It's hard to have a rough day in Hawaii when you set an 18-hole course record, but Justin Thomas held that personal title for maybe an hour or so on Saturday at the Plantation Course in Kapalua.
During Round 3 of the Sentry Tournament of Champions, Thomas shot a 12-under 61 to move him up to a tie for eighth place with Hideki Matsuyama.
Meanwhile, Rahm who had started the day at -14 with back-to-back 7-under performances, cruised to a tie for the top with his 61.
Nearly three hours after Justin Thomas established the Sentry Tournament of Champions 18-hole scoring record (12-under 61), Jon Rahm equaled it and is now tied for the 54-hole lead with Cameron Smith.
— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) January 9, 2022
Now, Rahm along with Cameron Smith are tied heading into the final 18 holes on Sunday; each armed with a five-stroke lead over Daniel Berger (-21). But which of the two are the better bet to take?
Let's take a look at the Top 10 leaderboard, along with their latest odds over at WynnBET Sportsbook.
Sentry Tournament of Champions Leaderboard and Odds (for Sunday)
- Jon Rahm -26 (-160)
- Cameron Smith -26 (+150)
- Daniel Berger -21 (+4000)
- Patrick Cantlay -20 (+6600)
- Sung-Jae Im -20 (+12500)
- Matt Jones -20 (+25000)
- Marc Leishman -18 (+50000)
- Justin Thomas -17 (+75000)
We're in for a Sunday showdown at Kapalua. ? pic.twitter.com/P13UuyQQmY
— Sentry Tournament of Champions (@Sentry_TOC) January 9, 2022
While Rahm is almost always the right bet up on the final day, I'm going to take the plus-odds on Smith, who's been the most consistent of the two players through the first 54 holes.
That's not to take anything away from Rahm, but when you lose a ball and still shoot 12-under on the day, at some point your luck has to run out, right?
Smith has been precise and brilliant on all three days shooting a 65 on Day 1, followed by back-to-back 64s in his second and third round. He's hit just under 90% of the greens in regulation the past two days, and has gained just under 6.5 strokes putting through three rounds. This feels like taking the equivalent of the tortoise to win the race, even though the hare has a jet pack on.
Cameron Smith's birdie at 15 today actually made his par 5 scoring average for the week worse. It went from 3.80 to 3.82.
— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) January 9, 2022
Once both these golfers tee off just after 1:55 pm ET, it should make for a spectacular finish.
PICK: Cameron Smith (+150)