The PGA TOUR has another tournament in the FedExCup Playoffs ready to tee off this week at the BMW Championship. This tournament is one of the few on the regular PGA TOUR schedule that rotates venues each season, and this year, it will feature Bellerive Country Club just outside St. Louis, Missouri. The top 50 in the FedExCup Standings are all in action, trying to secure a spot in the top 30, who advance to next week’s TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club. The course hosted the 2018 PGA Championship and the 2008 BMW Championship, and it has proven to be a long, tough, par-70 that is demanding off the tee and on approach. Let’s look at the many available options and pinpoint a few of my best bets for Round 1 of the BMW Championship from DraftKings Sportsbook.

The 70 players in the field will play in pairs for the second straight week, and all 35 groups will start from the first tee. Tee times are a little later in the day due to the time difference and smaller field, with the first duo teeing off at 10:03 a.m. ET and groups continue about every 10 minutes until 2:55 p.m. ET when the final pairing tees off.

There is no major advantage due to the weather, although winds are expected to pick up slightly throughout the day and the heat could dry out the greens. The early players may have a very slight advantage, but it’s going to be more about avoiding the rough and getting the ball close to the pin on this week’s oversized greens. Always be sure to check how the round is going and how the course is playing to adjust your strategy if needed as Round 1 unfolds.

In this post, we’ll focus on my three best bets for Round 1 of the BMW Championship on Thursday, August 20.

Sungjae Im Under 68.5 – Round 1 O/U (-105)

Last week, Im was the only player to move from outside the top 50 into the top 50, qualifying for this week’s event. Since he’s only at No. 40, he’ll need another big week to move up into the top 30 and extend his streak to eight straight years making it to the TOUR Championship. Last week, he started the Final Round just two strokes behind Scottie Scheffler before fading to a T5 with a disappointing 74.

He was under this prop line in each of his first three rounds at TPC Southwind last week and in all four of his rounds at the Wyndham Championship. While it has been on different courses, he has shot 68 or lower in 10 of his last 12 rounds overall.

Im ranks 11th in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting and 12th in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green over the last three months and he has four top-15 finishes in his last five events. He has finished in the top 15 in four of the last five years at the BMW Championship as well, although he hasn’t played this course since 2018, when he placed T42 at the PGA Championship. In that event (nine years ago), he was under this prop line in two of his four rounds, and he’s a solid play at just about even money to get under 68.5 on Thursday, especially since he gets an early start playing alongside Sepp Straka in the second group of the day.

Viktor Hovland Over 4.5 Birdies or Better – Round 1 (+104)

Last week, Hovland racked up 20 birdies at TPC Southwind, the third-most in the field. He started the week with three straight par-breakers and had five birdies in Round 1, six in Round 2, and five in Round 4, going over this prop line in three of his four rounds.

Hovland finished last week T19 despite all those birdies since he also had 10 bogeys and three double-bogeys. For this prop, though, all that matters is birdies or better not overall score.

Over the last three months, Hovland ranks third in this elite field in Strokes Gained: Approach and sixth in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green. Since the greens at Bellerive are larger than average, getting close on approach is critical, so Strokes Gained: Approach will be a key metric, as always.s

Hovland won the Travelers Championship at the end of June and has four top-25 finishes in his last six events, missing the cut at The Open and the U.S. Open in his two majors. Since the Masters, he has made the cut in seven straight non-majors with a third-place finish at the Canadian Open in addition to his win at the Signature Event in Connecticut.

This will be his first time playing a tournament at Bellerive, but he has played well in this event that rotates venues. He won the BMW Championship in 2023, finished T17 in 2021, and he finished T7 last year at Caves Valley Golf Club in Maryland.

Hovland’s game has been boom-or-bust since his big win, but he definitely can go low and get the over on this prop pick based on his recent play. He tees off on Thursday at 1:42 p.m. ET, playing alongside J.J. Spaun.

Bud Cauley (+114) over Nicolai Hojgaard – 2 Ball (3 Way) – Round 1

Cauley and Hojgaard tee off at 1:310 p.m. ET, each looking to finish the week in the top 30 in the FedExCup Standings to advance to next week’s TOUR Championship. Both players start the week on the bubble, with Hojgaard sitting at No. 33 and Cauley at No. 29.

The 36-year-old Cauley got his breakthrough win at the RBC Canadian Open this season after an incredible story of overcoming adversity and multiple setbacks. While a seventh-place finish at the RBC Heritage was his only other top-10 finish, he did have nine top-25 finishes in his 21 events this season, and he has had great momentum throughout the summer.

Over the last three months, he has five top-25 finishes in his last eight events. He finished T14 at the Travelers, T18 at the Open Championship, and T12 last week at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, where he opened with a 66 in Round 1.

In Round 1 last week, Hojgaard got off to a rocky start with a 73, although he had a much better showing over the weekend to climb to a T34, still well behind Cauley. Hojgaard has eight top-25 finishes on the season, including a pair of runner-up finishes. However, most of those high finishes were early in the season. Since his runner-up at the Truist, he has missed four cuts in nine events with just one top-25 finish. He finished behind Cauley in their last two events that coincide, and they each finished T14 at the Travelers.

While both players have definite potential to excel both short-term and long-term as two of the best golfers in the sport, based on their recent form, Cauley seems like a much better option to back in Round 1 at plus-money odds in this 3-way 2 Ball, where a tie is scored as a separate outcome rather than a push. To win the prop, Cauley has to finish ahead of Hojgaard after 18 holes.