The BMW Championship will feature a field of just 68 golfers, and tee times will be spread out between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. ET the first day. That means there will still be some opportunity to play the weather angle for Thursday bets. The bad news is that the weather likely isn’t going to provide any clarity on which wave to target. It’s sunny with low winds essentially all Thursday, and with such an elite field, crossing out one section over another seems foolhardy.
We will use OddsShopper golf betting tools below to find players trending well in tee-to-green play and identify some of the best values on the board for the first-round leader market at the 2022 BMW Championship.
BMW Championship First Round Leader Bets
Best First Round Leader Betting Picks
Joaquin Niemann First Round Leader +3500 | BetMGM
Joaquin Niemann has shown he is capable of hopping out to a fast start in these elite fields. His big win this season came early on at Riviera, where he stormed out to a lead in Round 1 and never looked back. Niemann is not a great play at 40-1 to win the entire event, but he could certainly crush the field on Thursday. He’s fifth in Round 1 scoring average on the PGA Tour this season and has seemingly taken to longer setups like Riviera and Augusta National. As such, Wilmington’s 7,500-yard setup should be right down his alley. He gained 7.2 strokes ball striking last week and now gets a change in putting surface to potentially bolster his stats on the greens. Niemann’s start time (just before noon) looks ideal as well.
Mito Pereira First Round Leader +6600 | DraftKings
Mito Pereira is nearly double the odds of his countryman Niemann. Pereira finally broke his four-event missed cut streak at the FedEx St. Jude last week but only managed a 42nd-place finish. He struck the ball as well as he had in a month, though, gaining over 3.2 strokes on approach for the week. The change in putting surfaces this week can also only help Pereira, who was great on bentgrass at the PGA Championship. Pereira has been quite a solid starter in 2022, ranking top 30 in first-round leader scoring. Coming off two under-par rounds in tough conditions last weekend, Pereira makes sense this week since his odds are still inflated after his cool-off this summer.
If looking to make a wager on BetMGM this week, then Mito Pereira is a first-round leader target to consider. He has solid 66-1 odds, and new BetMGM users get a risk-free bet up to $1,000!
Maverick McNealy First Round Leader +6600 | BetMGM
Maverick McNealy played some great golf in Memphis last week, firing three rounds of 67 or better. He also ended with one of the rounds of the day last Sunday when he carded a 65. A tough Saturday threw him out of contention, but the fact that he performed so well on smaller Bermuda greens should pique interest for Wilmington, as poa and bentgrass have tended to be his preferred grass types. McNealy’s ball striking was solid enough in Memphis (he ranked 26th on approach), but he should have some confidence after he outperformed the eventual winner on Sunday. The number isn’t massive, but 66-1 is big enough since his putter has proven it can gain him a couple of strokes per round when it’s in top form.
