21st Sep 2016 | Nationwide Children’s Hospitals Championship
Nationwide Children’s Hospitals Championship: Luke Guthrie
Played this event as an amateur and lost in a playoff on only his fourth start as a professional.
Before the NCH Championship took up a spot in the Web.com Tour Finals it was a regular season event, unique for the fact it invited top collegiate golfers to compete. One of those was Luke Guthrie, he made his first tour start at this event in 2011 and turned professional the following year.
Twelve months later he lost in a playoff at the NCH Championship, his first start of the season on the Web.com Tour, a season that yielded two wins and promotion to the PGA Tour. Ohio State University Golf Club therefore has a special place in Guthrie’s affections and he looks to it again to kick-start his career.
The 26-year-old is yet to fulfil his promise on the PGA Tour and has missed far too many cuts (10/19) this season. The good news is elements of his game are working well, he is 25th in strokes gained putting and 56th in birdie average.
Guthrie’s weakness has been off the tee but the Scarlet Course is more of a second-shot course and he should have gained some confidence from a T37 at the Boise Open last week. In an event that’s been kind to him, he is a big price at 125/1 (Stan James).
Odds correct at time of publishing: 06:52 21st Sep, 2016 but subject to change
