Golf’s second major gets underway this week with the PGA Championship starting on Thursday at Oak Hill. World No. 1 Jon Rahm is listed as a slight favorite over World No. 2 Scottie Scheffler. Those two are the only golfers listed at single digit odds at BetRivers, as Rahm is +750, while Scheffler is +800. Rahm has four wins this year including the Masters, while Scheffler has two wins including THE PLAYERS. Top 10 players looking to win their first major are Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele and Max Homa. Let’s look at PGA Championship picks.
Venue: Oak Hill Country Club (East Course) is a par 70 that measures 7,394 yards. It hosted the PGA Championship in 2013 but it was completely revamped in 2020 with new greens, new back tees, different greens, etc. The course is 250 yards longer than in 2013 and there are three holes that are entirely new.
Last Year: Justin Thomas won his second PGA Championship last year, as he defeated Will Zalatoris in a playoff. Thomas came from seven shots behind on Sunday to get the win. Mito Pereira made double bogey on the 18th hole and missed the playoff by one shot.
TV Coverage: CBS & ESPN
PGA Championship Odds
Rahm, Jon +750
Scheffler, Scottie +800
McIlroy, Rory +1200
Cantlay, Patrick +1600
Schauffele, Xander +1600
Finau, Tony +2000
Koepka, Brooks +2200
Thomas, Justin +2500
Hatton, Tyrrell +2800
Johnson, Dustin +2800
Sungjae Im +2800
Day, Jason +2800
Hovland, Viktor +3000
Young, Cameron +3000
Smith, Cameron +3300
Morikawa, Collin +3300
Fitzpatrick, Matthew +3300
Spieth, Jordan +4000
Homa, Max +4000
Matsuyama, Hideki +5000
Burns, Sam +5000
Clark, Wyndham +5000
Fowler, Rickie +5000
Conners, Corey +6000
Tom Kim +6000
Scott, Adam +6600
Fleetwood, Tommy +6600
Niemann, Joaquin +6600
Reed, Patrick +6600
Bradley, Keegan +8000
Henley, Russell +8000
Si Woo Kim +8000
Kuchar, Matt +8000
Gooch, Talor +8000
Theegala, Sahith +8000
Pereira, Mito +9000
McCarthy, Denny +9000
Favorite
Rahm, Jon +750
You can make a good case for Rahm winning this week, as he is ranked No. 1 in the world and he already won The Masters. Rahm ranks highly in a number of PGA statistical categories and his game should suit this course well. That being said, golf betting favorites have been a disaster this year. Rahm is the only favorite I would even consider, but I am sticking to my guns and not taking Rahm, simply because he is listed as the favorite.
Value Picks
Schauffele, Xander +1600
Did you know that Cameron Smith, Matt Fitzpatrick and Scottie Scheffler all won their first majors last year? Is this the time for Xander to win this first? He has played well in majors in the past and he has been close to winning. He has played well in New York in the past and this could be his stage. He comes in playing well with a number of top 10 finishes.
Koepka, Brooks +2200
I didn’t have Koepka in the Masters and nearly regretted it. I won’t make that mistake this time around. We know that Koepka thrives in majors, as four of his PGA Tour wins have come in majors. He has been playing well on the LIV Tour and there is no reason he can’t contend this week.
Johnson, Dustin +2800
I just can’t pass up Johnson at these odds. He is coming off a win in Tulsa on the LIV Tour and we know that Johnson can handle the pressure of majors. Could this be the week for an LIV player to get a big win playing alongside the PGA Tour stars? Johnson can play well in bad weather and we know he hits the ball a ton. I give him a chance to contend this week.
Hatton, Tyrrell +2800
You sure can’t argue with the form of Hatton, as he finished T3 at the Wells Fargo Championship and T5 at the AT&T Byron Nelson. He also has played well in big events in the past including a 2nd place finish at THE PLAYERS. He tied for 13th at last year’s PGA. The weather is supposed to be rainy and cold that should help Hatton even more.
Fleetwood, Tommy +6600
Another bad weather player who should thrive this week is Fleetwood. He is looking for his first PGA Tour win and this could be his week. He comes in playing well with a 3rd at the Valspar Championship, 15th at the RBC Heritage and 5th at the Wells Fargo Championship. He has played well in the majors in the past and I think he can be a factor this week and we get big odds.
Lowry, Shane +10000
I just can’t resist one big longshot and I have to go with a player who thrives in bad weather. Lowry doesn’t let the rain and cold affect his game and I think he could surprise people this week and we get him at odds of 100-1.
Check out the latest PGA Championship odds at BetRivers.
