In this betting preview:
FLOURTOWN, PA—It’s been five weeks since our last win, and right about now that feels like a lifetime. I seldom share much outside of scorecard length and bunker totals, but for some reason the last few weeks have been really challenging and fun. Challenging…designing a weekly winning card involves more strategy than ever. We’ll trust the process today as we make our picks for the 2025 Truist Championship.
The careful collaboration of live and pre-tourney betting required to stay positive (earnings) in an environment where volatility’s only real competitor is the current pollen count. What a spring it has been! I digress, the LPGA and PGA TOUR puzzle we face every week fascinates me. If Rory and Scottie are constants, then what can we do to avoid the inevitable “favorite” results.
MORE: Best and cheapest Truist Championship tickets
My answer is to intensify our holistic view. With all of the information that’s available, how are we combining the data with our on-site observations to produce winning tickets? Just as the game has evolved, so shall we. The Truist Championship (formally the Wells Fargo Championship) has moved to Philadelphia for a year while its annual home (Quail Hollow) hosts the 107th PGA Championship next week. The legendary Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Wissahickon Course is the venue, and one quite capable of giving us a very memorable championship.
This preview is just that: a preview. For a complete list of my betting predictions covering the Truist Championship winners, placements, and H2H matchups, please go to Read The Line and subscribe.
Truist Championship 2025 best bets
Best bet to win: Jordan Spieth (+2800 on DraftKings)
In his last four starts, Jordan Spieth has finished twelfth, fourteenth (Masters), 18th and fourth. Spieth hasn’t shown this much consistency since before the wrist started hurting him years ago. Jordan is ranked fifthteenth off the tee and twelfth in driving distance. He can score from close range and save strokes from the bunkers. The trend is our friend, and the skill set matches the course.
Best bet to place in the Top 10: Justin Thomas (+175 on DraftKings)
Half of Justin Thomas’ 2025 starts have resulted in a top 10 finish. In the last four years, JT’s top 10 conversion rate is 35%. Building on the RBC Heritage win, knowing his course fit, and no cut, give me Thomas and ten places!
Best head-to-head bet: Xander Schauffele over Ludvig Åberg (-120 on DraftKings)
Ludvig Åberg and Xander Schauffele have even odds in a 72-hole match on the Wissahickon. I’m taking the two-time major champion and his well-rounded game. I believe Schauffele’s short game gives him an edge in this wedge fest and I love his week to week consistency. Ludvig’s season has been a roller coaster in 2025. Åberg does have a high ceiling, but the floor has dropped out on more than one occasion this spring.
Truist Championship 2025 betting odds
Odds courtesy of DraftKings. Showing odds shorter than +9000.
| Golfer | Odds |
| Rory McIlroy | +400 |
| Collin Morikawa | +1400 |
| Xander Schauffele | +1600 |
| Justin Thomas | +1600 |
| Ludvig Aberg | +1600 |
| Patrick Cantlay | +2000 |
| Viktor Hovland | +2500 |
| Tommy Fleetwood | +2500 |
| Jordan Spieth | +2800 |
| Russell Henley | +3000 |
| Hideki Matsuyama | +3000 |
| Corey Conners | +3000 |
| Shane Lowry | +3500 |
| Maverick McNealy | +4000 |
| Keegan Bradley | +4000 |
| Daniel Berger | +4000 |
| Wyndham Clark | +4500 |
| Sungjae Im | +4500 |
| Robert MacIntyre | +4500 |
| Min Woo Lee | +4500 |
| Sam Burns | +5000 |
| Davis Thompson | +5000 |
| Taylor Pendrith | +5500 |
| Si Woo Kim | +5500 |
| Keith Mitchell | +5500 |
| Denny McCarthy | +5500 |
| Byeong Hun An | +5500 |
| Andrew Novak | +5500 |
| Aaron Rai | +5500 |
| Michael Kim | +6000 |
| J.J. Spaun | +6000 |
| Justin Rose | +6500 |
| Brian Harman | +6500 |
| Tony Finau | +7000 |
| Akshay Bhatia | +7000 |
| J.T. Poston | +7500 |
| Will Zalatoris | +8000 |
| Sam Stevens | +8000 |
| Ben Griffin | +8000 |
| Stephan Jaeger | +9000 |
| Sahith Theegala | +9000 |
| Jacob Bridgeman | +9000 |
| Harris English | +9000 |
Truist Championship 2025: Betting preview
The word Wissahickon comes from the Lenape Indians, and it translates to a catfish stream. The Wissahickon stream runs adjacent to the course while an abandoned section of the Reading Railroad runs through the property. Just a small taste of the history that oozes from the grounds of this AW Tillinghast masterpiece. Architecture advocates are going to sing the praises of this championship course, I just hope the winning score remains relatively benign. Designed in 1922, Tillinghast’s track stretches 7,119 yards and will play to a par 70. The course covers an amazing piece of land with a terrific topography. Television cannot complete the picture of what will be the ultimate challenge these men face this week.
Seventy-two players are in the field, competing for $20 million over 72-holes (no cut). Seventy-two rookies fighting for a first-place signature check of $3.6 million and those 700 coveted FedEx Cup points. Rory McIlroy leads nine of the top 10 in the OWGR (no Scottie Scheffler) to Philadelphia. Scheffler has historically taken the Wells Fargo Championship off. We’ll miss him this week after a historic scorecard at Byron Nelson, but looking ahead that means Scottie has not played Quail Hollow in recent years other than the 2022 Presidents Cup. An interesting piece of information we’ll save for next week.
The Philadelphia Cricket Club boasts the title of being one of the United States’ oldest country clubs. Golf came to PCC in 1895. Today, the facility lists three courses over multiple properties. Philly Cricket has 36-holes located at the Flourtown, Pennsylvania location. The Wissahickon and Militia Hill (which was added in 2002). The original Wissahickon design witnessed a major update in 2013 under the direction of Keith Foster. The results were not just stunning but challenging as well. Host of numerous state and regional championships, the Wissahickon has also been the venue for the 2015 PGA of America Professional National Championship and the 2016 Constellation Senior Players Championship. Both events have winning scores right around even par after 72-holes.
Some pundits may predict the winning score to be that of a US Open or major championship, but I am not in that camp. Vegas has the final tally over/under at -19.5. Their assessment (and mine) leans into the Scheffler 31 under par score on Sunday. These are 72 of the best male players in the world just prior to a major championship. Classic green complexes and 118 bunkers can only do so much to slow them down. This isn’t a knock on the Wissahickon, rather a testament to their skill. You can grow the rough and set very difficult hole locations, but the conditions will be soft this week. I have played the Wissahickon a couple of times, and I went through the approaches. Sixty-one percent of the iron shots will be played from 150 yards and in.
With a wedge of some variety in hand for nearly two-thirds of the approaches on soft surfaces, these guys will score. I live 40 miles from the property. It has been raining off and on for about a week. More rain fell on Monday and Tuesday. Walking the course, it is wet. The targets are small, but these guys are really, really good from 125 yards. The temperatures will be cool, and we will see some wind in the 8-12 mph range, but the receptive surfaces are going to be the scoring theme. Some guys will miss the fairway, but their approach will be coming from less than 150 yards. The Sunday contenders will create a number of scoring opportunities.
Pay EXTRA ATTENTION to the routing this week. The PGA TOUR has selected a different starting hole based upon the logistics and best finishing location. The course WILL NOT be played one through 18. Here is the correct hole order for this week.
- The front nine will begin on hole eight and then run through hole 16.
- The back nine will start on holes 17 and 18, and then 1, 2, 3, 7, 5, 6, and 4.
In doing so, tournament officials have almost created a tale of two nines. The back nine will play 257 yards longer than the front nine. Both sides have two par 3s, and one par 5. The biggest difference can be felt on the par 4s where the six 4s on the front nine average 412 yards in length and the six 4s on the back nine average 466 yards in length! That beta best describes the challenge of Philly Cricket’s championship layout. The longest par 3 is 240 yards on the scorecard; the shortest is 122 yards. The par 4s vary from 365 yards to 517 yards in length. Despite all of the short approaches, this field will be completely tested. In many ways, I believe it is the perfect preview for the Quail Hollow Club. Why? Dig into my outright breakdown and you’ll see why.
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Truist Championship 2025: Wissahickon Course course overview
If this is your first time seeing the Wissahickon Course, then be prepared to be visually blown away. The property and landscape is visually stunning if you love parkland golf courses. The topography is second to none and Tillinghast used the rolling hills in exemplary fashion. The railroad, burn, winding creek, and quarry like cliffs all add to the atmosphere. This is northeast golf at its finest and those raised up here might have a small advantage on the entire field of rookies. That’s an important footnote to this championship and my first outright prediction point. When the entire field is new, think of the brand-new major venues over the years, the best players have an advantage. The reason they are the best in the world is because they can adjust quicker and with more confidence when it counts.
The second most important factor I always account for in new venue handicapping is putting. Good putters can not only putt the best, but even more important is their ability to read the green surfaces. The Wissahickon’s greens are just big enough to have defined sections, shelves, and plateaus. Getting from one section to another can be very difficult. The best approach players can avoid this challenge, and the soft conditions will help, but overall the flatstick will be severely tested here. Here’s where I started to build out my comp card. Greens like Augusta National, Riviera, Muirfield Village come to mind. The Wissahickon will test your lag putting skills. Avoiding any three-putts and getting that approach putt inside a comfortable distance will alleviate some stress.
While I’m at the green complexes, let’s discuss short game. Philly Cricket will be a slightly above average short game test. Players will be able to reduce the difficulty around the green if they are able to design a very detailed game plan. Once again, the best players hit their approach to the correct side. They very seldom miss in the worst places. Course management will be a huge key at the Cricket Club. Consider the terrain and those “miss zones” become even more important. Do I think a short game will help, yes.
Approach play gets magnified at new venues and especially under soft conditions. We get the double whammy of iron game impact on the Wissahickon. This course will test every club in their bag, but a vast majority of the approaches are going to be played inside 150 yards. I am also factoring in the 200+ category. The two par 5s, a couple par 4s and one par 3 (240 yards) will be huge opportunities. Set up safe pars and score on those 5s and you’ll be able to separate. By the end of the week, that approach category will lead to the most strokes gained. This is where the classic TOUR venues again come into play. Host courses like Riviera, East Lake, Muirfield Village, and even Kapalua come to mind. The Plantation Course on Maui requires control over uneven lies, approach putting, and length. Pretty good recipe for success heading into the Wissahickon.
If you have played the Wissahickon then you know the most important key is length. The 2013-2014 Keith Foster renovation was done to make the course more prepared for the modern player. At the state, regional, and national amateur level, the test is proven to challenge the country’s best. These guys are a totally different story. There are several landing areas past the bunkering where the longest hitters will have a HUGE advantage. Take the first hole for example (hole eight). The widest landing area is past the fairway bunkering at 300 yards. Hole locations may not allow a driver strategy in one round, but overall, I would attack; especially under damp conditions.
It’s the same story on two (hole nine). The cross bunker on the corner of the dogleg can be carried by the longest players. It is 310 yards off the tee. Having played the Wissahickon from mere mortal tee boxes, you experience this effect over and over again if you can carry it deep. With the severity of these green complexes, getting closer is a huge advantage. Can a Collin Morikawa style player contend/compete? Yes he can, but over 72-holes we are going to see the longer hitters populate that leaderboard. Holes four, five, six, and seven on the Truist scorecard. Ten, 11, 17, 18 all follow the same pattern. If you can carry the ball 305 yards off the tee, then you will literally have the widest landing areas.
The beauty of the original design is that it does not favor one shot shape. For right-handed golfers, seven tee shots favor a draw, and six set up for a fade. The power players will have to shape it a little, but again those deep landing areas open up in many cases. The odds make him unbettable, but this course screams Rory McIlroy. He can take advantage off the tee and everywhere else will require the creative shot making he used as a child in Northern Ireland or Augusta National last month. With 12 par 4s, I will always favor par 4 scoring and please take a look at par 70 studs. What type of player excels on a par 70 scorecard? One who can use length on the long par 4s to score.
One last little secret sauce is to factor in sand play. There are 118 bunkers on this course and 60 of them sit greenside. 60!! Sand skill will be needed at some point in order to win, finish top 20, or win a H2H. I could go on, but these player characteristics are what really matters. Length, wedge scoring, and approach putting will ultimately determine the winner. I mentioned challenging and fun in the opening. Handicapping amazing venues like the Wissahickon is fun. It makes being on-site even more valuable and having played the course that much more important. Playability leads to predicting the correct card. Most weeks, figuring out the skill set is easy. We have seen the venue(s) before. This week that is not the case, and as such we need to rely on local knowledge and that RTL holistic approach.
By the way, when you watch the players this week please pay attention. A great comp course for the Wissahickon would be the Quail Hollow Club. Good putters, long hitters, and the ability to handle uneven lies are keys for next week’s PGA Championship. Who knows, the way this season is trending, we may see a back-to-back winner.
Read The Line is the leading golf betting insights service led by 5-time award-winning PGA Professional Keith Stewart. Read The Line has 39 outright wins and covers the TGL, LPGA, and PGA TOUR, raising your golf betting acumen week after week. Subscribe to Read The Line’s weekly newsletter and follow us on social media: TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter.
