChambeau opened as co-odds favorite for this week’s LIV Golf event in Houston, his first start since wowing the crowd en route to a runner-up finish in the PGA Championship.
DeChambeau, who opened tied atop the odds board with Jon Rahm, heads to Golf Club of Houston having finished top-10 in six of his past eight starts—a stretch that includes solo second at the PGA, a T6 at the Masters, and top-10s in the previous two LIV Golf events in the United States. DeChambeau, though, has yet to win on the LIV tour this season; his best result so far in 2024 was a solo fourth at Jeddah in early March.
In fact, neither of the odds co-leaders for Houston has won yet this season. Rahm has been top-10 in all seven starts in his first LIV season, twice placing third. But the Spaniard also missed the cut at the PGA Championship and was never really a factor in his Masters defense, which makes you wonder if this 54-hole Houston event is an adequate U.S. Open tune-up for a fiery player who bleeds over every shot.
LIV Golf Houston Odds
| Golfer | Odds |
|---|---|
| Bryson DeChambeau | +800 |
| Jon Rahm | +800 |
| Joaquin Niemann | +1000 |
| Brooks Koepka | +1100 |
| Cameron Smith | +1200 |
| Talor Gooch | +1400 |
| Tyrrell Hatton | +1400 |
| Louis Oosthuizen | +1800 |
| Dean Burmester | +2000 |
| Dustin Johnson | +2000 |
| Abraham Ancer | +2250 |
| Sergio Garcia | +2250 |
| Marc Leishman | +2500 |
Odds as of June 4
LIV Golf Houston Best Bets
Joaquin Niemann to Win (+1000)
For all the star power added to LIV Golf over the past 18 months or so, it’s been the underrated Niemann who’s proven the class of the circuit so far. Something about this shotgun start-in-shorts setup clearly appeals to him, as evidenced by his series-leading two wins and his six top 10s in seven starts. Thirteen of his last 15 LIV rounds have been in the 60s, including a 59 in the opener and a 63 in Jeddah. None of these courses will ever be confused with Muirfield Village, where the PGA Tour guys are this week. But in such a red-number environment, Niemann always seems to be in contention.
Cameron Smith Top-5 Finish (TBD)
Smith is perhaps the best great player on the LIV Tour, completely accepting of his no-pressure environment—compared to Brooks Koepka, who cares only about majors, and Rahm, who fumes over every shot. The laid-back Auissie, though, just posts red numbers and cashes checks. Smith closed with a 65 and a 64 on his way to a second-place finish in the most recent LIV event, in Singapore in early May.
He leads the league in putting average, and according to Data Golf his short game remains among the best in the world—even when pitted against guys like Scottie Scheffler. Yes, the LIV courses are easier; some are even under 7,000 yards. But Smith also remains very, very good.
Bryson DeChambeau Top-10 Finish (TBD)
DeChambeau’s swashbuckling PGA Championship performance was somewhat of a surprise, given that he’d finished well down the list in the previous LIV Golf events, in Singapore and Australia. But with a few exceptions, he’s a better player on home soil, evidenced in his last five results in the U.S.: second in the PGA, T6 at the Masters, T7 at Miami, T9 at Las Vegas, and a LIV victory at Chicago in late 2023.
It’s not farfetched to think he can continue that run in Houston, the second-longest course the LIV Tour has competed on this season. Unsurprisingly, DeChambeau leads LIV Golf in average driving distance, at 318.9 yards.
LIV Golf Houston Betting Tips
The Golf Club of Houston hosted the PGA Tour’s Houston Open between 2003 and 2019, a tournament won by five current LIV golfers—Paul Casey, Anthony Kim, Phil Mickelson, Matt Jones and Ian Poulter. Of that group, only Casey is within the top 30 of the LIV standings (13th), with a pair of top-five finishes capped by a T2 in Hong Kong. But the +4000-to-win Englishman hasn’t been a factor in his last three LIV starts.
Koepka won the most recent LIV event in Singapore, which was only his second top-five in seven starts so far this season. That event was two weeks before the PGA Championship; given how Koepka lives for the majors, is he really going to be focused on a LIV tournament which ends just days before the start of the U.S. Open at Pinehurst? That’s a legitimate question for sports bettors to ask themselves, particularly given that Koepka’s worst LIV result by far this season—T45 at Miami—came one week before the Masters.
Meanwhile, the little-known Dean Burmester added some legitimacy to his strong LIV campaign with a T12 performance at the PGA Championship; he’s now been 15th or better in six straight starts worldwide, a stretch that includes a LIV victory at Miami. And DeChambeau isn’t the only LIV golfer coming off a big performance in a major—in his most recent start, Richard Bland won the Senior PGA Championship, though he’s managed just one top-10 in LIV competition this season.
