BMW Championship Predictions 2026: All To Play For Heading Into Round Three

Heading into Saturday’s third round, Wyndham Clark is the golf betting favourite to win the 2026 BMW Championship. Clark holds a one-shot lead over Gary Woodland, who has a one-stroke advantage over third-placed J.J. Spaun.

Three bogeys on the back nine saw Spaun relinquish a sizeable lead. Clark’s -6 on Friday was tied for the second-best round behind Viktor Hovland’s 63.

Competitive Entering Third Round

Eleven golfers are within five shots of the lead. Rory McIlroy is in that group, despite an underwhelming one-under-par round on Friday. Sungjae Im joined Clark with a 64 in the second round to move to nine under.

Michael Brennan’s 65 moved him to six shots behind Clark, and after a relatively quiet Thursday, Collin Morikawa shot up to a tie for fourth.

Brennan, Xander Schauffele, Woodland, and Chris Gotterup were the standout performers off the tee on Friday. Justin Rose found his way to four under for the event, despite major struggles with his putter in hand.

Potential Risers on Saturday

Look out for Rose and Patrick Cantlay. They were two of the top three in strokes gained tee to green on Friday, but were each let down on the greens with a combined -3.23 strokes gained.

Justin Thomas and Kurt Kitayama fall into the same category. Kitayama is 12 strokes off the lead, but it’s not out the question that he climbs into the top 20 heading into the final round.

At six under, Thomas needs to finish at least a solo seventh to reach the FedEx Cup final next week. It’s certainly within reach.

BMW Championship Round 3 Best Bets

• Chris Gotterup to win (8/1)
• Justin Thomas to win – each way (45/1)
• Michael Brennan top 10 finish (11/5)
• Justin Rose top 10 finish (6/1)
• Kurt Kitayama top 20 finish (13/2)

Gotterup has played excellent all-around golf through the first 36 holes. On Friday, he was excellent off the tee but was let down by his short game. He’s three shots off the lead in a tie for fourth – 8/1 certainly represents good value here.

Thomas is six shots back and tied for 12th. Only five golfers have been better tee to green so far. Yes, he’s not had a win since April last year, but that’s why we’re taking the each-way option at 45s.

Brilliant off the tee and fifth in strokes gained tee to green on Friday, keep a close eye on Brennan. He might be six shots back, but a round of 65 has set him up to be in contention deep into the weekend.

The case for Rose is similar to Thomas. He’s been very solid across the first 36 holes. His form coming into this event isn’t the best, but he had top 10 finishes at the PGA Championship and the Masters. We know the veteran can get rolling when the pressure is on.

Kitayama was 12th last week. All it takes is some serviceable putting to turn his week on its head. He was seventh in strokes gained tee to green on Friday.

*Odds subject to change – prices accurate at the time of writing*