PNC Championship Odds and Picks

A total of 20 teams of two will play in the PNC Championship this weekend with a couple of marquee players leading the way. Tiger Woods will play with his 11- year-old son Charlie, while Justin Thomas will play with his dad, Mike. The PNC Championship used to be a father-son challenge but it has changed over the years into a competition with relatives. The event takes place at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando, Florida and will be televised by NBC and Golf Channel. I got a nice win in the QBE Shootout last week with the team of Harris English and Matt Kuchar so I’ll look to make it two straight with this week’s PNC Championship.

Course: Ritz-Carlton Golf Club

Defending Champions: Bernhard Langer and Jason Langer

TV Coverage: NBC and Golf Channel

PNC Championship Odds

Team Thomas 2.5-1

Team Watson 6-1

Team Kuchar 6-1

Team Woods 6-1

Team Furyk 7-1

Team Langer 8-1

Team Lehman 16-1

Team Harrington 16-1

Team Singh 20-1

Team Daly 33-1

Team OMeara 50-1

Team Duval 50-1

Team Janzen 50-1

Team Calcavecchia 65-1

Team Norman 65-1

Team Trevino 80-1

Team Price 80-1

Team Kite 100-1

Team Sorenstam 125-1

Team Player 150-1

Format and Teams

This is pretty much a father-son event as the only exceptions are Gary Player, who is teamed up with his grandson, Annika Sorenstam, who is playing with her father, and Bubba Watson who will be playing with his father-in-law. The event will see a total of 20 major champions paired with a relative for a total prize purse of $1,085,000. The event takes place on Saturday, December 19 and Sunday, December 20 in a two-day 36-hole scramble. The scramble format has each player hitting a drive and then the best drive is selected. Each player then plays their second shot from the spot of the drive and then the best second shot is selected. That format continues on each hole.

The PNC Championship is going to be a Woods love fest. NBC and Golf Channel are going to fawn over every shot that Woods and his son hit. Charlie Woods is said to already be a good golfer and has shot under par playing nine holes. “For some reason, Charlie just always wants to beat me, it doesn't matter what it is,” Justin Thomas said to the media, “Although he's never beaten me in golf or a putting contest, he still talks trash just like his dad.” Thomas said that he and Tiger have talked about this event. “Yeah, Tiger and I talked about it a bunch,” Thomas said to the media, “He brought it up a while ago that Charlie wanted to play, and Charlie really wanted to play with us. I've obviously gotten to know him well, and he knows my dad a little bit as well.”

Favorite

Team Thomas 2.5-1

I normally don’t take favorites and for good reason, as they are almost always overvalued. This event is different as there are only 20 teams and more than half of the teams have no chance to win. You can make a strong case that only six teams have any chance. Those are the teams of Thomas, Watson, Kuchar, Woods, Furyk and Langer. Forget about the rest of the teams. Justin Thomas is the best player in the field and realistically this event should come down to Thomas, Watson, Kuchar and Woods. Perhaps you can put Furyk and Langer into the longshot category.  Thomas and his dad may very well win this event and I am not about to talk you out of taking them, but I see very little value in taking them at their current odds.

Value Plays

This really comes down to which of the teams listed at 6-1 that you want to take. I don’t think Team Furyk or Team Langer offer enough value. Furyk and Langer are simply not as good as the other four top players and I would need double-digit odds to consider them. Since this is a scramble format you want a partner that will at least help you some of the time. That is not going to be the case much with Tiger’s son. He may be good for an 11-year-old, but he is not going to help his dad out that much. I think the value is on Team Watson and Team Kuchar. I think there is a little value in taking each team at odds of 6-1.

Check out the latest PNC Championship odds at top online sportsbooks.