The golfing world is filled with excitement this week for one reason: the start of the 2021-22 PGA Tour. While each of this season’s 47 events will surely be entertaining, everything starts this week with the 2021 Fortinet Championship. Previously known as the Safeway Open, the Fortinet Championship will be held at the Silverado Country Club in Napa, California from Thursday, September 16 to Sunday, September 19.
Just like every year, BetOnline has betting odds for this year’s event. At +400 odds, Jon Rahm is the sportsbook’s favorite to win it all. After all, he is the world’s top-ranked golfer for a reason.
This week will be Rahm’s first time competing at the Silverado Country Club since 2017. He placed 15th that year in his only time playing in the Fortinet Championship. Fortunately, a lot has changed since then. As mentioned earlier, Rahm is golf’s top golfer at the moment. He’s the reigning U.S. Open champion and played some of the most consistent golf last season. Out of the 22 events he competed in, he placed inside of the Top 10 15 times and only missed the cut once.
Rahm has also been building moment as of late, scoring four Top-3 placements in his last five outings. It’s just hard to imagine anyone playing as complete of a game as he is now ahead of the Fortinet Championship. Nobody else comes close to his odds of winning in Napa this week, so expect a strong showing from Rahm to kickstart the 2021-22 season.
2021 Fortinet Championship Odds
Odds via BetOnline as of Tuesday, September 14
- Jon Rahm (+400)
- Webb Simpson (+1400)
- Hideki Matsuyama (+1600)
- Kevin Na (+2200)
- Will Zalatoris (+2500)
- Cameron Tringale (+3300)
- Harold Varner (+3300)
- Emiliano Grillo (+3300)
- Cameron Champ (+4000)
- Si Woo Kim (+4000)
- Marc Leishman (+4000)
- Sebastian Munoz (+4000)
- Charley Hoffman (+4000)
Complete odds list is available at BetOnline.ag.
Webb Simpson Fortinet Odds
North Carolina native Webb Simpson enters the 2021 Fortinet Championship with the second-best odds (+1400) to leave the event as the victor. For the most part, last year’s tour was unremarkable for the 36-year-old. He didn’t win any events, nor did he crack the top-3 in any of his 21 outings. In fact, Simpson’s best placement in 2021 came when he finished T-4th at Sony Open in Hawaii.
Simpson is a bit of a veteran when it comes to the Fortinet Championship. He's played in the tournament three times in the past, however, those outings didn’t yield the best results. He failed to make the cut in both 2016 and 2017 and placed 17th in 2018 — his most recent time playing the Silverado Country Club. A lot can change in three years and with a lot of the sport’s best golfers absent this week, Simpson has a decent shot at winning the 2021 Fortinet Championship.
Hideki Matsuyama Fortinet Championship Odds
Hideki Matsuyama will enter Napa with the third-best Fortinet Championship odds (+1600) in hopes of winning the tournament for the first time. Like Simpson, Matsuyama has competed at the tournament three times in the past. Unfortunately, his finishes worsen every time he competes. After an impressive third-place finish in 2015, he placed 17th in 2016 before failing to make the cut last year. Obviously, the past is the past, but that doesn’t change how Matsuyama has been struggling after winning the 2021 Masters Tournament.
Ever since winning one of golf’s biggest tournaments in April, Matsuyama has played in 11 tournaments, finishing outside of the Top-25 in eight of them. His last four outings have seen the following finishes:
- CUT
- T-43rd
- T-46th
- T-26th
In other words, it may be hard for some people to get behind him despite having the third-best odds to win this week. Nevertheless, Matsuyama has had nearly the last two weeks to get his mind ready for the new season. While there’s a chance that his underwhelming streak may continue, he’s proven to be one of golf’s best talents — as made evident by his Masters victory. Sometimes, all it takes is some time off to get back on track.
