PGA Championship Golf Betting Tips
The second men's major of the season starts on Thursday at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, as the best in the world prepare to tee it up at the PGA Championship.
Once considered to be 'glory's last shot', the PGA was the last of the four majors to take place each season until it moved to its current May slot in 2019, when Brooks Koepka triumphed at Bethpage's infamous Black Course.
Like the US Open and the Open, the PGA takes place at a different course each year and is returning to Quail Hollow for the second time - the Charlotte track also staged the 2017 PGA, won by Justin Thomas, and was the scene of the USA's 2022 Presidents Cup victory.
However, Quail Hollow is no stranger to the PGA Tour players, who have competed regularly in the Wells Fargo Championship at the course, no more so than Rory McIlroy, who made his US breakthrough there in 2010 and has won on three further visits to the track.
McIlroy and Scheffler hard to split at Quail Hollow
At 7,600 yards, par-71 Quail Hollow is a long course which favours power-packed drivers, and persistent rain in the build-up to the PGA Championship has softened up the fairways, which will play into McIlroy's hands.
When we last saw him in a major setting, the Northern Irishman was completing the career Grand Slam at the Masters, and now he's just 5/1 to secure a quick-fire double in an event he won in both 2012 and 2014.
As was the case at Augusta, McIlroy's chief market rival is world No.1 Scottie Scheffler, who regained the winning thread with an emphatic eight-shot success in a relatively weak field at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson at the beginning of the month.
Tip 1 – Justin Thomas Each-Way @ 16/1
A month on from his Masters success, a rain-softened Quail Hollow presents a huge chance for McIlroy to do the double and he fully deserves favouritism, but others catch the eye from slightly further down the PGA Championship betting.
Like McIlroy, Justin Thomas is a two-time PGA champion and the first of his two victories came at this venue in 2017, before he followed up at Southern Hills in 2022.
Thomas's form has been up and down since his win in Oklahoma, but he ended a three-year winless run at last month's RBC Heritage, then he finished runner-up behind Sepp Straka at the Truist Championship last week.
Well fancied for the Masters, Thomas had to cope with a late change of plan after his regular caddie suffered a back injury, but Matt Minister was back on the bag last week, which should allow for a much more serene preparation.
Thomas knows Quail Hollow well, he is long enough to handle the track and he's arguably putting better than ever. He looks set for a third major success.
Tip 2 – Xander Schauffele Each-Way @ 16/1
The defending champion could be Thomas's biggest threat, with Xander Schauffele finding top form in time for the second major of the season.
A champion at Valhalla last year, Schauffele then went on to win the Open at Royal Troon, proving on more than one occasion that he's well-equipped to contend for the biggest titles in the sport.
A rib injury hampered Schauffele at the start of this season, but after a low-key return at Bay Hill and a poor weekend showing at the Players Championship, he has found form to finish 12th at the Valspar, eighth at the Masters, 18th at the Heritage and 11th at the Truist.
This major player is finding top gear ahead of his title defence at a course where he has form figures of 14-2-2 from his last three strokeplay appearances.
Tip 3 – Sam Burns Each-Way @ 100/1
For each-way value at a big price, you could take a chance on five-time PGA Tour winner Sam Burns, who will relish Bermudagrass greens at Quail Hollow.
Burns has a moderate record at this venue and in majors generally, but he finished 13th in his most recent start in the Wells Fargo Championship, and he's been finding form in recent weeks, finishing 13th at the Heritage and fifth at the Byron Nelson.
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Odds correct at time of publication but subject to fluctuation