PGA Tour's Bright Future: An Amateur And Rookie Are Favorites At 2024 ISCO Championship

For the first time, an amateur, Luke Clanton, is the betting favorite for a PGA Tour event this week: The 2024 ISCO Championship at Keene Trace Golf Club in Nicholasville, Kentucky. At 1 p.m. ET Tuesday, July 9, Clanton is +900 at FanDuel to win the ISCO. Rookie Michael Thorbjornsen is the second betting favorite at +1200. 

Formerly known as the "Barbasol", the ISCO is an Additional Event on the PGA Tour, playing simultaneously with the Genesis Scottish Open. So, they are the betting favorites at the ISCO because the best golfers on Tour went overseas for the Scottish and British Opens. 

READ: Jordan Spieth Unlocks A New Celebration, Davis Thompson's Basketball Mixtape, And Luke Clanton May Be A Dude

But, Clanton, Thorbjornsen, and the other young talent that's emerged this year prove the PGA is still in good hands despite the LIV Tour poaching several world-class golfers. Clanton is a junior on Florida State's golf team. Thorbjornsen is a 22-year-old from Stanford, who earned his Tour card by finishing No. 1 at the PGA Tour University. 

They tied for second at last week's John Deere Classic, which 25-year-old Davis Thompson won to break his PGA Tour maiden. Plus, 22-year-old Akshay Bhatia won the Valero Texas Open in April, 27-year-old Robert MacIntyre won the RBC Canadian Open last month, and 20-year-old Nick Dunlap won The American Express in January. Dunlap left Alabama after winning The AmEx and becoming the first amateur since Phil Mickelson in 1991 to win on Tour. 

Nick Dunlap is one of the young PGA TOUR golfers who broke out in January after winning The American Express 2024. 

As a PGA Tour stan, and LIV hater, it's refreshing to see the PGA replenish its talent so quickly. Things were looking rough entering 2024. LIV signed Jon Rahm this offseason while already having five-time major champion Brooks Koepka, two-time U.S. Open winner Bryson DeChambeau, and 2022 Champion Golf of the Year Cameron Smith on its roster. 

That said, last week's John Deere Classic was the most viewed final round of the tournament since Jordan Spieth won in 2015, even though none of the top 10 golfers in the world played. Perhaps it's dumb luck or a dead spot in the sports calendar, but the Tour has to be pumped by these TV ratings. Regardless, the PGA Tour can flourish with or without the pending merger with LIV. 

_____________________________

Follow me on X (or Twitter, whatever) @Geoffery-Clark and check out my OutKick Bets Podcast for more betting content and random rants. I'll add bets to my PGA Tour 2024 betting record via X all season.