2026 PGA Picks: Austin Championship and Expert Betting Predictions

The PGA Tour Fall season continues this week after Blades Brown secured his first-ever PGA Tour win in a playoff against Ben James last week at the World Wide Technology Championship with a final score of -23.

This week, the PGA Tour will head to Texas to take on the Austin Championship, a brand-new PGA Tour event. The playing field will once again be missing most of the top players in the world. That said, there is plenty of talent set to tee it up, including last week’s winner, Blades Brown.

The Austin Championship is scheduled to begin on Thursday, November 12th, and will run through Sunday, November 15th. As always, my article will preview this tournament by giving you a brief course overview and a closer look at the outright betting odds. 

Additionally, I will include my best bet to win the event, as well as my two favorite “Top X Finish” props.  

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2026 Austin Championship: The Course

The 2026 Austin Championship will be played at the Fazio Canyons Course in Austin, Texas. The course is a Par 72 and measures 7,451 yards. It consists of 10 Par 4s, four Par 5s, and four Par 3s. As mentioned previously, this is a new event on the PGA Tour, meaning the players will likely be unfamiliar with the course and have no history for this tournament.

2026 Austin Championship: Outright Betting Odds

Below are the Top 10 outright betting odds to win the Austin Championship per DraftKings Sportsbook:

*Jackson Koivun: +1550

*Doug Ghim: +1700

*Blades Brown: +2150

*Andrew Novak: +2800

*Jordan Smith: +2800

*Chris Kirk: +3000

*Pierceson Coody: +3300

*Brian Harman: +3400

*Kris Ventura: +3500

*David Ford: +3700

2026 Austin Championship: Expert Predictions and Best Bets

Austin Smotherman to Win the Austin Championship (+3800)

My best bet to win the inaugural Austin Championship will be Austin Smotherman. In 2026, Smotherman has been a bit inconsistent, making 15 of 24 cuts. Further, he finished 80th in the FedEx Cup standings and is currently 54th in the FedEx Fall standings.

Despite that, Smotherman has been playing at a much higher level recently and is coming off back-to-back wins over his last two starts. This includes a Win at the Bank of Utah Championship and a Win at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship.

Winning in three straight PGA Tour starts is of course rare, but Smotherman is the highest-ranked player in the field this week, in terms of the Official World Golf Rankings. Because of that, and because he has won twice in as many starts, backing Austin Smotherman to Win the Austin Championship will be my best bet.

Blades Brown to Finish Top 20 (Including Ties) (+102)

My favorite “Top X Finish” prop for the Austin Championship will target Blades Brown to finish inside the Top 20. Brown has played in 13 PGA Tour events this season, having made the cut in 11 of them. Further, he has finished inside the Top 20 in nine PGA Tour starts this season. This includes a T17 at the Biltmore Championship, a T19 at the VidantaWorld Mexico Open, and a Win last week at the World Wide Technology Championship.

Brown has now finished inside the Top 20 in seven of his last eight events; therefore, as he is coming off his first-ever PGA Tour win and having secured his PGA Tour Card for 2027, backing Blades Brown to Finish Inside the Top 20 will be my play.

Andrew Novak to Finish Top 20 (Including Ties) (+122)

My second favorite “Top X Finish” prop for the Austin Championship will look for Andrew Novak to finish inside the Top 20. Novak has by no means been the most inconsistent player on the PGA Tour this season, finishing 84th in the FedEx Cup standings and currently 54th in the FedEx Fall season. 

That said, Novak has recently had some solid finishes, which include a T7 at the Wyndham Championship, a T17 at the Biltmore Championship, and most recently, a Win at the VidantaWorld Mexico Open. Given this, Novak has now finished inside the Top 20 in three of his last four events and now has seven Top 20 finishes on the year as a whole.

He ranks at or below average in most categories this year, but because of his recent form, backing Andrew Novak to Finish Inside the Top 20 will be my play.

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