Over 150 of the world’s best golfers are set to peg it up starting Thursday at the the PGA Championship, the second major of the season. For the first time in a decade Valhalla Golf Club will host with the 2014 winner among the favorites. Rory McIlroy emerged by a single shot over Phil Mickelson the last time at Valhalla and more than 30 players who competed are lined up to try again. This year the field will have to get by world No. 1 and outright betting favorite Scottie Scheffler. A winner in his last two starts and in four of his last five, Scheffler was off for nearly a month. Will the delay and becoming a new dad hinder his chances? Defending champ Brooks Koepka has won three of the last six PGA Championships all at different sites and is coming off a record fourth LIV Golf title last month in Singapore. And Tiger Woods is scheduled to play looking for his record-tying fifth title. A complete list of matchup odds is available at BookMaker.eu when you’re ready to place a wager.
PGA Championship Matchup Odds
Tiger Woods +110 vs. Phil Mickelson -132
Scottie Scheffler -177 vs. Rory McIlroy +146
Scottie Scheffler -285 vs. Brooks Koepka +233
Scottie Scheffler -195 vs. Xander Schauffele +161
Rory McIlroy -194 vs. Brooks Koepka +160
Rory McIlroy -120 vs. Xander Schauffele +100
Brooks Koepka +152 vs. Xander Schauffele -184
Ludvig Aberg -110 vs. Jon Rahm -110
Ludvig Aberg -132 vs. Bryson DeChambeau +110
Jon Rahm -140 vs. Bryson DeChambeau +117
Collin Morikawa -144 vs. Max Homa +120
Collin Morikawa -125 vs. Joaquin Niemann +105
Max Homa +115 vs. Joaquin Niemann -138
Viktor Hovland -138 vs. Cameron Smith +115
Viktor Hovland -129 vs. Wyndham Clark +108
Cameron Smith +108 vs. Wyndham Clark -129
Patrick Cantlay -105 vs. Tommy Fleetwood -115
Patrick Cantlay -110 vs. Justin Thomas -110
Tommy Fleetwood -115 vs. Justin Thomas -105
Cameron Young -110 vs. Byeong Hun An -110
Tyrrell Hatton -110 vs. Matthew Fitzpatrick -110
Jason Day +110 vs. Sahith Theegala -132
Jordan Spieth -121 vs. Hideki Matsuyama +101
Dustin Johnson -105 vs. Will Zalatoris -115
Sungjae Im -110 vs. Tony Finau -110
Sam Burns -120 vs. Corey Conners +100
Shane Lowry -140 vs. Tom Kim +117
Sepp Straka -125 vs. Alex Noren +105
Talor Gooch -130 vs. Akshay Bhatia +109
Russell Henley -129 vs. Stephan Jaeger +108
Dean Burmester -105 vs. Adam Scott -115
Brian Harman -105 vs. Christiaan Bezuidenhout -115
Chris Kirk -115 vs. Harris English -105
Nicolai Hojgaard +112 vs. Mackenzie Hughes -134
Kurt Kitayama -127 vs. Keith Mitchell +106
Taylor Pendrith -120 vs. Billy Horschel +100
Taylor Moore -110 vs. Tom Hoge -110
Adrian Meronk +100 vs. Adam Schenk -120
Keegan Bradley +100 vs. J.T. Poston -120
Lucas Glover -130 vs. Adam Hadwin +109
Matthieu Pavon -127 vs. Eric Cole +106
Nick Taylor +100 vs. Erik van Rooyen -120
Thorbjorn Olesen +100 vs. Beau Hossler -120
Austin Eckroat -138 vs. Mark Hubbard +115
Matt Wallace -150 vs. Adrian Otaegui +125
Sebastian Soderberg -129 vs. Brendon Todd +108
Patrick Rodgers -127 vs. Maverick McNealy +106
Keita Nakajima -120 vs. David Puig +100
Nick Dunlap -105 vs. Luke List -115
Emiliano Grillo -110 vs. Adam Svensson -110
Need to Know
Hosting for the fourth time and first since 2014, Valhalla Golf Club will have an entirely different look from a decade ago. Rory McIlroy won the last time at Valhalla with Tiger Woods prevailing in 2000. The initial tournament at Valhalla was in 1996 when Mark Brooks claimed his only major championship and the last of his seven Tour victories. The first two events played at par 72 with the 2014 edition at par 71. Since the last playing the club has been completely renovated with an additional 150 yards added to the scorecard making it a behemoth 7,609 yards. Long hitters should thrive on the layout taking advantage of five par 4 holes that measure more than 480 yards. However, as is the case in every major, it will take a complete game to win the coveted Wanamaker Trophy.
PGA Championship Matchup Picks
Brooks Koepka +233 vs. Scottie Scheffler
It’s never a good idea to bet against the No. 1 player in the world, but with Koepka at an outrageous price and circumstances leading up to the tournament, I’m willing to take a chance. We all know that Koepka excels in majors winning half of the previous six PGA Championships. He has the goods to dominate on a beefy course and he is coming off yet another LIV Golf victory. And there are probably some sleepless nights for Scheffler following the birth of his child, which is why I’m leaning to Brooks.
Tony Finau -110 vs. Sungjae Im
I’m not sure why I gravitated to this matchup other than noticing two solid players who haven’t performed to their standards. I’ve always been a fan of Finau, who is still searching for the elusive major championship. He’s 11 for 12 this season with six top 25s yet it seems like he’s been much worse. That’s a sign that he’s an elite player and elite players can win big tournaments. Finau has finished among the top 10 in a major nine times and has a game that fits Valhalla well.
Jon Rahm -110 vs. Ludvig Aberg
He has yet to win on the LIV Golf tour though not for a lack of trying. Rahm has been his consistent self and is the only player in that league to finish among the top 10 in every tournament this year. And we’ve seen him dominate lengthy courses in the past. I have to say the expectations have tempered a bit since his massive career shift, but it hasn’t affected his play. And with less fanfare Rahm can do what he does best.
Max Homa +115 vs. Joaquin Niemann
I think we can say Homa has taken his game to another level in the past few years to now be included in a group of the best players that have yet to win a major. The evidence is in his play on the game’s biggest stage. Void of a top 10 in his first 14 major starts, Homa cashed in the last two with a T10 at The Open Championship last year followed by a share of third at Augusta last month. He finished among the top 10 in three of his last six starts.
Xander Schauffele +100 vs. Rory McIlroy
There is a theme in this section of standout players never to win a major. And since we’re going in that direction I’d be remiss if I didn’t include Schauffele. He finished among the top 20 in each of his last eight starts in a major and has been close on several occasions. He led McIlroy by one shot entering the final round last week only to shoot 71 and lose. The X-man has the game and at some point he will have to deliver to exit the ignominious group.
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