By: Max Bechtoldt
It’s the week of the ShopRite LPGA Classic, with the best of the LPGA taking on the Bay Course at Seaview for the third tournament of the season in New Jersey. This also marks the end of the East Coast swing on tour. Here are my best bets relative to value for the ShopRite LPGA Classic:
Brooke Henderson: +1600
I really like Henderson this week, on a course she won at in 2022. Henderson has been, for the most part, pretty consistent in 2024 but is in search of a win. Henderson ranks No. 7 in the CME Standings and is excelling at every facet of the game, ranking No. 17 in strokes gained total. It feels like Henderson is well overdue for a win, with her last one coming in the 2023 season opener. Henderson is No. 4 in betting odds this week.
Yuka Saso: +1800
My instinct on the LPGA Tour, which can be a very momentum heavy league, is almost always to go with the previous tournament’s winner. Which is why I am shocked to see this level of value for last week’s U.S. Women’s Open champion. Saso feels like the type of player where this can be a floodgates opening type of win, she is so talented in every facet of golf. It is somewhat rare for a player to play the week after winning a major championship, but for the value I think she’s a good bet.
Ashleigh Buhai: +5000
Usually the defending champion of an event gets a bit more love from oddsmakers than Buhai is getting at the site of her second-career LPGA Tour victory. It wasn’t just the 2023 playing where Buhai found success here either, she has a pair of additional top 10s at Seaview. Buhai hasn’t had an explosive season, but she has played better than her rankings would tell you, with just two missed cuts and a handful of solid performances.
Yuna Nishimura: +6600
Since the second half of 2023, Yuna Nishimura has been arguably the most underrated performer on the LPGA Tour. Nishimura has seven top-15 finishes since September of last year, and hasn’t missed a cut in that time. Yet, most people probably don’t know the name of last years fourth place finisher for rookie of the year. I think this could be the week that changes, in a three-day event (she has performed well in three-day events) with a weaker field.
Stacy Lewis: +35000
Let’s get a bit wild here. No, Stacy Lewis hasn’t particularly contended in a tournament in about 14 months or so. She’s missed 11 out of 14 cuts and dipped out of the top 200 in the world. She has had other stuff on her mind, like captaining the Solheim Cup team, but the results haven’t been pretty. She is coming off her best performance in about a year at the Mizuho Americas Open though and is very comfortable on this course, winning twice here. As a long shot pick, I think you could do worse.
