The 2019 CJ Cup at Nine Bridges, the first of three straight events in Asia, will provide spectators with several star-studded pairings this week. Justin Thomas (15-2), who enters this week's event as the betting favorite in the latest 2019 CJ Cup odds, will play alongside Phil Mickelson (66-1) and Marc Leishman (28-1). Meanwhile, Brooks Koepka (9-1), the defending champion, will be paired with Hideki Matusyama (14-1) and Si Woo Kim (125-1). The first two rounds will also feature three-time major champion Jordan Spieth (25-1) competing side-by-side against Tommy Fleetwood (20-1) and fellow Masters winner Sergio Garcia (28-1). The first 2019 CJ Cup tee times are at 7 p.m. ET. on Wednesday night. Before locking in your own PGA predictions, see the 2019 CJ Cup picks from SportsLine's advanced computer model.
SportsLine's prediction model, built by DFS pro Mike McClure, has nailed two of the last three majors entering the weekend. It predicted Gary Woodland's first career major championship at the U.S. Open even though he wasn't the favorite entering the weekend. The result: Woodland held off a late charge from Brooks Koepka and won by three strokes. The model also called Koepka's historic victory at the 2019 PGA Championship, predicting he'd hold his lead in the home stretch. In all, their advanced computer model has nailed a whopping six majors entering the weekend, and anyone who has followed it is way up.
Now that the 2019 CJ Cup at Nine Bridges field is locked, SportsLine simulated the event 10,000 times, and the results were surprising. One huge shocker the model is calling for: Koepka, a four-time major champion and one of the top Vegas favorites, makes a strong run but falls short of winning it all.
The No. 1 player in the world and defending CJ Cup at Nine Bridges champion was sensational last season. In fact, the seven-time PGA Tour winner registered the most wins on Tour last season while also earning nine top-10 finishes, which included finishing inside the top five in all four majors.
Despite his dominant season, Koepka doesn't seem prepared to repeat as champion this week in South Korea. In his lone start of the 2019-20 PGA Tour season, Koepka missed the cut after shooting one-under par through the first two rounds at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. Plus, Koepka had major issues finding the fairway off the tee last season. He finished last season ranked 102nd in driving accuracy percentage (61.83), which doesn't bode well for his chances to finish on top of the leaderboard at The Club at Nine Bridges. He's not a strong pick to win it all and there are far better values in this loaded CJ Cup at Nine Bridges 2019 field.
Another surprise: Joaquin Niemann, a massive 40-1 long shot, makes a strong run at the title. He has a much better chance to win it all than his odds imply, so he's a target for anyone looking for a huge payday.
Niemann might not be the household name some of the other players that will be competing at The Club at Nine Bridges are, but the 20-year-old has made plenty of noise this season on the PGA Tour. He earned his first career PGA Tour victory earlier this season at A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier after shooting 21-under par. He also racked up a total of four top-10 finishes last season, including fifth-place runs at the Travelers Championship and Rocket Mortgage Classic.
And while his driving accuracy has been a problem at times, Niemann has all the tools needed to climb the 2019 CJ Cup leaderboard because he can shoot low scores. In fact, Niemann enters this week's event ranked seventh on Tour in scoring average (69.317), which should give him a strong chance to win his second PGA Tour title.
Also, the model says three other golfers with odds of 25-1 or longer will make a strong run at the title. Anyone who backs these underdogs could hit it big.
So who wins the CJ Cup at Nine Bridges 2019, and which long shots stun the golfing world? Check out the odds below and visit SportsLine now to see the projected 2019 CJ Cup leaderboard from the model that's nailed six golf majors, and find out.
Justin Thomas 15-2
Brooks Koepka 9-1
Hideki Matsuyama 14-1
Tommy Fleetwood 20-1
Viktor Hovland 20-1
Rafa Cabrera-Bello 22-1
Collin Morikawa 25-1
Jordan Spieth 25-1
Sergio Garcia 28-1
Marc Leishman 28-1
Sungjae Im 28-1
Gary Woodland 28-1
Jason Day 30-1
Tyrell Hatton 33-1
Billy Horschel 33-1
Kevin Na 33-1
Andrew Putnam 33-1
Chez Reavie 33-1
Cameron Smith 33-1
Lucas Glover 40-1
Charles Howell III 40-1
Joaquin Niemann 40-1
Pat Perez 40-1
Danny Willett 40-1
Matthew Wolff 40-1
