Last call

The Sunday twosome pairing of Alex Noren and Hideki Matsuyama in the Bahamas combined to make 16 birdies, one eagle, and a bogey. Both players shot 64 to track down and eventually pass 54-hole leader Sepp Straka at the Hero World Challenge. Matsuyama's birdie on the first playoff hole was ultimately the difference and helped RTL record our sixth outright win of the season! A satisfying close to what has been a roller-coaster of a season. Hideki and Alex finished the week at 22 under par, one shot clear of Sepp and two ahead of Scottie Scheffler, in fourth place. The three-peat didn't materialize as Scheffler shot 68 on Sunday—the second-highest total of anyone who finished in the top 10.

Before we transition one last time in 2025 to our next event, let's lay out the schedule for the next couple of weeks.

• With the cancellation of The Sentry at Kapalua, we start the 2026 PGA TOUR season in 36 days at the Sony Open on January 15.
• The LPGA begins their 2026 campaign in Orlando again at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions on January 29. A mere 50 days away.

I know 36 days sounds like a long time, but if you love golf (and golf betting) as we do, the TGL returns in 18 days with a rematch of the Season 1 Sofi Cup Finals. The New York Golf Club will try to avenge its second-place place finish against the Atlanta Drive Golf Club. That means we will see the likes of Xander Schauffele, Cam Young, Patrick Cantlay, Billy Horschel, and others before the end of the year. I'll be in the SoFi Center to kick Season 2 off in style. I realize TGL is not the PGA TOUR, but we are looking at five weeks before the boys are back at Wai’alae Country Club. In that time, we will see four TGL matches.

Speaking of time, we have been spending a bunch of it with our TGL friends down in Palm Beach Gardens. Our season preview will be published by Golf Digest the week before the big restart on December 28. In the meantime, I wanted to point out a contest they are running. Predict the "Perfect Season," and you could win $500,000! Click on the link below and predict all 15 regular-season matches. We're not talking about the NCAA Basketball Bracket. Just guess 15 matches correctly, and you can win half a million dollars! It's worth five minutes of your time. Click the picture below and enter...

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Keith's Keys 🗞️ A couple of key skills you can claim as your own at the water cooler and cocktail party conversations. You can find complete explanations for each in the betting breakdown. Putting contest: If you want to win a scramble outing in Florida, bring Bermudagrass putters. Winners of the GTI and CGTC score on these greens. Need for speed: Length matters when you have four 5s and six short par 4s. Get as close as you can for eagle and guarantee birdie. I love length for this event with two drivers in play for two of the three rounds. Scrambling: We aren't talking about saving pars. Wedge wizards who can score from close range eat up the Gold Course. With a need for 8-9 under per day, this is one easy way to shoot sub-par scores.

Gold card

In 2023, the Grant Thornton Invitational transitioned from a PGA TOUR money grab to a mixed TOUR and LPGA money grab. Jason Day and Lydia Ko took home the hardware in year one, and Jake Knapp, along with Patty Tavatanakit, captured the title in year two (2024). For the LPGA stars, it was a positive addition to their schedule for two reasons. First, watching the women compete alongside the men amplifies their ability. These ladies can really play and watching them compete against their male counterparts creates a positive perspective on their skills. The second is pretty simple. The ladies have an advantage; all but three of them were competing on the same course three weeks ago at the CME Group Tour Championship. Get ready as we return to Tiburón Golf Resort and Greg Norman's Gold Course.

Grant Thornton starts in...

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There are two official scorecards for this event. Both the men and the women will play a par 72 layout. The men's course measures 7,382 yards, while the women will play a 6,788 yard routing. One of the coolest aspects of the routing is the use of mutual tee boxes for both the men and the women. Six holes share the same yardage on the scorecard. In doing so, tournament officials are adding more weight to the value of your LPGA partner. When it comes to team golf on either tour, we focus on chemistry as much as complementary player characteristics. These partnerships see each other once a year. Finding the winning combination can be complicated if you're not skilled in the art of breaking down golf courses and collaborative skill sets. Patty T and Jake Knapp are two bombers who can really putt. Our endless research of the LPGA pays off when a week like this comes to the competitive calendar.

The GTI is a scoring fest. Thirty-two players competing over three days, trying to make as many birdies (or better) as possible. The format is a fun one and different for each round, so let me explain.

• Round 1: Two-person scramble. Each player hits a tee shot. From there, the team selects its best option and continues that format of play until the ball is holed.
• Round 2: Foursomes. Here's your Ryder Cup alternate shot format. One teammate leads off on the odd holes, a second on the evens. Teammates alternate shots until the ball is holed.
• Round 3: Modified Fourball. Fourball implies there are "four balls" in play. The modification is fun. Players will tee off and then switch balls with their partner. They will then play into the hole, selecting the lowest total as their team score for each hole.

Last year was the first time they used the modified fourball format, and it was very well received. I know the field lacks star power; only seven of the top 50 on the OWGR are playing on the men's side, and nine of the top 25 of the Rolex World Rankings for the women, but these are the formats amateur players compete with all the time at their local facility. It's fun to watch two touring professionals play alternate shot. Any golfing couple will tell you that playing your partner’s shots is the equivalent of the divorce open! Golf has a bunch of events, and last week was proof of it. This competition is different and entertaining. Thankfully, the forecast looks good for this weekend in southwest Florida. Temperatures are in the high 70s, and the wind will be a slight breeze all three days. There's a chance of rain Saturday night into Sunday morning, but there are 16 teams in this event. The tee time window is 100 minutes.

Teams are competing for $4 million, and each winning player receives $720,000. Avid RTL readers are familiar with the Gold Course. Wall-to-wall Bermudagrass with a very stereotypical Florida design. Thirteen holes have water in play, and where we don't see water, there are sandy waste areas and vegetation. With 45 acres of fairway, teams will not find themselves in such situations. The average winning score for the last two mixed editions is 26.5 under par. Nearly 9 under par per day is what it will take. Who has the best chance to collect the cash? Keep reading...

Mixed magic

What style of player benefits the most from a team format? Jake and Patty pretty much fit the mold, but how do they compare with Lydia Ko and Jason Day, our winners in 2023? Let's not stop at just the winners; how about the contenders? We must start on the putting green. The Gold Course is classic Florida golf. Grainy Bermudagrass putting surfaces will challenge your eyes and your patience. Winners of this event and, more importantly, the CME Group Tour Championship (CGTC) gain their largest edge over the field on the greens. All four of the past winners are tour-leading putters. Trust me on the ladies’ side, Lydia and Patty can roll the rock. Jason and Jake are no different, and as we look across the field for 2025, I see a couple of team candidates. Having just one partner who is a proven putter is not enough. Both putters have to pull their weight.

If we extend a little from the greens, I'd like to point out how many greenside scoring chances there are. Start with the four par 5s. If you don't hit the green in two, you must make a birdie by chipping and/or pitching it close. We have six more short par 4s under 300 yards. Second shots on those holes will be from close range. Those 10 chances will determine our winner. You probably need to birdie 75% of those holes over three rounds. Last year, 11 of the 16 teams scored under par on the alternate shot day. As much as both need to be able to putt, having two wedge wizards is also vital to contending. Last place was 11 under par in 2024. Selecting players who score is next for me. I don't care what the birdie-to-bogey ratio is because they have a partner. Our outrights are the best birdie machines. Outside of the obvious scoring reasons, I also love it when two aggressive players compete together. In team competitions, they tend to feed off one another.

Strokes gained approach is the number one separating ball striking skill in the CGTC. The winners gain an average of four strokes on the field. We are taking dart throwers. Again, we want aggressive players whose proximity statistics are very good. Getting to 25+ under par takes 35+ legitimate birdie chances in 54 holes. Remember, this is a three-day contest! The good news for the field is that most of their iron shorts will be with a scoring club in their hand. Ball speed can be as much of an influence here as approach skill. The closer each team gets to the target off the tee, the more lofted their approach weapon will be. I like players with some speed in this event. They can take advantage of the par 5s and short 4s, along with limiting the use of long irons a majority of the time. The edge is especially apparent on the ladies’ side. Speed by your female teammate is extremely advantageous.

Forty-five acres of fairway are never going to intimidate these players off the tee. That is a ton of real estate to land your ball. The key to differentiating yourself off the tee on the Gold Course is twofold. First, we cannot have any foul balls. Outside the short grass is a ton of trouble, like double-bogey trouble. In an event where we need to be an average of 9 under par per day, you cannot lose that many strokes to the field. The second advantage comes from understanding the proper angles. Greg Norman's green complexes are not complicated, but they are well protected. The surfaces have plenty of trouble around them and sit at funny angles. Find the correct side of the fairway, and you'll be faced with a much easier iron shot in. Miss your tee shot, and chances are you'll be crossing over trouble en route to the hole. The best drivers do very well at Tiburón. The winners of the CGTC prove this year after year.

Make a note, this is a three-round affair. Golf does not start until Friday this week; plan your viewing time(s) accordingly. Our two outright predictions are sharp. Each pair presents a full resume of the complementary skill sets needed to go deep. We all know this isn't the US Open, but five weeks (at a minimum) is a long time to wait for Conners, Korda, Knapp, and Ko to return. Enjoy the shoot-out, and RTL will be back with the TGL in a couple of weeks!

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Outright Winners - Grant Thornton Invitational

I loved the pairing of Corey Conners and Brooke Henderson last year. They finished fourth and are one of three returning teams in the field. The other two have won this event. That tells you the Canadians want to play together. Brooke won the Canadian Open in late August, while Conners just got four good tournament rounds in the Bahamas last week. Both beautiful ball strikers, they putt well on Bermudagrass. Brooke has played great here in her career and finished T7 three weeks ago. Runner-up in 2023 to Day and Ko, this team is ready to take the trophy across the border to the north. Conners/Henderson +800 (DK)

The luckiest person in this event might be Charley Hull. Daniel Berger withdrew last minute and was replaced by scoring machine Michael Brennan. Together, they form a very powerful team built for speed and scoring. Hull has performed well this fall with a win in a tough field and a solid close to her season in Florida. Brennan won this fall and has taken the PGA TOUR by storm. Both separate themselves off the tee and will devour par 5s. Hull's short game is a secret weapon. These two make a great aggressive match, one ready to take it deep in Naples. Brennan/Hull +850 (DK)

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