We are now right in the middle of the most exciting stretch of golf with one more tune-up before the PGA Championship next week. That tune-up is also another signature event, which brings the tour’s best golfers together at the Philadelphia Cricket Club for the Truist Championship this week. Last week’s winner, Scottie Scheffler, has taken the week off to prepare for the major but the field is still rock solid with six of the Top 10 and 38 of the Top 50 players in the DataGolf World Rankings.
Let’s jump in and take a look at the course, top stats, and some best bets for this week.
The Course: The Philadelphia Cricket Club(Wissahickon Course)
The PGA Tour makes a trip to the Philadelphia Cricket Club and the Wissahickon course for the first time in 2025. The course was designed by famous architect A.W. Tillinghast and opened way back in 1922. It was renovated in 2013, which saw a lot of care into the trees, a rebuild of the greens, an overhaul to the drainage system, and extensive work to the bunkering, which was a staple with Tillinghast’s original design.
The course is a shorter Par 70 that is listed at 7,119 yards on the scorecard. Distance can definitely gain players and advantage, but accuracy becomes more important due to the number and strategically placed bunkers. The Wissahickon course has a total of 118 bunkers, which is among the most on any course on the PGA Tour. They are spread out all over the course, creating decisions off the tee for placement vs distance and also come into play in a huge way around the green complexes. If players can find the fairway, they will see a lot of mid-range approach shots with seven of the 12 Par 4 holes sitting in the 400-450 yard range. The Par 3’s are a nice mix with distances ranging from 122 yards to 215 yards. The Par 5’s may not seem challenging at just 546 and 553 yards, but again the bunkering comes into play, which can quickly turn them into three-shot holes if the tee shot isn’t both long and placed perfectly. If I had to make a prediction, I would guess the course produces a winner in the -15 to -20 range this week.
Key Stats:
- Driving Accuracy
- Good Drive %
- Strokes Gained: Approach
- Sand Save %
- Strokes Gained: Putting
With all that said, here are the Top 10 in my overall model for this week:
- Rory McIlroy
- Collin Morikawa
- Russell Henley
- Justin Thomas
- Patrick Cantlay
- Tommy Fleetwood
- Daniel Berger
- Sepp Straka
- Jordan Spieth
- Shane Lowry
Best Bets: Truist Championship
Rory McIlroy is the betting favourite this week by a large margin, and it makes sense. There is no Scottie Scheffler in the field, and McIlroy has been on fire with three wins and no finish worse than 17th through six events in 2025. He has gained seven or more strokes on approach in both his Masters and Players Championship wins, and gained two or more strokes putting in four of those six events. I just can’t get behind a +450 number, as you would need to place a lot of units down to make it worth it. I will instead turn my attention to building a card with 3-5 other bets. Let’s have a look.
Justin Thomas Outright (+1800)
Looking at the small group in the next tier behind Rory, is easily coming in playing the best golf right now. He hasn’t missed a cut since the US Open last summer, a streak that has reached 17 straight events. During that stretch, he has seven Top 10s, three runner-ups ,and just recently broke his winless drought with a victory at the RBC Heritage. The biggest factor leading to the success has been the putter as he leads this field in SG: Putting over the last 12 rounds, gaining four or more strokes in three of his last four events. On the season, he is 5th in SG: Approach, 12th in SG: Around the Green, 9th in SG: Putting, 1st in par 4 Scoring, and 1st in Birdie or Better %. I feel he stays hot leading up to the major next week and will be all over the +1800 this week.
Daniel Berger Outright (+4000) / Top 10 (+280)Â
It has been a heck of a comeback season for Berger, who has dealt with back injuries for quite some time. Since missing the cut in two of his first three events in 2025, he has gone on to make eight straight with Top 25 finishes in seven of those events, including two Top 5s, one of which came recently at the RBC Heritage. In this field, he ranks 10th in SG: tee to Green, 22nd in SG: Approach, 20th in SG: Around the Green, 3rd in Fairways Gained, and 9th in Par 4 Scoring. He has been building some big-time momentum and appears ready to hoist another trophy soon. I will be betting the outright and Top 10 with Berger this week.
Si Woo Kim Outright (+5500) / Top 10 (+360)
Another player entering the week with some plus form is Si Woo Kim. He has tallied back-to-back Top 15 finishes and has finished Top 25 in six of his last nine events. He is coming off a season-high 6.9 strokes gained on approach at the CJ Cup, and he also gained strokes in every SG category at the RBC Heritage, where he finished T8. In this field, he is 30th in Total Driving, 12th in Driving Accuracy, 13th in Good Drive %, Top 25 in both Proximity ranges of 175-200 and 200+ yards, and is 9th in Birdie or Better %. I will bet the Top 10 the heaviest but will also sprinkle some on the outright, as well.
